Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Sunday, 18 November 2007
See you next Tuesday x
Some people may find this hat in bad taste. But I happen to like pom-poms, ok?
Monday, 12 November 2007
This post is edumacational
Been a lazy blogger lately. Went back home to Liverpool for a week and a half and was busy, busy, busy. Although that's no reason why I've only just got around to sorting these pictures out from my trip to Musée d'Orsay in September. I took them in RAW format and forgot about them... anyway, behold:
Knitting Art in Paris by Helen Wilkie
First off, I saw this painting, "Bergère avec son troupeau" (Shepherdess with her flock) by Millet. Click title for full pic. As you will see, she's using DPNs. I didn't even know of their existence until 2005.
Next off, also in the Musée d'Orsay, a statue of a girl... er... spinning? I have no knowledge at all of spinning. And I have no desire too, my patience has already been put to its limits winding up a ball (more to follow).
Next, I saw these murals in the Bastille metro station. Apologies for the photos, I took them on my phone and there were some people sitting right beneath them, wondering what the hell I was doing. They show tricoteuses, and were obviously painted by someone who's never knit.
This ends today's lesson.
I have one lousy FO to post. My second Short Row Hat made with Noro Kureyon. This colourway matches my bag almost perfectly, which thrills me no end.
And now a rant about skeins of yarn, which I've already vented on Ravelry. I have a gorgeous skein of Cherry Tree Hill that Interannette sent me in a swap. I'm absolutely desperate to cast it on to make some socks. Last night I sat down with a loo roll and the second series of Spaced on dvd and started to wind my ball. By the end of the dvd (seven or eight episodes and some extras) I was still left with this:
That's one large, slightly wonky ball of wool, a knot and another little ball of wool where I realised I would have to start untangling from the other end.
That's four hours of my life I'll never get back. Thank god for Simon Pegg, Jessica Stephenson and my insomnia. I could have been up to the heel of the first sock my now!
Seriously though, I'm actually quite annoyed now about the whole practice of selling yarn in skeins. Unless you've got a ball winder and/or swift you've got a long, boring, difficult job on your hands before you can even get down to the knitting. It doesn't make economic sense, in the money or time sense to buy yarn in skeins if you've got to go out any buy more equipment. I feel like it's a bit of an affectation - "I'm so dedicated to knitting I'm prepared to suffer for it". Yarn does look nice in a big twisted hank but it's so impractical. As people on Ravelry pointed out, you pay more for the yarn and then have to wind it yourself, whereas cheapo mass produced stuff comes ready wound. I think we're being had.
Not that I don't love my yarn and have lots of respect for independent yarn producers. Maybe I'd just like to kick up a bit of a stink so traders might start offering the option of ordering yarn pre-wound.
Anyway... once I get past this knot I think a pair of Pomatomus are in order (that's a helluva lot easier to type than to say).
First off, I saw this painting, "Bergère avec son troupeau" (Shepherdess with her flock) by Millet. Click title for full pic. As you will see, she's using DPNs. I didn't even know of their existence until 2005.
Next off, also in the Musée d'Orsay, a statue of a girl... er... spinning? I have no knowledge at all of spinning. And I have no desire too, my patience has already been put to its limits winding up a ball (more to follow).
Next, I saw these murals in the Bastille metro station. Apologies for the photos, I took them on my phone and there were some people sitting right beneath them, wondering what the hell I was doing. They show tricoteuses, and were obviously painted by someone who's never knit.
This ends today's lesson.
I have one lousy FO to post. My second Short Row Hat made with Noro Kureyon. This colourway matches my bag almost perfectly, which thrills me no end.
And now a rant about skeins of yarn, which I've already vented on Ravelry. I have a gorgeous skein of Cherry Tree Hill that Interannette sent me in a swap. I'm absolutely desperate to cast it on to make some socks. Last night I sat down with a loo roll and the second series of Spaced on dvd and started to wind my ball. By the end of the dvd (seven or eight episodes and some extras) I was still left with this:
That's one large, slightly wonky ball of wool, a knot and another little ball of wool where I realised I would have to start untangling from the other end.
