Eskimimi Knits knitting blog

There are several places that I like to knit. Nestled in my stripey armchair, feet up on the sofa, surrounded by pillows in bed. I like to knit at home, when I’m having a bit of down time, a bit of me time, usually with a good audiobook, or occasionally in front of the TV.

(I’m not the only person with a Monkey knitting helper, either)

I do not feel at all shy or retiring at knitting in public, though. I don’t see it as some kind of culturally subversive act and don’t think there needs to be any big deal or fuss, making a point about ‘getting knitting out there’. I think it’s a perfectly normal thing to do when you have a few minutes whilst waiting for a friend or having a coffee. Or when at the pub with a nice cool Elderflower cider:

But then, I am the kind of person that will lay on my stomach on a damp pavement to get an interesting shot of a half-knit jumper.

I also enjoy knitting on-the-go, but I do suffer from terrible travel sickness if I go by road. If I’m travelling by rail then I’ll whip out my needles as soon as I have settled in a seat, but that brings its own distractions.

There is much speak of the friendliness of the British. Americans often say we are wonderfully polite, whereas we judge each other as miserable grumps. If anyone needs proof of the friendliness of us Brits, come and sit with me on the journey from London to Lancaster, and watch what happens as soon as I take my needles out. Within 30 seconds someone will ask what I am knitting. People always seem keen to find out what I am making and how I learned to knit.

So, basically, I am happy to knit anywhere, home and away, stationary and on the go. If only there were more hours in the day.

Click here to see other blogs tagged with knitcroblo5, blogging about this same topic for Knitting and Crochet Blog week. (May take a few hours to update on Google)

I wrote an entry for today’s theme, ‘a new skill’, this morning. In that post I spoke of my first attempt at intarsia when knitting a blanket square in remembrance of my grandad, and how though I know I could knit intarsia I didn’t feel much enjoyment in it, and how if I could perhaps learn how to be organise each of the little bobbins and strands of yarn so that they did not annoy and frustrate me in their entanglements, I might gain the skill to enjoy this form of knitting. But then, as I sat and ate my lunch and pursued Etsy and eBay, looking for a cheap drop spindle and some fibre as I so often do in quiet moments I realise that actually that is the skill I’d most like to learn, or at least have a go at. Spinning.

I don’t mean with a spinning wheel (though heck yeah!), but something far more low key.

Long, long before I learned to knit I happened to spot the Etsy shop of Snowberry Lime, and I fell in love with her clouds of unusual and beautiful hand-spun yarns. I didn’t know how to knit or crochet and so had no ‘use’ for her beautiful work, but if I had the money I would have bought some of her yarn just to display in jars.

Now I find myself looking at wooden drop spindles and fibre and wondering what it must be like to knit with something you have spun yourself. How satisfying to know that you have taken some fluff and turned it into yarn, and taken that yarn and turned it into an object to wear.

I keep looking at the wooden spindles and wondering if I could cobble something workable together from things around the house, however I don’t think I have anything heavy enough to do the trick.

How wonderful though, to take the creation of your object back one more stage. How far back could yo take the creation process? Dyeing your own fibre and yarn is another option, or you could always go back to the source and become a shepherd…

Click here to see other blogs tagged with knitcroblo4, blogging about this same topic for Knitting and Crochet Blog week. (May take a few hours to update on Google)

During the two years I have been knitting I have met, through the internet, many hundreds of wonderful, wonderful knitters.  Many wonderful bloggers, such as the lovely Mooncalf and good friends in the most Smashingest of Puffins, and crazy wonderful chicks like HarleenQuinzell.

Today, though, I want to talk about someone who I have known from around Ravelry and admired from afar, and who I managed to work up the courage to ask for an interview last week. Thankfully they decided to humoured me and were kind enough to find some time to answer a few questions. I am extremely over the moon to be able to share with you the time and wonderful skills of Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer of Woolly Thoughts design team.

I spotted the works of the Woolly Thoughts team around Ravelry when looking into making a modern, graphic throw or lap blanket, and my search turned up A New Angle.

