Knitting pr0n!

[ellenscult]

Well, not quite - I've finally uploaded a few photos, though, so I'm putting them under a cut to save bandwidth for those who aren't interested in suchlike.

First off, here's a link to photos from the recent skiing trip to La Tania, France (friends and family only, thanks to crazy stalker guy). If you need a guest pass to view them, let me know and I'll send you one. Contains photos of my older sister wearing the baby llama wool shawl I made for her - she loves the colours. Hurrah!

The knitting photos!


A selection of socks I've knitted over the past 2 or 3 years. From the top - Sirdar Town & Country 4-ply sock yarn in variegated red, likewise in black and green with skull and crossbones motif, a multi-coloured bamboo yarn with a leaf pattern, Sirdar Town & Country again in variegated beige, one from my Vintage Socks book (1901, iirc) in a lozenge pattern - the other one just had the top inch chewed up by the washing machine this afternoon (eep!), but I can still pull it back and re-knit the cuff and no-one will be able to tell I have odd-length socks on under my jeans, right? The last one is another Sirdar Town & Country, in grey.


A pair of pink socks with a bamboo pattern on - I can't remember who I made them for, but I suspect they're either for India or for Sarah (wanolj). Having measured them, these aren't quite a size 3, though, and I have a sinking feeling that these are going to be just that bit too small for either of them. So if you know anyone who needs a pair of (UK women's) size 2 socks - teeny in other words - let me know and I'll post them out to you.


This is what I'm currently knitting on the train; it's a Victorian shawl pattern with a diamond-pattern centre and a wavy outside that I'm doing for my older sister as a table runner for her huge dining table. The yarn is a 50% silk / 50% wool lace-weight from Texere Mills.


Since I'm being singularly rubbish at going places and doing things, I've dug around in my sewing room and come out with a bag of craft projects to finish. I've picked up the Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed cardigan pattern again, finished the back, knitted the left front panel and am almost half-way up the right front panel. Just sleeves, trim and sewing it all together to go!


This is a new bathmat I'm making out of strips of cotton t-shirt looped together. It's quite elastic and chunky and should be ace if I ever get it finished!


One blue Viking mitten - naalbinding (Viking knitting) rather than modern knitting. The needle on it is made of bone; this single-needle form of knitting predates two-needle knitting and makes for a very solid fabric (depending on which stitch you use) which doesn't unravel. I have to make the second mitten and block them into shape.

In other news (not under a cut so people don't run into the photos if they don't want to, sorry...): my bike is in the bike shop! I took it down Sheffield with me last Wednesday and dropped it off at Decathlon for its free 3-month service, expecting them to adjust the cable tension and leave it at that. Instead, it appears to have some kind of gear problem, which I'm hoping they've either fixed or replaced the gear arm (under warranty) by tomorrow so I can pick it up again. I'm starting to feel as though I have finger-of-death for bikes... Or it could be that they use cheap derailleurs...

I went to my ME course on Friday and learned about Graded Exercise Therapy. Which is how to, when my energy scores are consistent and I'm feeling as though I'm ready to start increasing the amount of, well, anything I'm doing, increase my activity level without causing an increase in my ME symptoms. Of course, since my bike's been in the shop since Wednesday, that's meant I walked home from the train station on Wednesday evening, then back in on Thursday morning and out again, then to my course at Bootham Park Hospital on Friday morning and from there into town and home again, and into town on Saturday. I got the bus home on Saturday afternoon. (I also walked into town and back on Tuesday night to the writing group, but that was because I didn't get ravenlas to get me a lift because he has an ear infection, which is now clearing up nicely.) So today has been spent largely on the sofa doing little more strenuous than knitting and occasionally hanging out another load of washing on the washing line, and I am tired, and my legs are a little wobbly and I'm running just a touch of a temperature. Ho hum, so it goes. I shall go to bed shortly and should be fine in the morning.

Anyway, thanks to the ME course, I have a letter, which I took to the council offices on Friday, and I filled in a form and had my photo taken and as of in a few days time, I should have a free bus pass, enabling me to travel on the local buses and not have to pay the extortionate fares. Awesome! It'll mean I can try walking into town to the station one or two mornings a week and be able to catch the bus back, thus getting a bit more exercise but not tiring myself out. Hurrah!

So, I have handouts. I'll type them up soon and post them here for anyone who's interested. Have a great week, y'all! I'm going to duck back below the parapet again.

Comments

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

I love the variegated red yarn, what fun! Also like the shawl. Lucky sister! And I am going to have to look up the Viking knitting just to see what it is! thanks for the pics!

Just finished shaping the armhole on the left front of Dearest's vest. I think this is going slowly since I don't have a lot of time to devote to knitting at the moment. Ah well.

[ellenscult]

The red yarn is fantastic! I have 2 pairs of those socks, but I don't think they do that colour range any more. :( There's a Yahoo group which has some excellent links and resources for learning about naalbinding. It's surprisingly good fun once you get your head around it. :)

One good thing is that I don't have to feel guilty that I'm knitting and not doing the hundred-and-one other things I should be doing instead. At least, that's how I'm attempting to view it. :) At least I should get a few things finished off and out of the way! Good luck getting that vest finished - I'm looking forward to seeing more photos of it.

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link. I almost finished the left side of the vest last night while watching The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency premiere, just two more inches to go and then I can start the other side. :Happy Dance:

I'm glad that you are having a bit of fun and getting some UFOs finished. Can't wait to see the Bliss sweater finished.

