It's now apparently October, it's very definitely autumn here in the UK. 2020 has been, and continues to be, in the words of the late, great Terry Pratchet; "Interesting Times". We're no longer in lockdown due to Covid 19, but life certainly isn't back to normal, and as the weather in the Northern hemisphere rapidly turns colder, kids have gone back to school, adults have gone back to work, and idiots have gone back out on the town full of alcohol and not wearing a mask, the infection rate has once again begun to climb. Masks have become the latest "Must Have" fashion accessory, except that if you don't wear one the consequences are somewhat more severe than being mocked for not being on trend.
Two of the worst Premier's in the world - Donald Trump, and Boris Johnson, have both become infected with the virus, and spent time in hospital because of it. In both cases this happened shortly after a gathering of the countries' various representatives where social distancing wasn't observed, and masks weren't worn. Neither seem to have learned anything from the experience, and continue to encourage others to risk their lives in order to prop up the economy. Trump is still infectious, yet he is refusing to conduct the current round of pre-election presidential debates virtually, in order to safeguard others involved.
*sigh*
None of this has anything to do with knitting, or even explains why I've been absent from updating for so long, but just in case anyone is reading this in the future, it serves as a reminder that nothing is "normal" right now!
So, why have I been quiet for the last 4 months?
Ravelry
Ravelry is the main answer to that question.
Earlier this year Ravelry went live with a complete overhaul of the entire site. They had "tested" the new look on just a handful of users, and hadn't actually acted on any of the responses that they'd received. The new look included animations, and high contrast. In a significant number of people it caused eyestrain, headaches, migraines, and even in a few cases, seizures. Reports poured in of how people had become ill for days by using the new site for just minutes. I found that I struggled to read anything on the new site, the letters seemed to be vibrating on the screen, and in less than 5 minutes I'd developed an eyestrain headache. I also learned that the new site could not be read by the majority of text-to-voice translators used by people who are visually impaired.
Ravelry, my dear, beloved Ravelry, that I've loved so much for their stance on inclusivity, diversity, and preventing hate speech, reacted by making a few minor changes to the animations, then ignoring everything. Every new thread on the subject was shut down, and nothing was heard from the team for weeks. When we did finally get a response, it was from Cassidy herself, Founder of Ravelry, and what she said left those of us who had suffered these ill effects, and been left unable to use the site disgusted, disappointed, and angry. She said that anyone claiming to get ill from using the site was lying for their own purposes, and there was nothing at all wrong with it.
At that point, I left Ravelry. I didn't delete my account, as I hoped that at some point in the future things would improve, and accessibility issues would be addressed seriously. If I'm honest, I didn't expect to be back for months, maybe years. I started finding new ways to catalogue my stash, my projects, and communicate with other knitters. I have been disbelieved and ignored enough by doctors, friends, family, and the DWP regarding my illnesses and disabilities over the last decade. There was no way I was putting up with it in my hobby too.
At that point, I left Ravelry. I didn't delete my account, as I hoped that at some point in the future things would improve, and accessibility issues would be addressed seriously. If I'm honest, I didn't expect to be back for months, maybe years. I started finding new ways to catalogue my stash, my projects, and communicate with other knitters. I have been disbelieved and ignored enough by doctors, friends, family, and the DWP regarding my illnesses and disabilities over the last decade. There was no way I was putting up with it in my hobby too.
I found preparing to write a blog without access to all of my notes on Ravelry was almost impossible though. I just didn't even know where to start. Plus I was so angry, and disappointed, that an organisation that prides itself on being inclusive should so blatantly exclude people with sight and neurological issues.
My decision to leave was reinforced soon after when the team put out a statement in response to what Cassidy had said, and in it they effectively used her as their scapegoat for all of their poor decisions in the last 2 months, despite the fact that it was clear that Cassidy was herself very ill due to the stress of the situation. I thought that if they can't even treat health issues with compassion and respect in one of their own, what chance do the rest of us have?
However, I'm pleased to say that a few weeks ago I was proven wrong. First, the team made a commitment to make changes, and to keep everyone updated via the Ravelry Blog, so that nobody need expose themselves to harmful graphics in order to keep up to date. Then, they actually invited many of those who had been affected, plus a number of specialists in online accessibility, to be involved in larger scale testing of new options to make the new site more accessible. Finally, a new viewing mode was released with lower contrast, and no animations. I decided to try it out, and although I still find it a little jarring, it no longer gives me headaches!
