A Knitter's Lament

What is one of the main reasons of knitters’ frustration? What is the worst thing that might happen while you work on a project? To be completely honest, what is your greatest fear when you embark on a new knitting adventure?

UNRAVELING!

At least for me, this is the worst that can happen… Because it would mean that hours and hours of work (and subsequently hours and hours of my life) were spent in vain. And I have to start all over again. As much as I love starting a project I definitely prefer one successful start to several failed.

And what are the reasons for the need to get back to the beginning?  

1. False planning

Yarns could be capricious and cranky and refuse to become a garment that you want them to become. Let’s face it! If your yarn doesn’t cooperate, it won’t look good no matter how skillful a knitter you are and how much heart and soul you put into your work.

Last May I had to unravel 4 times in a row 4 different projects because my yarn just didn’t want to collaborate (meaning, my creations looked just ugly).

Then, I wanted to make a colorful round yoke cardigan with Rowan Fine tweed and ended up with something quite different for the same reason. My last project for #summerofbasics was supposed to be a cabled sweater and eventually became a plain V-neck cardigan with pockets (via another sweater, this time lacy).

Rule # 1 – do not start planning a project just looking at a pattern. Yarn comes first. From now on I will play with the yarn before deciding which pattern to make out of it. I need to make several gauges, try different designs, wait, and see which one will agree with the yarn and my current needs (because some yarns want to be hats or scarfs when I need a sweater or a cardigan).

Therefore, I probably won’t be participating in a #summerofbasics knitalong in the future. Because this knitalong involves explaining the planning process with notes and drawings. I figured out this is not the best planning process for me: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Last summer it worked about 50% of the time. From now on, no more #summerofbasics for me (sigh!).

2. Mistakes in a pattern

Yes, they happen quite often and we, knitters, better be prepared. Yet, even after so many years of knitting, it takes me by surprise every time.

Slouchy cardigan that I eventually picked to make out of my marled Colormart yarn, looks amazing on the model. I was instantly attracted to it: a stylish garment with modern shape, V-neck, and side pockets seemed the epitome of practicality.

Actually, the final result didn’t disappoint.

I’ve been wearing my Slouchy for a month now, mostly inside to protect myself from air conditioning (we still have pretty high temperatures in Pennsylvania). However, the process of making it was a real struggle.

My first problem with the pattern was a row by row instructions. It is literally row by row – almost every sentence starts with “Next row”. It didn’t bother me that much while making the back, but, after finishing the left front, I discovered that I missed several rows at the bottom of it. I had to unravel, knit it again, and then unravel again. Finally, frustrated beyond words, I printed out the pattern (I was using it on my tablet while traveling), enumerated all rows, and got a second row counter. Then and only then, I could finish both fronts. Why two row counters? Because there are many short rows that should be counted separately. And no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t succeed in getting the right amount of total stitches at the end. I decided to leave it as it was because nothing is perfect and one or two stitches more or less are not that important in the grand scheme of things. Honestly, I was just tired of being wrong.

And then I came to the sleeves. The pattern’s drawing of a sleeve doesn’t correspond with its verbal instructions. Simply speaking, if you knit it as explained you won’t make a sleeve shown in the schematic drawing. And I already made the back and two fronts (one of which 3 times!!!). At this point I was really frustrated… No, let’s be honest, I was angry… Nonetheless, my anger couldn’t help me finish my cardigan.

I described in details what I did for the sleeves on my Ravelry page. The goal was to make the decreases as inconspicuous as possible, and to avoid holes while decreasing in order to make the seams neater. I think my goal was accomplished. The yarn and the pattern were the perfect match even though some of the finest pattern’s details were lost on the marled fabric.

How to protect oneself from mistakes in a pattern? 

Rule # 2 – either wait till several knitters make it and explain its mistakes on Ravelry or get ready for a possible failure due to the fact that the pattern as it is written cannot be executed properly.

Actually, this rule – to be always prepared for a possibility of a failure – is one of my major life rules. Failures are inevitable; you cannot live without them like you cannot live without air or food. Admitting this simple fact makes it easier to go on with less bitterness and more determination, I think.

