Monthly Archives: October 2016

In which I get whisked off to Llandudno and have a wooly adventure

Posted on by
6

I’ve been doing a lot of teaching lately, including most weekends.  A week ago Saturday, I arrived back home in the evening after a very long stint of teaching, including the preceding two weekends and all day Saturday.  I was shattered and looking forward to collapsing in a puddle on the couch.  My plan was to vegetate for a day or two, maybe three.  Shortly after I walked in the door, Doug says, too casually, “How tired are you, Kelly?”

There is a story involved here, but the short of it is, that Doug had just discovered he had his dates wrong for a conference and was supposed to be in Wales at 8:00 the next morning.   To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I even knew he had plans to go to Wales at all, much less that he was thinking of dragging me along.  Before I could blink, I found myself throwing some things in a suitcase, piling in the car, and driving to Llandudno, in the north of Wales.  We arrived after midnight in the pitch dark.  The next morning, Doug gets up at the crack of dawn and heads off to the conference. (I ask you, what kind of conference begins at 8am on a Sunday???)  I wake up a few hours later, walk over to the windows, and – wow! – stare out at the ocean, and the picturesque town of Llandudno.  Here is a pretty shot of the town, which I took from in front of my hotel:

p1010291

Here is the iconic pier:

p1010298

I spent the morning walking along the pier and the strong ocean air blew all the cobwebs out of my head.  It was an incredible, invigorating interlude.  Doug was busy attending talks, but I was charmed by the town, and the wonderful views in every direction.

p1010303

The pier, with its candy stands, rides, bouncy castles, grand old hotel in a state of disrepair, and funky arcade games, was a kick.  Zoltan the magnificent tried to tell my fortune, and the Pirate Blasta beckoned:

p1010296

Late in the evening on the second day, Doug and I took a drive around the Great Orme Headland on Marine Drive.  This 4-mile stretch of road is considered one of the most scenic drives in Wales.  The view in every direction is breath-taking.  We were particularly taken with St. Tudno’s Church and churchyard, perched high up the wind-swept hillside overlooking the ocean.

p1010315

See how the trees have bent to the ceaseless wind.  It is one of those spots that inspires awe.  The monument stones are beautiful.

p1010321

St. Tudno built the first church here in the 6th century.  They still have services here, held outdoors in the summer.

p1010318

Continuing up to the summit, you pass the Great Orme Bronze Age Mine.  Discovered in 1987 by archeologists, this copper mine is 4000 years old.  This is me, standing on the top of the summit with the bay in the distance.  The wind was so strong I had to fight to stand up.

p1010336

Look closely at the hills behind me and you will see an interesting man-made feature. Over the years people have left their names spelled out in large stones along the side of this hill.

p1010329

Marine Drive may be only four miles long, but it is a beauty.

Now, observant readers may notice that the title promises a wool-related adventure. This is, after all, a knitting blog. Enough of this travel stuff!  Let’s talk about wool!

When I found myself in Llandudno, one of the the first things I did (as one does) is get on-line and look for nearby yarn stores.  One of them caught my eye: The Lost Sheep Company in Colwyn Bay.  As soon as the conference ended Doug and I made our way to this delightful shop run by Welsh-wool enthusiast, spinner, knitter, and designer Chrissy Smith.  The shop is lovely, filled with wool in various stages of production, and an assortment of spinning wheels, weaving looms, tools, and other treasures.

p1010357

We struck up a conversation with Chrissy, who told us the basement was overflowing with fleece.   Of course, then we just had to see the basement!  Here is Chrissy, knee deep in fleece, all of it from local Welsh farmers and all of it from Welsh breeds.

p1010345

Chrissy is a passionate and knowledgeable advocate of local wool and local farmers as well as the history of the wool trade in the region.  She regaled us with stories and politely answered our questions.  She helped me wade through hip-deep fleece, so that I could play with the unbelievably gorgeous Black Welsh fleece up on this shelf – the blackest natural wool I have ever seen.  It was much softer than I imagined, and rather addictive.

p1010353

The shop had a number of customers and students learning how to spin, and had the kind of atmosphere which made you want to sit down and chat over a cup of tea.  One of the women had come from quite far away to learn how to spin, and I could see why. If you find yourself in that part of the world (whether pirated away in the middle of the night or otherwise), you must go check out this shop.  And if you have time for a spinning lesson, so much the better!

Chrissy sells her hand-spun wool in the shop.  On the day we were there, her supplies were pretty limited, but I bought four pretty skeins:

p1010359

The one on the left is one that was in the window and is unlabelled; Doug liked it and added it to the bunch.  The others are, from left to right: Jacob, Welsh Mule, and Black Welsh Mountain.  And just because yarn photos float my boat (and presumably yours) here are a few closeups:

p1010361

 

p1010365

I am looking forward to playing with some hand-spun.  Beware, Doug: maybe I will need to counter your newest guitar with a spinning wheel!