[ellenscult]

No problem. If you join the group, check out the photos - some people have created incredible things!

Ooh, good stuff! I get tempted to knit patterns largely in one piece on circular needles - but the joy of being able to finish one panel and move onto the next really makes it feel like progress. :) *Joins in the Happy Dance*

It's going to be entertaining; I have enough of the dark purple to knit the body, and one ball spare. I have two balls of a light purple tweed which I was going to use some of for the contrasting scalloped edge. So I'm thinking of doing dark upper arms with a contrasting lower arm (as long as the dark purple holds out), with the lighter wool joining to a point, like the line of braid on military jacket cuffs. If you see what I mean. :) If all else fails, I have some plain dark purple...

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

I joined the group this morning but did not have enough time to look around. Found that scribd.com had 12 of Dearest's books up without permission being giving - copyright infringement.

Honestly, it is hard enough for an author to make a living wage and it just makes me mad that this happens and we have to spend part of our mornings writing the letters to get them down off the web. The last case of this type of activity was someone selling e-copies on eBay.

[ellenscult]

Ouch! That's terrible! I hope they're taken down asap. :( I can't believe the chutzpah of some people.

[palmersperry.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to feel as though I have finger-of-death for bikes... Or it could be that they use cheap derailleurs...

Maybe you should get a fixie or a singlespeed for your next bike? :-)

[ellenscult]

I likes mah gears! *grin* I picked my bike up this lunchtime - gears all seem to be working fine and the guys didn't have to put a new derailleur arm on, so that's eased my paranoia somewhat. :)

[palmersperry.livejournal.com]

As a more serious suggestion then perhaps hub gears? Shimano Alfine-8 or SRAM iMotion-9?

[ellenscult]

I'll have a look into them - do you know how 'high' they go? Because I only use the top 7 gears on my bike, which go down far enough, but don't go up quite high enough for me. When I only had the 1-ring front cassette, they were way too low, which is why I have the 3-ring cassette.

[palmersperry.livejournal.com]

Well the range between the lowest and highest gear is (obviously) enough fixed, but where that range is a factor on the ratio between the cogs at the front and the back. (In percentage terms, which I don't really understand except that more is bigger range, the SRAM has a range of 340% and the Shimano 316%. (Shimano also do the Nexus 8[1] which has the same range, but is slightly lower quality and hence cheaper.)

If you play around with the (late, great) Sheldon Brown's gear calculator (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/internal.html) you should be able to work out what you need.

Seems the iMotion-9 comes with a standard cog of 20 teeth, as does the Shimano.

[1] If you work do the whole Cycle 2 Work scheme then the Carrera Subway 8 at Halfrauds is by all accounts rather good, and comes with the Nexus 8.

[ellenscult]

Thank you! :) *hugs*

[ultharkitty.livejournal.com]

Hmm, a new bathmat out of old t-shirts... are you following any instructions on that one or just making it up as you go along?

I love the knitting photos, especially the socks. You are one hell of a talented lady :)

Here's hoping that temperature doesn't develop into anything worse.

[ellenscult]

Making it up as I go along. :) I cut the t-shirts across the width into strips of about 1-2cm wide, making them into loops. I've just threaded them together to make balls of 'yarn', and am knitting those on superchunky needles. Most bathmats are too wide for my bathroom floor - it's tiny - so I measured up and am knitting (I hope) something that's slightly smaller width-wise. I'll keep going until I run out of t-shirts or it's as long as it needs to be. There's a 4-stitch (4 row at the end) garter stitch border, othewise it's stockinette stitch. Nothing complicated! And as it's cotton, I should be able to machine-wash it at a decent temperature, and it'll be nicely absorbent for sloshing water out of the bath onto. :)

*grin* Thank you! I'd say obsessive - you make fantastic corsets! That's insanely talented! :)

It's my usual 'I need more rest' half a degree. If I continue not getting enough rest, I'll come down with a minor bout of tonsilitis. Standard practise. I'm planning on an early night tonight, though - should be fine again tomorrow. :)

[little-dumpling.livejournal.com]

yay for knitting! i love all your lovely knitted photos... (strangely that sounds like the photos themselves were knitted! xD)

*pets you* i hope your temperature goes down, and you feel much better tomorrow. *hugs*

[ellenscult]

*grin* Thank you! I got a lot of sleep last night, so things are Much Improved, as they say. I hope you're okay today! *hugs back*

[ru-salki99.livejournal.com]

Wow you have been busy. No shortage of socks in your house :D I actually really like the shawl you're doing. Any chance you could email me the pattern?

That's good about your pass. It'll give you that extra little bit of pocket money too and well, any money is good money.

Hope you feel better *hugs*

[ellenscult]

Thank you! I'll email you later - if I don't, remind me. :) It's a fairly easy pattern, thankfully - it's a 10-row, 10 stitch repeat, and every other row is 'purl to end'. :)

Maybe it'll give me the incentive to get the bus out to Castle Howard, finally! I've only lived here since *cough* 1993...

[ellenscult]

:) *big hugs* Thank you! I'm just about to take my bike back up to York on the train. Hurrah! The gears are working just fine, and I'm doing a lot better after a really good night's sleep. I hope you're doing okay - we must catch up some time soon.

*more hugs* and much love.

[ellenscult]

I'll be there! It'll be lovely to see you. :) *big hugs*