Not long after this I saw another fantastic afghan printed in UK knitting magazine, The Knitter. The Curve of Pursuit afghan was another highly visual, graphic design and looked to be exactly what I was after. As soon as I found myself near a computer I searched for the pattern on Ravelry, and found that it was by the same fantastic design team. Further investigation showed that these patterns were only the tip of a very substantial iceberg:

Some time after discovering the Wooly Thoughts team, I stumbled across what was to become my favourite project on Ravelry, Benguin’s Cable tube map. This may seem like a non-sequitur, but the extremely talented Benguin is the occasional third member of the Wooly Thoughts team. Clearly an extremely talented bunch of amazing people.

So, please enjoy the interview below and be sure to check out the Woolly Thoughts website at the earliest opportunity.

Click here to read the full interview [...]

One of the first patterns I truly loved was Sharon Emery’s October is for Spinners scarf. It isn’t because the design is fashionable or likely to become one of my wardrobe staples, but the forming and execution of a concept is wonderfully realised in this piece of knitting art.

From the Ravelry Pattern page:

Arachne, the original spinner, is portrayed here in a twisted stitch pattern from Barbara Walker’s Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns. The scarf begins on size 6 US needles using four stands of lace weight yarn held together. While the scarf progresses threads are dropped and the needle size is increased as the consistency of our spinner’s web is interrupted by neglect and disrepair.

The spider’s web becomes less consistent and the uniform quality degrades with tiredness and age, ending in a disorganised and unpredictable texture, reminding us of the powerful forces of age and decay. But I also like to look at it another way, literally. Viewing it from the other end the scarf could also represent the learning curve of a knitter. The first, disarrayed stitches, incomplete, dropped loops, slowly finding consistency and uniformity through practice and refinement.

As a piece of art, though, I like the original sentiment, perhaps along with the belief that you need to learn something, master it, before you can deconstruct and un-learn it in a meaningful way. The free-form scribbled figures of great artists do not come without years of meticulous observation of their subject and perfecting life study portraits, and so perhaps with this pattern. I don’t think I could knit this scarf without a considerable bit of experience and confidence behind me, and perhaps I am approaching that stage now.

Sharon Emery’s wonderful pattern October is for Spinners, is available as a free download from Hanks Yarn. There is also a group for a perpetual October is For Spinners KAL on Ravelry for anyone wanting to read up on the pattern and other’s experiences and work-arounds.

All pictures used with kind permission from the pattern designer, Sharon Emery.  Find her here on Ravelry.

Click here to see other blogs tagged with knitcroblo2, blogging about this same topic for Knitting and Crochet Blog week. (May take a few hours to update on Google)

There was no great lead up to my first steps in learning to knit. I do not come from a lineage that revels in a long-standing tradition of knitting. My grandmother’s grandmother was not churning out traditional ganseys as fast as her spindly little fingers could work. My grandfather’s father did not knit beautiful and time consuming works of art whilst bobbing around on the deck of a storm-ridden ship. I am, however, quite crafty (in the sense that I am quite good with my hands, not good at being underhanded…)

I always enjoyed making and creating things, and putting the stamp of my personality onto all of the things that sprung half-formed to my mind.

But knitting was not a craft I had been taught at childhood. With no family tradition being passed down to me and not knowing of anybody who could teach me, I learned from books. I should point out that I didn’t set out to teach myself to knit in any meaningful way. I happened to be wandering through a discount book store one day when my other half pointed and exclaimed ‘I love Knitting’. This was news to me. I’d known him for well over ten years at this point and he had never expressed even a mild interest in the hobby before, let alone a love for the craft.

As I muttered with some surprise and made to move on from the isle we were wandering along I noticed his outstretched arm and the extended finger, then what it was gesturing towards. There, on the shelf, was a copy of I Love Knitting for the bargain basement price of 99p. I did point out to Craig that I didn’t particularly love knitting, never having learned, but at 99p it would seem rude not to make the purchase.

I should say at this point that I love Knitting is not a book I would particularly recommend to anyone wanting to learn to knit from a book. Stitch n’ Bitch handles the job of description and clear diagrammatics far better than my first book, and it was the one that I soon moved on to once I got the ‘feel’ for my new hobby.

So far I have made a minimal attempt to spread the craft. I taught a friend visiting from London at her request, and finally gave in to my sister’s bothersome protests to buy her needles, yarn and a book and teach her how to knit (something she got bored of almost the exact moment she learned that she could not knit a whole wardrobe in an afternoon).