So I can now once again access all of the years of data that I have stored on Ravelry, and I am reassured that they are taking accessibility seriously by the people they have invited to be involved, and how quickly they came up with a useable solution once they actually started to work on it.
Best of all, this means I can now finally update my blog again without it taking a week to do all of the prep! Although it also means that you're getting 4 months of everything all at once...
FO's
There's quite a few of these, including some I'm especially proud of!
Remember these? First cast on over 4 years ago for a my friend Dave, in June this year I finally finished the Larpy Leg Wraps! 3.5m each of cotton stockinette and i-cord. Of course, Live Action Role Play is one of the many activities that are considered too risky to be allowed during this year of plague, so even if Dave were still playing the same character, he wouldn't need these right now. I'm hoping that he will be able to make use of them next year though.
No pattern, but the yarn used was King Cole Giza, in the colourway "Grey".
I think I was working on these last time that I did an update. Lovely simple socks for Stephen. They were intended to go with new dog walking boots, but The Virus has made shopping difficult, and Stephen is a nightmare when attempting to purchase footwear, so he still hasn't managed to get these fabled sturdy dog walking boots. Instead he settled for ordering an identical pair of trainers to the tatty old ones that he already had on the internet.
My standard sock pattern, and the yarn is Stylecraft Head Over Heels in the colourway "Snowdon".
This is Brian the Penguin. He is made of amigurimi crochet. I am incredibly proud of him, because I don't consider myself to be an accomplished crocheter, yet he turned out perfectly, and I followed a pattern to make him and everything!
Lisa, of Made by Penguins, was considering making up little kits that include everything necessary to make your very own Brian, so she wanted to check how much yarn is used on average. She asked as many people as possible, of differing skill levels, to make their own Brian, and let her know exactly how much yarn they used.
Pattern is Brian the MBP Penguin by Alexa Templeton.
The main yarn is merino DK by Made By Penguins, in the colourway "Lust". The body is Rico Design Essentials Merino DK, in "Off White", and the beak and feet are in SMC Extra Soft Merino, colourway "Mustard".
I don't often get my legs out in public, because Lipoedema isn't pretty to look at. However, I'm slowly learning that it's also not something to be ashamed of, and when the weather was really hot this summer, I didn't really want to be wearing full length trousers. I have to wear socks with my dog walking trainers, but my usual length of socks isn't especially flattering. So I decided to make a few pairs of trainer socks. These were my first.
Pattern is Rose City Rollers, by Mara Catherine Bryner.
Yarn is Crazy Zauberball, in the colourway "Fliederduft".
For absolute ages I've been admiring a sweater on Kunbi's Instagram page. This summer she asked for people to test knit it. Of course I jumped at the opportunity!
It's a beautifully simple construction, with different shaping options according to your body shape. I made the curviest option, and I absolutely love how it fits! The main design points of this sweater are the long, belled sleeves, and the v-front and back. I can see me wearing this a lot this winter!
The yarn is Caroline DK by Third Vault Yarns, in the colourway "Death" (Inspired by the Sandman comics).
The pattern is Ireti Sweater by Kunbi Ayo-Okanlawon (Due to be released Autumn/Winter 2020)
During the period of time that I couldn't use Ravelry, I spent more time on Everyday Knitter, because being able to socialise is difficult enough when your body is utterly unreliable, and you live miles from your nearest friend, even more difficult in the middle of a global pandemic, and immeasurably more difficult when on top of these things your favourite social media platform is inaccessible to you.
Everyday Knitter has fairly recently moved from being a Facebook group, and to celebrate moving to their new home, they decided to run their first KAL, which was this shawl.
The pattern is Fuss Free Festival Shawl, by Louise Tilbrook.
The yarn is Marvellous High Twist by Ring-a-Rosie, in a One-of-a-kind bright, summery colourway.
This is my second pair of trainer socks made this summer.
The pattern is the same as the earlier pair, but this time the yarn is King Cole Zigzag in the colourway "Smokey".
My deepest apologies for this assault upon your occipital lobe.
