Tuesday 30 April 2013

Projects finished and projects in hand

Blogging has been suspended recently for reasons of illness and being in Portugal for work. Knitting, however, most definitely hasn’t. So here’s what I’ve been up to.

First, I finished the sample for Knit Now magazine and managed to send it off in time to meet the deadline. I will of course let you all know when the magazine is in the shops.

I also completed the baby cardie commissioned by a friend. She was very happy with the finished product and I hope the final recipient will be too. I made this in Rico Superwash Merino, a lovely soft yarn that’s (the clue’s in the name) machine washable – a somewhat important consideration when it comes to baby clothes. I also made a baby hat using the leftover yarn.


Hat and cardie. The buttons are tiny blue teddies.

This swatched up slightly bigger than the recommended Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, even knitted on 3.75mm needles rather than the suggested 4mm. But I figured it wouldn’t really matter if the finished piece was a bit bigger than anticipated. The baby will grow into it after all. I actually much preferred the tension achieved with the smaller needle. I think the Superwash tends to knit up a bit too loosely on 4mm needles. So an experiment that paid off.

Finally I’ve been knitting Champs-Elyssees handwarmers for my niece. These were meant to be for her birthday which was last week, so I’ve missed that. Oh well. This is really quite complicated lace pattern, which has been a lot of fun to do but I have made several mistakes and had to undo it a few times. On the plus side I’ve learnt how to make a thumb hole using M1 increases. This is the benefit of following other people’s patterns – you learn new stuff.

This is just the first handwarmer. I've still got number
two to make.
 All photos my own.

Thursday 11 April 2013

The Time Machine by HG Wells


I’ve been finding it difficult to review this book. Maybe because it’s so well known, or maybe because I wasn’t that impressed with it.

It’s the story of the Time Traveller – we don’t learn his name – told by a friend of his. The Time Traveller invents a time machine and travels forward many millennia into Earth’s future.

This is a surprisingly short book and one rather thin on, well, everything – plot, exposition, characters...

It started well, with an interesting discussion on the meaning of time that reminded me of Bergson’s Creative Evolution. The dinner party setting was good fun and later on the Traveller’s own explanation of time travel was well done. However, his relationship with the Eloi girl Weena left me feeling decidedly uncomfortable and his blythely leading her to her death was irresponsible and possibly immoral.

The devolution of the human race was never properly explained. Why would humanity split in two in such a way? Why are the underground-dwelling Morlocks immediately assumed to be evil? Why would they hide his time machine? There’s also a very disturbing implication that the worker-humans (who eventually become the Morlocks) of the Time Traveller’s imagined future are inferior to the rich, refined humans how end up as Eloi.

In short, too many questions were left unanswered for me to really enjoy this book. The title was downloaded for free from Amazon via @FreebooksUK.

Tuesday 9 April 2013

How to read more and pay less

The coming of the Kindle and other eReaders prompted predictions of the imminent death of publishing. Predictably, this didn’t happen, and in fact most people I know who have Kindles are reading more than ever – I certainly am.

There are also many more books out there to choose from. eReaders have led to a veritable explosion in self-publishing. Of course this does mean there’s a lot more dross to wade through, but it also means there are lots and lots more diamonds to find.

I’m a huge fan of my Kindle. I love that I can finish a book in a series and in seconds be reading the next one. I love that there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of out-of-copyright books that can be downloaded for free. I love that self-publishing is opening up new avenues for both writers and readers. And I love that reading all those books doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

Twitter
Are you on Twitter? Then get following @FreebooksUK. This feed tracks and lists free ebooks on Amazon. Follow the link, read the synopsis and if you’re interested download it for free.

A lot of these books are by indie authors or the first in a series. So if you enjoy the book, repay the author by buying the next one or by rating the book on Goodreads or Amazon. Writing a short review is even better.

Another good source of cheap books is @eBookDailyUK. This account tracks reduced price and occasionally free titles on Amazon. Unlike FreebooksUK, it often includes bestsellers.

Project Gutenberg
This project is really quite amazing – tens of thousands of free books that have been digitised by an army of volunteers and uploaded so that you can download and read them. All the book here are out of copyright, so it’s a great source for classics.

If you use the resource often you might want to consider donating or volunteering some of your time.


Amazon
Of course Amazon itself is a great resource, with books for £2.99 or less, as well as seasonal sales.