We drove home the long way, all the way down the A470 – 186 lovely, twisty miles from Conwy to Cardiff.  Autumn was in its glory.  This was the best 3-day break I’ve been on in a long time.

 

This and that

Posted on by
7

Here is a little bit of this and that.

1.  I changed the needle on the Tinder cardigan and it seems to be helping:

p1010280

In my last post, I noted that I was not happy with the feel of the yarn, Shelter by Brooklyn Tweed.  I had been knitting it with my Knit Pics circulars, the gorgeous wooden needles you can see draped over the knitting in the above photo.  I have switched to Chia Goo metal circulars and I can report that the change has made the knitting a bit more enjoyable.  (I love my Chia Goos.)  Obviously, the needle makes a difference; with some yarns I prefer a wood needle, with others metal, and with others bamboo.  I think that I started this project using the Chia Goos and switched to the Knit Picks when I was flying; I am always worried that metal needles will get confiscated by over-zealous security personnel.

2. I am making progress on the cowl I am knitting with the lovely Woolfolk yarn, Tynd:

p1010283

This yarn is actually a much prettier bronze-toned brown, but I just can’t seem to get the camera to capture it.  In every photo, it looks pretty washed out and boring but in real life it’s a richer hue. It is so lovely to knit with – I will certainly have more Woolfolk yarns in my future.

3. I cast on a little something on the plane last week.  This is the lovely skein of Shibui Silk Cloud in the colour Tango which I bought as a part of my birthday present.  I have only one skein, so this is destined for a light, lacy cowl.

p1010285

4. Speaking of that birthday present, I set up my swift and ball winder earlier this week and caked the rest of the Shelter skeins for Emma’s cardigan.  While I was at it, I caked up these two skeins of Kate Davies’ lovely Buachaille, in the colours ptarmigan and yaffle.

p1010286

Oh, I love this yarn.  I will be casting on soon to make Kate’s Funyin hat:

small_funyin19_medium2

© Kate Davies Designs

5. I mentioned some weeks ago that I had purchased the kit to make Marie Wallin’s new pattern, Wren.  I’ve so far neglected to show you any photos of the yarn, so let’s rectify that.

p1010279

The yarn is Titus, by baa ram ewe, and is just luminous.  I think this is going to be a very fun knit.

p1010277

Just posting these photos makes me want to cast on immediately!

p1010278

6. Last but not least, while North American knitters are waxing euphoric over this week’s New York Sheep and Wool Festival, otherwise known as Rhinebeck, I direct you to my post from last year, entitled “Warning! This post is not about Rhinebeck!”.

I will be teaching all weekend, so there won’t be much knitting happening chez Knitigating Circumstances over the next few days.  To all of you knitters at Rhinebeck and elsewhere, have fun!

 

Not feeling the Shelter love

Posted on by
8

My current project is a cardigan for my daughter Emma, knit with Brooklyn Tweed’s worsted weight wool, Shelter.  This is one of those love-it or hate-it yarns; it seems to draw equal numbers of complaints and accolades.  At the moment, I can say, I am really not feeling the Shelter love.

First, however, a photo showing my progress, because Emma asked for one.

p1010271

I have finished the back, which is knit in a textured pattern, and both sleeves, which are knit in reverse stockinette.  The pattern is Tinder, a design by Jared Flood.  The sleeves have quite a roll to them, which will block out, but which makes it hard to photograph.  (I draped some circular needles over the sleeves to try to cut down on the rolling for the photo.)

I think my problems really began when I started the sleeves.  I do not like the way Shelter feels on my hands while I knit; it feels rough and my fingers start feeling abraded.  It’s hard to describe exactly, but the yarn just doesn’t feel nice.  It feels soapy, and when I have been knitting with it for a while my hands feel dry and scratchy.  I knit the back really fast and was enjoying the fast progress.  The stitch pattern seemed to make the process more lively and I didn’t really notice that much discomfort.  Once I started the stockinette, however, the knitting seemed to drag.  The texture of the finished product isn’t pleasing. (Note to Emma; never fear, this will all be fixed by the blocking.  The finished project will be gorgeous, particularly when worn by you!)

p1010259

I know for a fact that the yarn will soften considerably when washed and blocked and will become lofty and airy.  I know that it is lighter than almost any other worsted weight wool, so the finished sweater yard-for-yard, will weigh less.  I love the rich shades, the tweediness, the slubs of bright colours, and the rustic quality of the wool.  Most of all, I love the design aesthetic behind Brooklyn Tweed.  That said, I am really not enjoying knitting with this yarn.