This was a commission. Yes, somebody deliberately asked me to make the ugliest tank top that I could manage for them to wear, and no, it's not fancy dress!
It's something to do with the fandom of The Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican. As you will see if you follow that link, hideous tank tops seem to be a bit of a thing for them and their fans!
I'm pleased to say that the recipient was overjoyed with my efforts, and I was deeply touched by the fact that she gave me flowers, and chocolate, and gin as a thank you for making this for her!
The yarn is a random selection of various acrylic DK yarns, most provided by the lady I made this for, but also some from the darkest depths of my stash.
The pattern is The Doonicans Official #Eye-Candy approved hand-Knitted Tank-Top, which is available free from the merch page of their website.
Shetland Wool Week is one of the many things that has had to be effectively cancelled this year because of The Virus, but many of the associated rituals and merchandise have still happened, and hopefully will have helped to raise enough money to ensure that next year's event still happens. Several of the talks and tours still happened online too, which I think is great for anyone who would never expect to be able to get to Shetland.
The pattern for this hat is Katie's Kep, by Wilma Malcolmson.
The yarn is Artesano Definition, in the colourway "Night" for the main colour, and a selection of mini-skeins by Made by Penguins for the colourwork.
WIPs
I've been pretty good this summer at sticking to 2 or 3 main WIPs, with at least one of them being an old project that I've dug out to finally finish.
This is a blanket that I cast on 3 years ago for my youngest niece. It was relegated to the naughty pile some time ago, when I managed to sew a square in the wrong order. When I sew something, it does not easily come un-sewn. I'm now working on sewing together all of the squares that I've already knitted together, before I start knitting the remaining squares. I'm hoping that this will get me re-enthused about this project, because I absolutely hate sewing up, so getting as much of it done now as possible, then making a point of doing the rest as I go along, should make this a much more enjoyable knit. Plus, it will help me to remember which size and colour of squares I still need to make, which as of right now I've totally lost track of.
The fact is, if this wasn't for my niece, I would have frogged it long ago, but I love her so much that I'm willing to put myself through this to be sure that she gets something truly unique.
The fact is, if this wasn't for my niece, I would have frogged it long ago, but I love her so much that I'm willing to put myself through this to be sure that she gets something truly unique.
There is no pattern, it's just lots of different sized squares knit in basket stitch.
The yarn is Rico Design Baby So Soft DK, in the colourways 001. 007, and 015.
When I have multiple projects on the go, which let's face it, is basically always, usually one of them is simple TV knitting, one is easily portable, one is a hard slog/complicated, and one is selfish.
This is my current TV knitting project, and it's another pair of socks for Stephen. If the weather keeps getting worse as winter approaches, he's going to have to bite the bullet, and go shopping for those sturdy boots. The more decent winter socks he has for then, the better. Also, hand knit socks don't dig into his ankles the way that store bought socks do when his medications make them swell up.
These are my usual sock pattern, and the yarn is Woolcraft Superwash Sock, in the colourway 1517.
I first cast this on 7 years ago. Yes, you read that right, it's not a typo, it's been 7 years since I first attempted to make this yarn become this pattern.
I've frogged it 3 times. That's my limit. If I have to rip back more than 3 times, I decide that this yarn and pattern combo was not meant to be, and I don't cast back on.
Fortunately, this time I seem to have managed to resolve all of my issues, and I'm almost finished cable chart B, so I think I've finally cracked it, and I should have this finished by my next update, eve if I actually manage to update in November, like I'm supposed to! I picked this up to be part of my WIP-down, but now I'm calling this my indulgent, selfish project.
The pattern is Kyna, by Lucy Hague.
The yarn is Fyberspates Vivacious 4-ply in the colourway "Forest".
Finally, this is my portable project. The entire project isn't even remotely portable, as it now consists of about 40 crocheted squares, but it's very easy just to put a couple of scraps of DK left over from recent projects into a bag, with a crochet hook, then whenever you've got a bit of time to fill, just start making squares.
I'm using a combination of leftover yarn, and single balls of DK bought while on holiday in various places, with the idea that when I finally join all of the squares together into a giant blanket, each square will be a memory of a place, or a project.
These squares are using Stylecraft Special DK left over from weaving a cushion cover.