My next hope is that Craig will let me teach him to knit one day. I have offered several times and he always says he’ll give it a go, but ‘not right now’. I think I am slowly cottoning on to this tactic…

Click here to see other blogs tagged with knitcroblo1, blogging about this same topic for Knitting and Crochet Blog week. (May take a few hours to update on Google)

I’m currently preparing for Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, which starts in a few days, running between April 26th – May 2nd.  There have been lists to organise and graphics to make, ideas to clarify and ideas and systems to implement, so here’s a quick catch-up on what’s happening, for those who have arrived looking for information. For French-speakers looking for further details, please see here

What is Knitting and Crochet Blog Week?

This is a week of blogging for knitters and crocheters, where individual bloggers will all simultaneously post about the same topics over the course of seven days, so that for one week readers might be able to read from blog to blog and enjoy a community of bloggers all talking about elements of their craft in their own unique way.

When is it happening?

The Knitting and Crochet Blog Week will run from Monday 26th April – 2nd May 2010.  This will be the first Knitting and Crochet Blog Week – if it is a success and people enjoy it there will hopefully be more in the future.

How do I take part?

It’s quite simple. Every day between 26th April – 2nd May 2010 there will be a blogging topic (relating to knitting and crochet) asking for your experiences, opinions and hopes on various aspects of your hobby.  One topic and a short explanation is provided for each day, plus a ‘wildcard’ topic in case you just don’t fancy one of the blogging topics for any particular day. The entire list of 8 topics (seven daily topics +1 wildcard) are listed here.  Use these topics and brief descriptions as a springboard for your posts and take them in whatever direction you fancy.

OAQ

Occasionally asked questions.

Tagging System

Knitting and Crochet Blogging week is gong to attempt to use google to implement a tagging system.  Each of the 8 topics (7 daily topics and one wildcard) has a code, starting with ‘knitcroblo’ and then a number 1-7 or ‘wc’ (for wild card) at the end.  If you use the appropriate tag in each of your blog posts during Blog week (or add them at the end of your blog post) then Googling those terms will bring up a list of blog posts for that same topic, from all blogs taking part.

Graphics

There are a few graphics below, free for use by anyone who wants to put them on their blog.  There is a banner a well as three sizes of badges featuring knitting needles and crochet hooks.  There is no requirement to use them, but they are there if anyone fancies them.

Is there still time for me to join?

Absolutely. Knitting and Crochet Blog week is not meant to be some huge commitment. It’s about Bloggers feeling comfortable with blogging – giving a little bit of a jump start and oiling the blogging mechanism with some interesting topics and a bit of inspiration. if you don’t manage to post every day, no problem, at least you tried. Your blog posts can be as long and detailed, or as short and whimsical as you want them to be. There aren’t any rules, just a few ideas (such as daily topics and a tagging system) to make this a community event. We only hope that you enjoy it. Nothing more is expected of you

And as for Eskimimi?

Well, my plan to get a few pictures taken well in advance for some of the topics hasn’t happened yet – I shall hope to set myself to that task at the weekend. I have a few ideas forming as to what to post for each topic, but haven’t committed anything to paper or blog post yet, but I am really really looking forward to both writing and reading the posts next week.

I’ll finish off with a sheepy smiliey:

This post has been updated – Please see end of post for a new FAQ and suggested tagging system.

A couple of weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to try and organise a week of blogging for knitters and crocheters, where individual bloggers could all simultaneously post about the same topics over the course of seven days, so that for one week readers might be able to read from blog to blog and enjoy a community of bloggers all talking about elements of their craft in their own unique way.

So, after a conversation with some of the members of Ravelry’s Blog Hub group I have been working away on how the week will run. So, hoping that you might be interested, here are a few details:

The Knitting and Crochet Blog Week will run from Monday 26th April – 2nd May 2010.

OK, that’s the date out of the way. I thought that was probably important.