p1010266

I have knit once before with Shelter – but never finished the sweater.  This is a total shame because it is an absolutely gorgeous pattern, Exeter by Michelle Wang.

exeter_1_medium2

© Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed

 

I finished and blocked the back and both sleeves, and they are fantastic, but then I got annoyed with the fronts and put the unfinished project in a plastic box, where it has sat for the last 4 years.  Here is a photo of the blocked sleeves:

exeter-sleeves

and another which shows the beautiful cables:

exeter-cables

Why haven’t I finished it? Partly, I suppose, because I have gained weight since I started this project, and partly because the fronts are really fiddly and I can’t find the enthusiasm to finish.  But maybe, subconsciously, the lack of Shelter love has contributed to this project languishing for so long.

Interestingly I have knit two projects from Brooklyn Tweed’s fingering weight wool, Loft, which shares a lot of the properties of Shelter.  These are my Carpino sweater, designed by Carol Feller (blogged here):

carpino

and my Escher cardigan, designed by Alexis Winslow, which I have blogged about extensively (here is a link to the Escher posts):

escher

For some reason I find the feel of this yarn less annoying in a fingering weight than in a worsted.

I do think that blocking will work wonders with this wool and that the finished cardigan will be cool.  Perhaps that experience will make me weigh up Shelter and find it worth the effort.  There are a lot of Brooklyn Tweed designs calling my name.  Jared has brought some fabulous designers on board and I love so many of the things they are creating.   I must admit, however, that the next time I knit a BT design, I am likely to substitute the wool.

Knitigating Circumstances turns five!

Posted on by
10

Five years ago this week I published the first post on this blog.  Emma and I have been thinking about this milestone and how to mark it.  We decided to each go back and read the blog posts and pick out our favorites – this is post # 271, so that is quite a lot to catch up on.  I discovered many posts I had totally forgotten about.  Emma sent me a list of her favorites (there were 25 of them!) and my list was equally long.  On Doug’s advice, we have cut the list down considerably, and would like to present you here with an editors’ pick of a dozen posts.

How did we narrow the list?  Mostly at random.  To begin with there were two posts which Emma and I both rated very highly.  I put them at the top as joint picks.  These were both written early on – in 2012 – but we feel they capture something unique about our blogging experience.  Then, we each narrowed our lists down to five, making a total of twelve favorites.  We tried to pick at least one from each year, and to include a few different styles of post.

Joint Picks:

Retrospective knits.  (2012) This is a bit of a cheat, as it is actually three posts: here are the links to Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.  These posts were a real family affair.  We had gone as a family to visit my mother in Arizona.  Mom has a collection of hand-knit garments knit in the 50s, 60s and 70s by my paternal grandmother, my mother, and myself as a teenager.  We decided it would be fun to photograph the four of us – mom, me, Emma, and Leah – modelling these garments. We arranged a bunch of photo shoots, with the photos taken by Doug and Emma.  These posts showcase the garments and also the family memories behind each one.  Producing these posts was a totally lovely experience for each of us.

A tale of two Falkenbergs.  (2012)  This is a very personal post, which describes my relationship with knitting throughout my life, centred around the knitting of two garments designed by Hanne Falkenberg, which were knit during very different stages.  I love this post, and obviously Emma is in agreement.

Kelly’s picks:

Move over, Mom!   (2012)  My daughter Emma persuaded me, after much effort, to start a knitting blog.  From the very beginning she has had a big part to play as a technical editor, stylist, photographer, muse and sounding board.  As the years go by, and Emma’s life becomes busier (and farther away), she has had much less to do with the every day running of the blog, though she continues to consult on every aspect.  The writing, however, is mine, with one exception.  In 2012, Emma wrote this post about how to photograph a sweater.  I love this post to pieces, and I think it contains one of my favorite lines from any post on this blog: “As for top half difficulties, just follow this golden rule and nothing can go wrong:  boobs should be in the boob portion of the sweater. ”

Venetian Audrey Modelled.  (2013) Much of my emphasis in the past five years has been on getting well-fitted garments.  This usually involves a lot of modification.  The sweater I knit for Emma, which I call Venetian Audrey, was one of these.  I love this post because it talks about the difficulties involved in modifying a pattern, as well as the magic of proper blocking, and adds to that a fabulous set of photographs.