So there's my tips for some ways to get hold of cheap and free books. What resources do you use?

Sunday 7 April 2013

Sunday best - throws and afghans

Granny square bed throw
I have big plans to make a throw like this. In fact I’ve saved hundreds of odds and ends of yarn so that I can make them all into a massive granny square throw. Buying one would be easier.

Granny square bed throw by Janice Anita Bullen, from Folksy.

Daisy meadow blanket
This daisy blanket is adorable and would make a lovely present for a baby girl.

Daisy meadow blanket by Claire Davenport, from Folksy.

Blackberry salad striped afghan
For obvious reasons I prefer blankets I can make to blankets I can buy. This textured crochet afghan is lovely.

Blackberry salad striped afghan by Tamara Kelly, from Ravelry.


Octagon and Squares throw
I first saw this on The Crochet Crowd Facebook page. Take a look at the photos to see how changing colours can make a huge difference to the same pattern.

Octagon and squares throw by Red Heart.

Circles and squares throw No pic of this one, and no link either. This is a blanket I’m planning to design, based on a pattern I saw on a TV show – watch this space!

Thursday 4 April 2013

Inspiring things

Do you ever look at those designers who just keep on turning out stunning, make-me-now designs and wonder where they get their ideas? Or think you'd love to design your own knits but can't find the inspiration?

Well the truth is that inspiration is all around you. There are the obvious ones, like the fashion industry and nature, but there are plenty of others that you might not have thought of. Here are some ways I find inspiration.

1 Other crafts
Pinterest is a great source for this. Obviously you already follow all the knitting boards you can you find, but what about, say, quilters? I've Pinned a whole load of beautiful quilts that I'm going to try to recreate using crochet.

This is one of the quilts I've Pinned. I think a mix of plain and
varigated yarn would work well to recreate the different colours.


2 The patterns all around us
The human mind is programmed to see patterns, to make sense of all the huge amounts of data that we experience every day. Take note of the things you see, the patterns your mind provides for you. It can be anything – the embossing on kitchen roll to create a lace pattern or using coloured tiles as the inspiration for an afghan.

3 Your favourite clothes
This is a great one if you're new to designing. You already know your favourite clothes fit, so all you have to do is measure them, and then try to recreate them.

4 Your favourite knitting patterns
Another one that's good for beginners. Try adapting a project you've already made and love – swap that V neck on a favourite sweater pattern for round neckline, remove a ribbed hem or cuffs and have that rolled-up effect that stocking stitch gives you, or anything else you can think of. This kind of adaptation can be as bold or as small as you like. Keep copyright in mind, though. Be inspired by other designers, don't steal from them.

This was my first-ever design, based on a pattern from Simply Knitting.


5 TV
The Killing's Sarah Lund must have inspired hundreds of knitting patterns. And she's not the only one – there are loads of TV series that showcase great knitwear. Shetland had some really cosy jumpers, hats and gloves, which period dramas are a great source of vintage inspiration.

The BBC's Shetland, which has been green lit for another
series, was a fabulous source for ideas.

Well that's my top five for ideas. Where do you get inspiration?

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Bank holiday knitting

Due to temperatures predicted to not even reach double figures – and the fact that we're really quite lazy – we had no plans for the long weekend. It was bliss - four days just for knitting, eating chocolate, drinking tea (wine) and playing with cats.

This means that, knitting-wise, I've had an incredibly productive weekend. My Knit Now sample is done and looking gorgeous if I do say so myself. I'll start blocking it tonight and send it off once that's done. I've made a good old start on the baby cardie for my friend. Baby clothes are great to knit. They're so tiny and hardly take any time at all to make.

For the cardie I've been making a note of the times I start and finish knitting each time. This is certainly not scientifically rigorous. I might sit down to knit at 7.30pm and stop when I go to bed at 11.30pm. But in that time I'll stop to have a read of my Twitter feed, communicate with people on Facebook, drink tea (wine), snuggle with the cat and I generally have the TV on in the background which is sure to steal my attention away for some of the time (especially if David Tennant happens to be on screen...).

Doing this will, however, give me a general idea of how long it's taken me to finish the project, which will be very useful when deciding what and whether to make things for friends in the future. Non-knitters don't understand how much time and work goes into a knitting project, and it's important not to sell your skills and time short when agreeing to knit something for a friend.

They might look like tiny flags, but actually they're
(l-r) a sleeve, the back and two fronts. My own photo.