How do you take part? It’s quite simple. Every day between 26th April – 2nd May 2010 there will be a blogging topic (relating to knitting and crochet) asking for your experiences, opinions and hopes on various aspects of your hobby, one topic and a short explanation is provided for each day, plus a ‘wildcard’ topic in case you just don’t fancy one of the blogging topics for any particular day. The entire list of 8 topics (seven daily topics +1 wildcard) are listed below. They are hidden in case any blogger happens to want the topics as a surprise, day by day, but I have published them early as I know that knitters and crocheters are often an organised lot, and might want to get photographs, etc, taken in advance. For explanations of tagging codes, please see the bottom of this post. OK, here are the topics (click any topic to expand):

Day One – Monday 26th April 2010 (show) »

Starting Out

How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda? TAGGING CODE: knitcroblo1

Day Two – Tuesday 27th April 2010 (show) »

Day Three – Wednesday 28th April 2010 (show) »

Day Four – Thursday 29th April 2010 (show) »

Day Five – Friday 30th April 2010 (show) »

Day Six – Saturday 1st May 2010 (show) »

Day Seven – Sunday 2nd May 2010 (show) »

Wildcard Topic (show) »

Use these topics and brief descriptions as a springboard for your posts and take them in whatever direction you fancy. If you are a Ravelry member and fancy chatting about what others are going to do to take part, then feel free to pop along and find out what other folks are up to, or if you have any comments or questions please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below and I will be sure to get back to you ASAP.

If you’d like to spread the word, please do feel free to blog about Knitting and Crochet Blog Week on your own blog, and feel free to use the banner at the top of the post if you’d like to.

Frequently Asked Questions

An FAQ can be found here. (Disclaimer – some questions are not that frequently asked. Maybe it is more of an OAQ – Occasionally Asked Questions).

Suggested tagging System

People have been asking if it would be possible to compile a list of every person taking part. Whilst I will do my best to find as many as possible, it is quite difficult for reasons explained in the FAQ, therefore I have had an idea for a tagging system to use in posts. Most blogs allow you to add ‘tags’ to posts. If we use these to insert a google-able tag in, then once all of the entries have been crawled by the search engines it should allow people to type that unique code into google and find the entries posted for that topic. If a blogger doesn’t wish to use the ‘tags’ feature of their blog they could alternatively add the code to the end of their post – it will still be found by Google.
For the tagging system to work the code has to be something not already in google (ie, not a recognisable ‘word’, therefore I suggest we use the following format:
Day One: knitcroblo1
Day Two: knitcroblo2
Day Three knitcroblo3 etc
Wildcard: knitcroblowc

I have always been a very singular knitter, enjoying too much the sense of achievement at finishing and showing off my latest knit to the world to delay it by casting on for something else before I had finished.  I was too eager to wear my latest hat/socks/scarf to even think about not getting that one project finished before moving onto my next, but lately circumstances have conspired against me to ensure that isn’t so.  What is most surprising is that I’m enjoying it.

1. Sleepy Hollow Socks. These hit a rather fundamental stumbling block when I managed to lose my entire set of beloved KnitPro nova metal sock DPNs when I was last in London.  No needles, no knitting.  One sock.  Soon to be remedied by the recent arrival of a replacement DPN set which I promise to love and cherish and never let out of my sight.
2. My first jumper. This project was only delayed for a while as pesky life got in the way.  It was the project I was halfway through when things conspired against me so that I couldn’t knit for a month or so.  The front and back of the body sections are done, and one sleeve is near completion, but I think I may unravel that sleeve and knit both sleeves at the same time whilst modifying them so that they are a bit longer.  Then comes the fun bit – the lace yoke – the bit I am really looking forward to.
3. Crocheted hexagon cushion. A project started during a quiet day last weekend when I suddenly had the urge to give crochet a go.  A nice ‘no-thinking required’ project for quiet moments watching the TV, I think I shall work on this tonight during the political extravaganza that is the Leader’s Debate, followed by Question Time, followed by This week.  The cushion cover looks lovely from the outside but if anyone wants to volunteer to weave in the 100 or so ends floating around inside, raise your hand.
4. Nan’s jumper. I’ve not been knitting this project for long and did cast it on with a nod to my newly polygamous status, as I don’t know if I’d be able to handle all of that 2×2 ribbing all in one stretch.  Still, the first sleeve is complete and has had a test block to make sure that the blocking will ‘work’ with this yarn (it does) and the second sleeve is half-way to completion.