I hope I don’t sound preachy here. This is also one of my greatest fears. I used to be a teacher and I know that teachers often have a tendency to do just that. I don’t want to look like I am on a higher moral or other ground that anybody else. And I am not giving anyone any advice for that matter. My only aim is to share my thoughts and opinions and it is for you to decide if I am right or not.

My next pattern was supposed to be something that would be more straightforward and less complicated (I don’t think anyone would blame me for taking an easy route here!). Strangely enough, the inspiration for it came during our trip to Scotland. On the Isle of Skye there were some yellow flowers (I am blissfully unaware of their name) that reminded me of this yarn from my stash. Many years ago I made a bright yellowey-greenish sweater. I wore it for a while before my youngest child took it. A couple of times I tried to make something from the yarn leftovers but it didn’t work and I totally forgot about it till I saw those flowers.

The last couple of Kim Hargreaves’ books have several designs made using different sized needles. This technique produces a stretchy, drapey, and porous fabric and doesn’t require a lot of yarn.

I really liked Subtle from the book Pale for its neckline and an unusual form of the raglan sleeves. And I made it quickly from the leftover yarn without any changes to the pattern. This one doesn’t have any mistakes and was delightfully easy. Just what I needed!

The only problem with this garment in my view is the neckband. It should have been a little tighter. If one day I make it again, I’d pick up 4-5 less stitches at the back.

Yes, it is extremely stretchy. But I can live with it and it will look perfect in Florida.

Since working on Subtle didn’t require a lot of brain power, I started another project for myself from the new yarn that I bought in Scotland. I fell totally in love with this yarn – Illustrious by West YorkshireSpinners - and I believe I picked the right pattern for it – Early Morning by Yuko Shimizu. It is a gorgeous cabled sweater made in the round from the bottom up using lots and lots of short rows. It looks rather intricate but its puzzle-like construction is clearly explained and is fun to make.

After more than two weeks I made to the armholes and one bright morning (after all it is called Early Morning) I decided to try it on. And I decidedly didn’t like what I saw in the mirror.  The asymmetric hem made my butt look too low and the shape was wrong for my short frame. This wonderful pattern that was a perfect match for my new yarn just didn’t fit me well. Needless to say that I was almost in tears while unraveling it.

3. Some patterns don’t work with our body types. 

This is the last reason why sometimes we need to frog our work. At least as far as I could figure it. Do you know any other reasons?

Anyway, now I  am working on small projects – socks and hats – and it turned out to be really soothing.

So I’ll probably stick with gift knitting for a while. Everyone needs a confidence boost from time to time.

Talk soon,

Anna

“The Isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs…”

If you like traveling and are looking for an interesting place to see this is a post for you.

Visiting the Isle of Skye last August was one of the most memorable experiences in my life.

It is in Scottish Highlands, up North, and if you like sun and high temperatures this is not a place for you. Even in August it was relatively cold for our bodies spoiled by Floridian weather. Yet, cold wasn’t a serious problem – I had my knits with me and finally (FINALLY) could wear them. It was also extremely windy and raining most of the time (bring everything waterproof that you own). We spent more than a week there and had only 2 sunny days.

And the roads… Oh, the island roads… For our American souls this was a real torture. Two way roads on Skye look like tiny one way lanes in the US. Driving there requires some special skills, first of which is patience. They have “passing places” where you stop your car and patiently wait for the upcoming cars to pass before going forward. And you know what? Lots of people came there in RVs. Imagine driving on these roads in an RV! I can’t!

Anyway, those are the problems you are going to encounter if one day you travel there (which you definitely should do). Nevertheless, tourists keep coming to the Isle of Skye in droves (or herds, since there are so many sheep there that “herd” looks like the best word to describe the tourist phenomenon). It is pretty hard to book a lodging there in summer time, even though B&Bs, hostels, hotels, camping and RV spaces, and all sorts of other housing accommodations are abundant.  Plan ahead.