Stash Enhancement
In order to make this easier for me, these are grouped by dyer, and not at all listed in purchase order!
Made by Penguins
June Emperor Penguin club - Crested Pigeon
July Emperor Penguin club - Budgie
August Emperor Penguin club - Mandarin Duck
September Little Penguin club - Galah
So this summer I finally officially moved in with Stephen. We always thought that if we lived together we would end up killing each other, as we both frequently need out own space. This is why we decided to rearrange his house to include a yarn cave for me, and a man cave for him before I moved in permanently. We now both have somewhere to hide if we feel the need.
Why am I telling you this here you may ask? Well, the down side of moving in with Stephen is that regardless of how separate we actually keep our finances, as my partner, it is assumed by our government that he will automatically take on the responsibility of paying for my upkeep, as I am unable to maintain paid employment due to my collection of illnesses and disabilities. So as soon as I informed the department of work and pensions of my change of address, they stopped paying me the majority of my disability benefits.
This means that I can no longer afford to spend as much on my hobbies as I have been doing, and I've had to reduce my one remaining monthly yarn subscription to the smallest possible, which is the Little Penguin.
Why am I telling you this here you may ask? Well, the down side of moving in with Stephen is that regardless of how separate we actually keep our finances, as my partner, it is assumed by our government that he will automatically take on the responsibility of paying for my upkeep, as I am unable to maintain paid employment due to my collection of illnesses and disabilities. So as soon as I informed the department of work and pensions of my change of address, they stopped paying me the majority of my disability benefits.
This means that I can no longer afford to spend as much on my hobbies as I have been doing, and I've had to reduce my one remaining monthly yarn subscription to the smallest possible, which is the Little Penguin.
October Little Penguin club - Traditional Lovebirds
Made by Penguins rainbow yarn, crochet hooks, and blue sparkly Jesse Penguin pin badge.
Usually there are a number of yarn festivals that I would attend during the year. Wool Monty, and Woolness during the summer, then Bakewell Wool Gathering, and Nottingham Yarn Expo in the autumn. I save a little each month to be sure that I can splurge a bit at these festivals. Obviously, this year, none of the festivals have happened. So I've allocated myself a couple of online purchases for each of the summer festivals, and a single online purchase for each of the autumn festivals. This is what I bought to make up for missing Wool Monty, although I also got some yarn that I had pre-ordered to pick up while there. I think I showed that to you last time.
Mothy and the Squid
Regardless of the state of my finances, or how sensible it is for me to do so, when I'm stressed and/or miserable, I browse instagram looking for things I can comfort shop. Sooner or later my meagre savings will run out and I'll not be able to do this any more, but until then I continue to build my stash so that it will keep me going for years to come.
That's exactly what happened here. Jillian was offering a free sparkly mini-skein with any order over a certain value, and I thought that a few more mini's for my mitred squares blanket would be nice.
That's exactly what happened here. Jillian was offering a free sparkly mini-skein with any order over a certain value, and I thought that a few more mini's for my mitred squares blanket would be nice.
What I forgot when making that last order is that Jillian was also running a giveaway that weekend. I hadn't entered on instagram, but placing an order also gave you an entry. So I was very surprised to see my name pop up on Instagram the next week saying that I'd won these 4 skeins! The 2 on the right could have been made to go together, so I think they will be used in the same project.
"Spend £x to qualify for free postage" has a lot to answer for!
Also, little drawstring pouches.
I had intended on dialling back my usual Advent marathon this year. I think it got a bit out of control last year. So having already ordered a yarn advent calendar, I wasn't intending on buying another. Then Jillian offered this one, with each yarn packaged in it's own little drawstring bag, and a choice of 20g or 10g mini-skeins. I loved the idea so much that I immediately ordered one. Then added some left-over easter egg yarns, and a couple of mini-skeins to my order so that I would qualify for free postage. I also qualified for a few free 10g mini-skeins with this order, I only chose 2 though.
Ring-a-Rosie
I don't know if it was because of lockdown, or if it was something she was already working on, but earlier this year Barbara launched the Ring-a-Rosie website, exclusively to sell her own hand-dyed yarn. That could only be a dangerous thing for my bank account!
