Mavis's Sleeves

I was looking for my address book in my handbag and what should I find but my camera? I wonder how long it had been there.

So these are the sleeves for Mavis. They aren't actually bell-shaped, that's just the way the stocking stitch has curled. There will be some serious blocking soon. I didn't try to match the sleeves, but I'm happy with the way the colours have fallen, with most of the interest in the lace part, but also a flash across the top. Both sleeve caps are the same shape, so that must be how they're meant to be; that, or I've made the same mistake twice. I haven't manipulated the colours in this sweater, just taken them as they came in the ball, except on one occasion where I snapped the yarn in order to avoid a big beige stripe across the top front. After lengthy debate my friend has decided that instead of the original high collar she would like a plain neck and a matching scarf. I'll do that in the chevron stitch. I said, 'And I can just knit until all the wool's gone, that way there won't be any wastage, which she was very pleased about, and then I thought, 'What have I talked myself into?'

So while I get round to the blocking, I've cast on for a scarf that is three chevron's wide, starting with a bit of purple. I might manage the colours a bit on the scarf, so that she gets the bright colours at the ends.

The re-discovered Kauni has reached the end of the second repeat of the big Zilboorg pattern from Fancy Feet. I was searching for another pattern when I remembered the snails. I don't know whether I'll do them in pairs or if I'll just have them all going round in the same direction. Speaking of Kauni, Purlwise had a great photo yesterday.

There's a nice piece by Hazel Tindall, who appeared in my last post when she won the World's Fastest Knitter title again, on the UK Handknitting site here. She refers to knitting lace as well as her colourwork and the speedknitting. I wonder if some publisher has got her lined up; hers would be an interesting story.

I watched Michael Clayton last night, just out on DVD. It's very good and I think I managed to follow the plot. I have a theory that when the director writes the script, the dialogue often falls short because the director is so busy thinking about how it will all look, but that isn't at all the case here - terrific script as well as a great looking film. He also wrote the Bourne films (well, the first two were good) and Armageddon, one of my faves.

No knitting needles have arrived yet but I didn't really expect them so soon. Maybe Monday. I'm going away for the night, so I have to dash now, but I've got two new knitting books to write about when I get back. Watch this space.

Free at Last

I can't find my camera, so you will have to take my word for it that I've finished the second sleeve of Mavis. My friend hasn't decided what sort of collar she wants, so until she does I am free of obligation. I realized that since I got Knitting New Scarves in October, I have been knitting things for other people , first Christmas presents and then Mavis. That's a long time. The freedom thus achieved has led me straight back to the Kauni cushion / sampler, which I picked up with little cries of joy. At some time soon I will have to decide where I am going with this and when to stop it. I am tempted to keep going until the yarn runs out - I can get a cushion made to fit it, after all, rather than stifle its gloriousness for the sake of fitting it to some existing cushion. It might be a completely different size after washing and blocking. I am sure the yarn will bloom beautifully. I suppose I could even felt it, although my reluctance to put in the effort of knitting something large but ending up with something small, makes me disinclined. I can't show you a picture of the Kauni either, but I am hoping the camera will surface later today. It is lost in a space about 11 feet square, but that space is well covered with yarn, books and remote controls so it's not as easy as it sounds.

In order to avoid being completely pictureless, here is a shot of Hazel Tindall who held her title as the World's Fastest Knitter at the weekend. Be sure to turn your speakers on for the full excruciating effect. How she manages such a sweet smile while that's going on I can't imagine; it makes me want to lie down and weep.


For a full account of the event, go over to kmkat's blog - she does it more than justice. Her shots of the competitive knitters include a Fair Isle vest worn by Hazel and one of those lovely jackets from Poetry in Stitches worn by Miriam Tegels, as well as another Fair Isle worn by Hazel's husband. The author of Poetry in Stitches is Solveig Tisdal; I think the -dal in Tisdal and the -dall in Tindall are both from the Norse, like the Dales in Yorkshire which were thoroughly explored by the Vikings, just as Shetland was - dale is Norse for valley.

I bought another set of vintage Boye knitting needles on eBay at the weekend, to replace the set that evaporated in the hands of Royal Mail. I did wonder if this might have the effect of sending the first set rocketing through the letter box this morning, but no. So I reckon I have about a week to work on the Kauni and anything else that takes my fancy, before my friend makes her mind up about the Mavis collar or the second lot of needles arrives and I have to decide between the Habu scarf and something else. The issue may be slightly clouded by the fact that this morning I bought the pattern for Knitspot's Gust; I have been sorely tempted by this since I saw it on the designer's website, and then at Knitting Linguist. The only thing I can say in my defence is that I didn't buy the yarn as well, although I love that Pacific colourway. Every attempt to hunt around on the sofa for my camera reminds me of just how much yarn I have that is ideally suited for this project.

Many thanks for the comments about the surrealist photo of the gloves. You are quite right; the hands must be from plaster mannequins. I am a bit disappointed to lose the mental image of a group of immaculately dressed models contorted behind the newspaper, but the pose is familiar from shop window displays of my youth. And as a fan of disembodied limbs and print, Angus McBean or one of his imitators seems a distinct possibility. I've added a little grey jigsaw of it to the sidebar.

Between failing to deliver the needles, the postman has succeeded in delivering a book, but it must wait for the camera.