That's four hours of my life I'll never get back. Thank god for Simon Pegg, Jessica Stephenson and my insomnia. I could have been up to the heel of the first sock my now!
Seriously though, I'm actually quite annoyed now about the whole practice of selling yarn in skeins. Unless you've got a ball winder and/or swift you've got a long, boring, difficult job on your hands before you can even get down to the knitting. It doesn't make economic sense, in the money or time sense to buy yarn in skeins if you've got to go out any buy more equipment. I feel like it's a bit of an affectation - "I'm so dedicated to knitting I'm prepared to suffer for it". Yarn does look nice in a big twisted hank but it's so impractical. As people on Ravelry pointed out, you pay more for the yarn and then have to wind it yourself, whereas cheapo mass produced stuff comes ready wound. I think we're being had.
Not that I don't love my yarn and have lots of respect for independent yarn producers. Maybe I'd just like to kick up a bit of a stink so traders might start offering the option of ordering yarn pre-wound.
Anyway... once I get past this knot I think a pair of Pomatomus are in order (that's a helluva lot easier to type than to say).
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Ravelry Love
In addition the to fact that it's internet heroin, I'm stuck in the Parisian suburbs (which make Caversham look dull, never thought I'd say that) and totally missing grown up conversation in English. This results in me spending vast amounts of time on Ravelry, in particular the forums.
I'm currently engaged in a very thought-provoking, controversial (but always civilised) debate on religion, feminism, semantics and how they all relate to knitting. There's a born again Christian on there with some ultra-controversial views, but I can't help but like her because; 1. she's super polite and good humoured and 2. she's a knitter, and on Ravelry, and everyone on Ravelry is a cut above the rest of the internet.
It's also quite bizarre to have such a heated discussion amongst people whose avatars are mostly fluffy kittens, babies, and knitted stuffed toys.
Anyway, to the knitting, I'm in a bit of a lull at the moment. I cast on these amazing socks but I'm having a nightmare of a time doing them on 4 dpns. It might be time to try out the 2 x circular needles method. That would be a shame though, seeing as I've just received these magical delights:
DPN protectors from Three Owls Knitting on Etsy.com. My socks will no longer fall apart in my bag! Once again, I have Ravelry to thank for these. I posted a question about how to transport WIPs on DPNs and found out about them from the maker herself.
I also cast on my Flamme Bayadere on some DPNs with the intention of making some sort of mittens, but I'm bored already. It's 100% wool and I'm getting a faint urge to try felting...
My Dashing mitts are finished, and have already been worn around Paris a few times. Taking pictures of both your hands at the same time is a pain in the arse. I used the self timer but because I have to have a fancy DSLR I can't see the view finder in the mirror. Here they are anyway...
I'm currently engaged in a very thought-provoking, controversial (but always civilised) debate on religion, feminism, semantics and how they all relate to knitting. There's a born again Christian on there with some ultra-controversial views, but I can't help but like her because; 1. she's super polite and good humoured and 2. she's a knitter, and on Ravelry, and everyone on Ravelry is a cut above the rest of the internet.
It's also quite bizarre to have such a heated discussion amongst people whose avatars are mostly fluffy kittens, babies, and knitted stuffed toys.
Anyway, to the knitting, I'm in a bit of a lull at the moment. I cast on these amazing socks but I'm having a nightmare of a time doing them on 4 dpns. It might be time to try out the 2 x circular needles method. That would be a shame though, seeing as I've just received these magical delights:
DPN protectors from Three Owls Knitting on Etsy.com. My socks will no longer fall apart in my bag! Once again, I have Ravelry to thank for these. I posted a question about how to transport WIPs on DPNs and found out about them from the maker herself.I also cast on my Flamme Bayadere on some DPNs with the intention of making some sort of mittens, but I'm bored already. It's 100% wool and I'm getting a faint urge to try felting...
My Dashing mitts are finished, and have already been worn around Paris a few times. Taking pictures of both your hands at the same time is a pain in the arse. I used the self timer but because I have to have a fancy DSLR I can't see the view finder in the mirror. Here they are anyway...
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