Why this place is so popular?

It is a small island with population less than 10 thousand people, mostly rural, with glens and mountains, ocean, lochs, rivers, mountain streams, and waterfalls. The air there is so pure you want to drink it. Every time I was outside, I tried to breathe as much as possible of it in my lungs. If I could, I’d stored it away to uncork later, and breathe it again. The experience was truly unique – like getting washed up from inside. By the way, the water, regular top water there is also pure beyond believe and tastes delicious.

I think there are more sheep on the island than populations (tourists included).

Sheep are everywhere, even on the roads (yes, you’ve got to let them pass as well).

I’ve been a big fan of the movie Shaun the Sheep, yet I used to think it is just a clever animation. On Skye I discovered that it is actually a documentary. The house where we were staying was in a middle of sheep grassland. Blackfaced and blacklegged sheep were peeping in our windows every morning, looking curious and a bit scornful at the same time. After all it was their land. We were only visiting.

Once we were lucky to see how a farmer trained his sheep to get into a barn. An extremely smart and agile sheep dog was helping him. Baffled, we were glued to the windows. It was a lesson in mastery, artistry, and patience. Every participant knew what and why they were doing and it was just a delight to watch. I must admit that the “sheep ballet” captivated me probably more than anything else on the island.

Where are sheep, there must be yarn. Right? Especially since you can just pick up wool as you go on a road.

We visited TheSky Museum of the Island Life and saw a Weaver’s cottage with many wool working instruments, a loom, spinning wheels, handspun wool, dye-pots, and old dye-making recipes.

Yet, surprisingly enough, it took us a while to find a knitting shop on the island. The first one, that promised hand dyed wool, coffee and cakes, was mostly coffee and cakes. It was a small private house with one room downstairs transformed into a sort of café cum weaver’s studio. There were some cones of handspun yarn in bright and beautiful colors without any information on them about the yarn’s length, type, or price. And as soon as I entered the room, all people who were sitting there eating cakes and drinking coffee started looking at me. I felt being on display together with the yarn (my husband and daughter wisely decided to stay at the entrance). The whole experience was rather weird and not pleasant. So we promptly left.

Next day driving on a road we noticed a sign Island on theEdge, Designer knitwear and Skye yarns. My husband turned the car without even my telling him anything. It was a teeny-tiny shack surrounded by black sheep.

The entrance to the store.

There is a black sheep near a rock. It was a dark and windy morning.

This little coo is made from the black sheep wool.

Most sheep on the Island are white but, as I was told by one of the women in the shack, the original Skye sheep were black. And their yarn is from these original black sheep. I had to have it. Especially since it was handspun right there by the woman who sold it to me (I was too shy to ask her name which I deeply regret). Yes, I broke my promise to use only the yarn from my stash this year. My daughter picked the color. It is going to be a present for her.

Also, among other wonderful things in this shop, there was a magnificent handknit man’s gansey. I’ve never been a big fan of ganseys. To my eye they look practical but not particularly remarkable. Not this one! It was knit from fingering weight handspun wool in dark chocolaty hue and had a subtle and interesting pattern all over the garment (not only on the top part). The salesperson told me that it was made on 5 dpn, not on circular needles, in the round, and seamless.  Unfortunately, you have to believe my words because I wasn’t allowed to take its picture as well as a picture of a handmade fairisle hat (costing 95 pounds!). Copyright protection in action!

Anyway, now I really want… need to make a similar gansey and replicate that hat. It was adorable (not to mention 95 pounds)!

Next day we found another knitting shop on the Island. Again, by pure chance, just saw a sign while driving to a totally different destination. Again, it was a tiny place/shack next to a private house.

I bought there this beautiful yarn bowl. It is light, smooth, has little holes for yarn, and is made with a lot of love.

Yet, the most impression (and the biggest damage to our wallet) was made by the last knitting shop that I visited – The HandspinnerHaving Fun. This one was huge comparing to the previous shops, and the selection of yarn, needles, and everything else that a knitter might need, was colossal. I literally lost my breath when stepped inside. This was a place where I would love to die one day. And yes, I bought two big bags of yarn there and I don’t think anyone can blame me. It was inevitable. Places like that one should be marked on maps as “yarntraps” or “knitterstraps”.