Why I knit.  (2014)  My second daughter, Leah, has also served as muse to my knitting. Some of the really unique items I have knit in the past have been done in a collaboration with Leah, or have been sparked by Leah’s interests.  This post showcases a gorgeous sweater which I knit for Leah that, in my mind, is the perfect combination of pattern and yarn and sensibility of the wearer.  It also describes the modifications I made to get a perfect fit, and was beautifully photographed by Doug and Emma.

Escher Modification Chronicles.  (2015)  Again this is a bit of a cheat, since this was a two-part post; part 1 is here and part 2 here.  These posts examined, in great detail, the struggles and rationalizations behind the modifications I made in the Escher Cardigan.  I try to do a lot of things in this blog: I chronicle my knitting, I write about trends, I showcase patterns that catch my eye, etc.  I often fret about including highly technical discussions about the minutiae of knitting, as I worry that these will bore the pants off my readers.  I am also not a perfect knitter (is there such a thing?) and I like to convey the fact that knitting is a work-in-progress and involves a bit of trial and error.  It is both skill and artistry, mixed with perseverance and a little blind luck.  This is an example of one of those technical posts.

Knit Kurt Cobain’s sweater and save big bucks. (2015)  I put a lot of effort into this blog and most posts are the result of many hours of writing, re-writing, consulting, and editing. Occasionally, however, I write a post totally off-the-cuff.  This is an example of such a post.  I saw a little blurb in the paper about Kurt’s sweater being auctioned and I typed this post up in minutes. Perhaps it doesn’t have the polish I try to put on most posts, but I think it is a good example of a funny post.

Emma’s picks (commentary by Emma):

Brick rocks. (2012)  Brick was simultaneously the greatest and most difficult sweater of Mom’s I’ve had to photograph. The pink, red, and purple hues used, while obvious to the naked eye, are very difficult to distinguish in photographs, and adding in desert landscapes, which are notoriously difficult to capture, was a challenge. I’m pretty sure I made Dad stop the car, climb rocks, and pose for photographs every five minutes of the drive – I ended up with over 1500 photographs to edit and choose from before deciding on the final set you see in the post. Man it was worth it though!

Reflections on Thanksgiving, hurricanes, the flu, antique knitting patterns and the waistcoat-that’s-not-meant-to-be.  (2012)  This post I actually completely forgot about until this week when I reread all of our posts. It was a hidden gem – I had just moved away for university and had never realised that Mom still had the original Turkey Yarn sweater! The post itself is a bit of a hodge podge, but all of it is good.  Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday and one which has a lot of family traditions associated with it, including Dad’s great stuffing recipe (and my superior gravy).  The fact that this yearly tradition is tied up (literally!) to one of Mom’s knitting projects from my infant days is kind of fun.  It is also a reminder on the importance of reflection and on what’s important in life.

Rite of passage – the steek. (2014)  I like this post for lots of reasons.  First, Kelly had been talking about steeking and deciding not do it because she was afraid of it, for years. Then it turned out to be no big deal.  It was funny to watch even if I was sick. Second, the project itself was a great one, and I always like Mom’s technical discussions of the knitting process; the finished project can be seen here by the way.  Mostly I love this post, however, for Doug’s suggestions on possible post titles. I had forgotten about these and they totally cracked me up on re-reading the post!

teeny tiny hat. (2016)  They say a picture says a thousand words.  This post doesn’t need many words.  I remember calling Mom right after reading the post and laughing down the line for about twenty minutes. Also Mom’s Venn Diagramming abilities have improved ten-fold since going to business school.

How long is your hand? (The non-Trump edition.)  (2016)  This is quite a recent post, and a long one.  But, it is incredibly funny (at least to me) and is a great example of the interactions between Mom and me that led us to developing the blog in the first place. It shows that we still have it: a crazy, funny love of knitting, fashion, technique, words, and a working mother-daughter relationship that keeps us collaborating even after all this time.

 

I hope that you enjoy these dozen favorites from Emma and me.  It was very hard to narrow them down and a lot of really great posts were left out.  In fact, there is not a single Wearability Wednesday post here, even though they are among the most fun to produce. (Notice how I managed to sneak in a whole category of post here!)  Also not here are any travel posts, though I have written many.

There have been many times, especially during these last two years as I have been struggling to finish my MBA and adjust to a new and busy career, when I have thought about ditching the blog.  I worry that I am not knitting enough to make a knitting blog feasible.  I worry that I don’t always have the time to personally answer all of the comments, something which I enjoy.  I worry that my personal decision to not be on Facebook adversely affects the blog.   I worry that blogging is a dying art form.  I somehow always manage to talk myself out of it.  The truth remains: I enjoy writing this blog.  It involves my whole family and is a very fulfilling and creative outlet.  I especially appreciate all of you readers who continue to engage with the blog.  I love to read your comments, both here and on Ravelry.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!