Process vs product

Are you a process knitter or a product knitter?

In other words, do you knit because you enjoy the action of knitting or because you like getting a knitted garment at the end of it all. Or are you, like me, a little of both?

I love the feeling and rhythm of the knitted stitches, the creative nature of knitting and I like designing (either on the scale of stitches or whole items). However, I also like getting a piece of clothing (or an accessory) at the end of it all. I love the feeling of accomplishing something that other people can actually see (unlike my university work where only my tutor and my family knows how well/badly I've done)!

So, to continue the theme, I have a product and a process to show you.

The product:



Ta-da! My anklet Fluted Banister socks from the Six Sox KAL. The very unusual "ribbing" makes them fit well over my foot, but does allow for some puffy-foot days. I have enough of the yarn left to make another pair of anklets. Project details here. You have no idea how difficult it is to take a decent photo of your own socks on your own feet. This one involved my desk, a chair, long arms and a little discomfort!

The process:



A swatch (or tension square for those of us who adhere to British standards!) for the Canadian Living Poncho. For a better picture on a real person click here (scroll down - second photo). I got gauge (tension) on Denise US 11s, but since it's only a poncho I'm not sure that it really matters.

On another note: does anyone actually get row gauge? I checked mine on the aforementioned DK/Aran swatch and I got 20 rows = 4" when I should be getting 16 rows. Short of using one US11 and one US13 to lengthen the number of rows (which of course would throw out the stitch gauge) what's a girl to do?

This is by far the worst cold I've ever had (and I've had real flu, in the middle of summer as well) and my mum agrees. It's an upside-down cold where it starts on the lungs, moving up to the sinuses and the head and then going back to the lungs again. Oh, and it last twice as long as well. So, if you're suffering under this or any other cold, my sincere sympathies are with you.

Conti-mental

I've made a start on "Brigitte", the long-line cardigan from King Cole Wools. The pattern, kit and needles came from my "local yarn store" a.k.a Thimbles.

This is what it's going to look like:



This is what I've got so far:



And this is me knitting continentally*!



If I go quiet over the next few days it's only because I've got the "something" that seems to be going around the world at the moment. Luckily (touch wood) it hasn't developed into a full-blown cold, so at the moment I just have a high temperature, a sore throat and generally feel blech.

*I'm actually knitting using the "combination" method from Annie Modesitt. I'm lazy movement-efficient!

Oh, no it's the happy bunny again!

Yes, the happy bunny is dancing again. This can only mean one thing ... a finished object!



Please excuse the lack of a head - very bad hair day! I'll get an in-the-sunshine shot as soon as the weather cheers up (about the third week in July, probably).

And these are all the ends I was left with (modelling on the book I'm engrossed in at the moment):



I decided on a placket neckline because ... I can't remember why! All the low down is over at the project page on my website (if you are so inclined).

I'm a gnat's whisker away from finishing my Fluted Banister socks, after which I'll get going on the Sprial Stashbusters (the latest sock in the Six Sox Knitalong). I've also started on "Brigitte" - the cardigan-in-the-waiting I got for Christmas.

A plethora of reviews

Firstly, a disclaimer: what follows are my own personal opinions and by no means is a slight on the designers/publications involved. I am highly opinionated. This is the end of the warning!

"Knitting" magazine (March 2005): disappointing. Poor colour choice and slightly ill-fitting garments abound. However, the worst offender is this:




Lurid green - fine. Multicoloured bobbles - fine. Fringing - fine. A lurid green cardigan with multicoloured bobbles and fringing - NO! In order to protect the model's shame, I've done a Crimewatch-style fuzzout of her face.

Vogue Knitting: Winter 2005 - Overall quite good. The bags section (including a knitted "thing" to go over the back wheels of a bicycle - why?) is not to my liking. However, the "West Coast Winter" is just my kind of this. The two pieces I really like are these:



I can see the first one working well in Rowan Wool Cotton or possible All Seasons Cotton.

I also love these funky socks:



Rowan Magazine 37: the 1970s on acid. A few hidden gems, but this, I like:



And finally ... a review of the first yarn I've ever spun.



Luckily, the huge uneveness of the yarn doesn't show through in this photo. Nowadays it's called "slubby" and "designer". I call it inept spinning! Let's just say: "could do better", but not bad for a first fifth effort.

Fix fix fix-along

In today's blog entry: Orangeena*, sock heels and a secret...

In one on those strange twists of fate, just as I finished winding that orange boucle merino yarn into balls, along comes Alison with a February Fix-along! The idea is to grab that knitwear lying at the bottom of the wardrobe and fix it - rip it out, re-do the seams, do whatever is necessary to make it wearable. For me, and Orangeena, that meant getting rid of the cabled fronts and re-making her as a jumper.




Socks are supposed to be quick, easy and portable. Not if I'm doing them, they're not! Three times I had to do that bl**dy heel. First time: I thought I'd done the heel too soon, so out it came and I added a few more rows. Second time: the foot was still too short! Third time: finally got it right. And here it is (taken without flash, indoors, by a window, with cloudy weather outside):





That's my first short row heel, that is. I'm quite proud of it too.

Oh, and I have a secret pal - hello secret pal! I love this bit - the anticipation is brilliant!

Oh, number two: I've finally got my grubby little hands on a copy of Vogue Knitting Winter 04/05. According to my newsagent, there has been a distribution problem with a certain large newsagents. WHo - possibly SMITH?


*Orangeena didn't have a name until this blog came into being. She just had a number. Wendy yarns don't do names. I do.