LETTING THEM GO

Had a good day at the show. Whitney went Best In Show. This was an easy show as far as getting there and getting home again. No 2am start today. Got up at 7am and left at 9am and were there for 10.30am.It was not our usual venue and the entry suffered as a result of this I think.

I have more or less worked out the design for my fine gauge Aran and I am using 2.75mm Addi Lace needles. 2.25 was too tight.

I bought the new

Twisted-Stitch Knitting—Maria Erlbacher

book a while ago as I love this type of stitching. However, I have to disagree with one piece of advice the writer gives. She says that one must either knit in the round or learn to twist and travel the stitches on purl rows too. She says one will be disappointed with the result if one doesn’t. Well, I followed that advice only to undo it and just do the work on the knit rows(I am working back and forth). It did not look good when done every row at all and not because I didn’t know how to do it. It is not that hard to do on the purl side what you do on the knit side. To be honest, even if the particular pattern I had used didn't look better with it done just on the knit rows, the extra work involved doing it also on the purl rows is just not worth it. I am all for doing things well and properly but not if the end result is not worth it.

I have had all sorts of advice about my dyeing. Some solicited and some not. More than one suggested something that I find quite astonishing. That is to keep written accounts of what I dye, how I dye it, and the precise recipes I used. Bollocks to that! That would leech all the art and fun out of it. For me. I dye the way I do most everything. Suck it and see. I do this, do that, a bit of the other and Hey Presto, there is the result. No way do I want to repeat, thank you very much. (Oh back when I knitted on the machines for money, it was TEDIUM to say the least. Week in week out, 18 sweaters a week, all the same style, just a few varying colours and patterns. Yukkety Yuk. NO MORE THANK YOU.) (I will add that of course I am grateful that people bothered to share their hints and tips me. )

Yarns I paint are unique. No two will ever be the same precisely because I dye as the mood takes me and do not keep track. Even the colours themselves will never, by design, be the same as I don’t even use the same amounts. So although I might well use the same colours in more than one hank, they will be painted on differently and also the colours themselves will differ in concentration. Really, I think it would be impossible, or at least a million to one chance, that any two hanks would end up being the same.

I do very much enjoy creating in this way. Now don’t laugh, but I feel slightly odd about letting the hanks go when they are sold. It’s a bit like selling one of my puppies. Sometimes I get the urge, when packing it to post it off, to change my mind and keep it because then I would be sure it had a good home and would be used well. Am I senile or just sad and pathetic. It is a hank of yarn, not a baby for goodness sake. Yet it is how I feel.

FEELING MYSELF

Well, taking the pain meds on a regular basis really seems to be working out well. More than I would have thought. I have had no sugar cravings. Coincidence? My mood is better and I am not so short tempered. Coincidence? I do know that one of the things I was afraid of was the drugs changing my mood. It is 'mood altering' drugs that i have been taught to steer clear of. I have realised that I am not high. I just am in a better mood because I don't hurt so f'ing much! I can be a right twat (idiot) sometimes.

The postman has brought me surprises this week. Oh, okay, the postman is in fact Flora, and she is a lesbian. And no she isn't at all mannish. But I digress. I ordered Twisted Stitches by Maria Erlbacher, published by Schoolhouse Press. I had to order it it from Amazon.com as Amazon.co.uk did not stock it. I had seen the book on Fuguestateknits' blog. The information told me to expect the book in several weeks time. It took a few days to arrive. I love the book. Oh and I also got the Vogue Sock Book and Cokkie A's book. Not sure why, but what the hell.

The second surprise, even though I knew it was coming, was a hank of Wollmeise. I had seen that a blog/email friend had bought some at a fair and I wrote and asked if I could possibly buy some from her. I really expected the answer to be no as I know Wollmeise is a bugger to get hold of. Not only did this dearly lady not say no, she sent it to me as a gift!!! I haven't mentioned her name because she may prefer to be anonymous. The colours are gorgeous, black, and rusts, going from light to dark. It feels very nice and there is 160+ grams of it so plenty for a nice long pair.

I watched a film this afternoon called The Women. It was okay to watch whilst I knitted. Clever in that not one man appeared in the whole film, unless one did whilst I was twisting a stitch. I am not too sure what the point was or whom it was aimed at since these were all very rich women except for the 'mistress' who was a perfume sales girl. Come to think of it I think this film was snobby and pretentious and they portrayed the mistress as a common working class slut. Perhaps this wasn't a very nice film.

I have just started to watch the seventh series of 24. No I do not fancy Bauer. Not at all. I cannot resist watching this though. If only to wonder how many times this guy can survive what would have killed a lesser man in the first episode of the first series! The whole thing is very silly and very macho and very American and politically incorrect but I enjoy it anyway.

Oh and Carly Simon's new album, Never Been Gone, has arrived and I have listened once. I am not sure what I think. It contains re-workings of her own songs. I always find this difficult and is one reason why hearing songs live that I have only heard on record is not my favourite thing. Her voice though still does it for me. (not THAT but she has always made me feel.)