These were so beautifully packed! Everything was wrapped in tissue paper, and sprinkled with dried rose petals!
How much is this my colours? Barbara posted this colourway online, and I loved it so much, but I wasn't going to be up north for weeks! So Barbara agreed to keep it for me until I could go up. I'm trying to buy larger quantities so that I can use them to make actual garments. I may even actually have a plan for this yarn, which is basically unheard of!
I think I'm going to use these 3 skeins together with the 3 in the picture above. I keep telling myself that I'm supporting my friend's businesses by buying more yarn. I'm totally doing that, right?
Third Vault Yarns
I've only just discovered Lola this year, and I am utterly besotted with her work! She's such a giant geek, and that totally comes through in her dying.
This is what happened the very first time that I went to look at the Third Vault Yarns site. Things just started falling into my basket because they were so beautiful, and had such great names! These are called "Trine", "Lachesis", and "Mycelium". Also, check out that cute little dragon sticker that was on the packaging!
I'm really sorry, this is a terrible photo! I was hoping that the shaft of natural daylight would make all of the colours show that are hidden away in what looks at first to be a dark grey yarn. Instead I made lots of shadows that confuse the matter. But I couldn't take a second shot at the photo, because within minutes of taking it I'd started winding the skeins into cakes!
This was because I ordered this yarn to be dyed especially for the Ireti sweater test knit, and I wanted to get started on it right away to give myself as much time as possible to make sure that I could finish it on time.
The reason I had to order more yarn, despite clearly owning a lot of yarn, is that nearly all of my yarn is 4-ply, but this sweater is knit in DK. I definitely didn't have a sweater quantity of DK yarn worthy of a sweater that lovely!
Other orders
These are in rough chronological order... I think...
I, err, needed some new sock needles, because Finn has taken to stealing my project bags and carrying them about in his mouth, which a couple of times now has resulted in very thin wooden needles becoming very thin broken wooden needles.
Not sure how there ended up being yarn in that parcel, except that I have no self control, and Tangled Yarn has some lovely yarns. Again, the photo isn't great, but I will insist on buying dark coloured yarns with really subtle tonal variations. The Fyberspates yarn is shades of purple, and the Skein Queen yarn is deep blue with a beautiful sheen.
The colours! They are so pretty! Surely they will cheer me up!
Yeah, you get the idea.
These are from Yarny Love.
Having realised that I needed to order a sweater quantity of DK in order to knit Ireti, and that winter would be here soon, I thought it might be worth having another sweater quantity of DK in stock, as it were. At the same time as I was thinking this, It's a Stitch Up dyed up their Social Justice Warrior colourway, "Grey Area", on DK. I love this colourway so much!
The colourway on the left is called Verdigris, and is a very popular colourway by Black Elephant. The colourway on the right is the moody version of the summer club. I had no idea what it would look like when I ordered both of these yarns, but as you can see, they go together perfectly! So now I have to use them together.
Finally, Eleanor of Knit Nottingham shared a collection of Opal sock yarns that she had in stock. Usually I would have gone to the shop for the birthday party in September, but of course lots of tipsy yarnies in a little shop was definitely out of the question this year. The yarns that I prefer tend to be the ones that sell out so fast that they never make it onto the website, even now that the shop itself is only partially open (You can go to the door and buy yarn, but you can't go in and fondle the yarn, for reasons that should be obvious.) So I took my opportunity to ask if I could buy some of the Opal yarn, while genuinely feeling relieved at finally getting a chance to support this particular business.
Knitting Adjacent
Thankfully, the 2 most enormous sections are now finished! The following sections will be shorter, I promise!
This section is all things that I've acquired that are in some way connected to my knitting, but are not yarn.
I wish I could remember who it was on instagram that shared these badges, but sadly I can't :( I saw them and knew I had to have one though. Knitting is definitely one of the main things that has kept me sane through all that 2020 has had to throw at us, and most especially lockdown. I bought it at Erisapple, who currently have a bunch of really cute Halloween designs available.
In my last update I told you about the Yarn Beaver by Yarnistry. Basically it's a fun evening online, and a chance to win some great yarny prizes, plus guaranteed stitch markers for every entry. This particular beaver was inspired by women who should have got a Nobel prize for their work, but for some reason or other did not.