Mushroom hunting was another big and unforgettable experience from our stay on Skye.

With so much rain and air temperature far from tropical mushrooms grow like… well, like mushrooms in patches of the island covered with trees, especially rowan trees.

One time, while driving on a tiny road, we found 10 or even more boletes without even getting out of the car. Mushrooms were so big that we could easily spot them just by looking through the car windows.

Our first serious “mushroom hunting” experience happened unexpectedly when we were visiting the historic Dunvegan castle.

The castle is Bronte sisters’ wet dream – old, dark, gothic and romantic in a melodramatic sort of way. It is surrounded by an immense garden which, as we soon discovered, was full of mushrooms. Since we came unequipped for mushroom picking, at first my husband was putting mushrooms into his pockets. Yet, after a while he had to retrieve grocery bags from our car that we filled in no time. All the while, I felt really awkward because no one else around was interested in mushrooms and it looked somehow inappropriate to pick mushrooms on someone else’s property. So, while my daughter and my husband got carried away full of excitement and enthusiasm, I followed them pretending to be an innocent bystander.

We used to go mushroom hunting rather often when we lived in Russia, but in all my life I never had as many mushrooms for one meal as I had on Skye.

Because after our first foray, we discovered even more mushrooms growing around another castle, or rather ruins of a castle – Armadale.

Note to myself – where is a castle, there must be mushrooms!

Another unexpected discovery made on Skye was the gigantic amount of people running from civilization. The island was supposed to be a rather isolated place beneficial for solitude and meditation, yet, there were herds of people running around in cars and on foot, climbing every mounting, walking every path, parking in every parking spot (and where there was NO PARKING sign), sleeping in tents, cars, RVs everywhere we went. Once, while visiting the famous fairy glen with otherworldly beautiful fairy pools I had to put my headphones on to isolate myself from crowd’s noises, because the traffic along the waterfalls was exceptionally heavy. If you are thinking about visiting the island one day and want to avoid big crowds of people, I found a special website just for you. I wish I saw it before our trip.

All in all, our trip to Skye this year was an immense success. The island is so beautiful that I was constantly taking pictures of everything around.

That is why this post has so many photographs. I took them with my phone (I refuse to carry a camera when I travel) and I left them almost unedited and without any filters or other fancy adornments.

These pictures are mostly for my friends who haven’t had an opportunity to see the island yet, but would like to know more details about it.

As to my knitting, of course I was knitting on the island. Even before we left for Europe, I finished two hats from my never ending stash of Rowan fine tweed. I tried to photograph them in action there but hats and knits were not a priority on Skye so I didn’t try too hard. Here are some of the pics. My daughter and I are the models.

According to my plans (ha-ha, remember those?), in August I was supposed to work on my third big project for the #summerofbasics. I wanted to use as much of my ColourMart Fine Geelong yarn as possible (I already used it for 2 projects but still had quite a lot) and I thought that I found the right pattern for it. Wrong! The yarn didn’t want to become that pattern. Actually, the yarn turned out to be rather tricky and didn’t want to become any pattern. 

A couple of days before our departure I started making Tensile by Emily Greene from it because I got exactly the same gauge as needed for the pattern (rare occurrence for me) and I dutifully plugged away at it while in Scotland. Then, one bright and sunny day, after having bought a new yarn bowl, I decided to photograph my progress (and the yarn bowl).

My pictures showed clearly what I knew all along – the beautiful lace pattern was indiscernible in this yarn, it was useless to work so hard on something that won’t be even visible.

Finally, a day before we left the island, I saw these patterns published by Quince and Co and couldn’t resist anymore. My Tensile was unraveled because it had to become Slouchy.

However, this is a totally different story, that I’ll tell you next time. This post is dedicated to the magical and mystical Isle of Sky.

Talk soon,

Anna