I was exceptionally pleased with the markers that I got, as this set were inspired by Rosalind Franklin, the x-ray crystallographer most famous for discovering the double helix structure of DNA. My degree is in Biochemistry and Genetics, and my interest in this subject was begun by reading the account of determining the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick. They are the names that most people know. Far fewer know of the importance of Rosalind Franklin's contribution.
Dunderknit, of the Knitting Vicariously podcast, was the first person to introduce me to Mahliqua. I am utterly in love with the combination of knitting, crochet, yarn, wire, and crystals that makes up these stunningly beautiful pieces of jewellery.
I don't often attend events that require such intricate adornment these days, nor could I afford most of my favourite pieces anyway, but if I did, and I could, I would own an awful lot of this very talented lady's work!
For now, I've settled for this beautiful pair of earrings, that I wore on my birthday this year. I fell even more in love when my earrings arrived with a sachet of earl grey tea!
Hopefully the picture on this project bag and badge looks at least a little bit familiar?
Even though Shetland Wool Week couldn't happen, some of the merchandise was produced anyway, and sold in the form of "supporter packs". This was a way of being able to keep the event funded for next year.
I'm still hoping that at some point in the future I might be able to get back up to Shetland for Wool Week, and to spend a bit of time with the Out-Laws, but in the mean time, I'll settle for spending a bit of my money in a way that should benefit the islands.
I am so grateful for this t-shirt. I was having a physical flop, lying in bed, feeling sorry for myself, but also fully aware that this time I can't comfort shop to cheer myself up, because I've just not got enough money left to do so.
Yes, I am fully aware that I've done this to myself, and yes, I'm also fully aware than I am enormously privileged to have everything that I do have. I'm still allowed to feel sorry for myself when my body is being useless.
Mykie of Skeinhead took pity on me, and sent me this t-shirt to cheer me up!
Jane Austen reimagined as a fibre-crafting punk! I love it!
Finn
Are you ready for more photos of the cutest pup in the world?
Of course you are!
Finn loves his mummy! He gives me kisses!
Finn is clever (where food is concerned anyway). Here he is picking his own blackberries!
Finn likes a routine. Part of his routine is that after dinner at night, Stephen takes him for a walk around the village, when they get home, Finn gets his stick (it's a sort of edible doggy toothbrush), and soon after that, Stephen goes to get ready for bed, and depending on what he's got to do before actually going to bed, Finn and I get 10-30 minutes of sofa time before I go to get ready for bed, then Finn and I go and snuggle up to Stephen in bed.
This particular night Stephen wasn't getting off the sofa and making space for Finn according to schedule. So Finn wriggled into this spot and started to slowly push Stephen off the sofa instead!
Penguins!
I'm really sorry if you've slogged through the rest of this in order to get to this bit, but there aren't many penguins this time. It's been summer! I can guarantee that numbers will pick up over the next couple of months! If you've been paying attention, you will have spotted a couple of penguins earlier on though!
Penguin Corner had a bit of a sale, which I noticed when I went to buy the bag in the next photo. I already have a little dish next to my sofa nest that I keep yarn needles, a tape measure, stitch markers, and such like in. I needed something similar for my yarn cave nest, and now I have it! I also have a wooden penguin tape measure, and a teeny tiny notebook, useful for recording which row of a lace chart I'm on or similar.
My penguin suitcase is great when I'm travelling by train, but now that I'm mostly travelling by car, I need something a bit more versatile to be my weekend bag. This backpack is perfect! It's big enough to fit in 3 days worth of clothes and toiletries, and it has loads of little pockets for putting in useful little things like a pen, hand sanitizer, a portable phone battery, etc.
I have the best friends in the whole world! This is what our friends Jo and Ian left on our doorstep the weekend of my birthday! They were very tasty!
I was looking for a journal, and this looked online as though it might fit the bill. Then when it arrived it became clear that this is meant to be a photo album/scrapbook. It's much too big to be a journal, and the pages are thick, black card instead of paper.
Obviously I've kept it anyway, and filled it with photos. Mostly photo's of Finn.
So that's it my dears. It's nearly 1am, and this has taken 2 days to write, but I am now up to date. So sweet dreams everyone, speak to you again in a month or so.
