Tuesday, January 29, 2013


Here’s where I am to date with Ed’s Gardening Sweater. I should be ready to start the yoke treatment this very day. The overall size looks more or less plausible – that’s a comfort at this stage.


Assuming for the moment – a pretty safe assumption – that Scotland will not win the Calcutta Cup on Saturday – England have just beaten the All Blacks, for Heaven’s sake; rugby doesn’t get better than that – OK, on that assumption, I have begun to wonder whether I could myself design the garment I want.

Using the yarn meant for the Japanese shirt, that is, striped with something else.

Start with Kate Gilbert’s Kirigami. That's a Ravelry link. I’ve bought the pattern; I’m free to mess about with it. As it stands, it won’t do – all that negative ease, whereas I want something loose and floaty, with a boat neck,  to wear over a polo shirt. Cast on a sleeve as given, knit four or five inches, increase to something more generous for the upper arm to accommodate the short sleeve of the polo shirt beneath, divide for the yoke, knit across (with neck as desired) and down the other sleeve. Pick up stitches around the yoke and knit the body downwards. Nice st st curl at the bottom. Why not?

I could have one-row stripes on the sleeves and body, and two-row stripes across the yoke where I am knitting back and forth. Gilbert seems to maintain one-row throughout. I must have a look at the pattern to see how that is done.

The Ravelry pages showing people’s completed Kirigamis are interesting. Only the slender seem to attempt it, and they are unanimously enthusiastic about the construction. What is an “afterthought shoulder”? I must have some quiet time with that pattern today. I like the dashing neck-treatment, although I’m pretty sure I’d never wear it.

One of the best bits of finishing a project, for me, is this stage of mentally lining up the next one.

Life

Amazon.fr says that they have expedited the book I ordered, so that’s that problem solved.

Amazon.co.uk, plugging the latest Anne Cleeves Shetland book, says that the series is Now on BBC Television. That’ll be fun. I’ve read two of the books – Cleeves is the one whose detective-hero actually comes from the Fair Isle – but  I didn’t feel any great compulsion to go on right away. Not like Simon Serailler (Susan Hill). I couldn’t get enough of him, and read all seven in one go.

I’ve ordered “Windows 8 for Dummies”. It couldn’t be as intractable as it seems. Some googling would seem to suggest that it can be made to behave like Windows 7 but I don’t understand how to do it. ("Microsoft Surface for Dummies" won't be published here until the middle of Feb.)

11 comments:

  1. Jean I have Windows 8 and find it not too bad now after 1 month of use. I bought it with trepidation, having read so many negative comments on the web before I bought. In the end I had no option as I urgently needed to get a new laptop and it just came with Windows 8. I also bought Windows 8 for Senior Dummies( it is large print so easier to read)and it has helped BUT I have found that a lot of fiddling around can improve matters. It does boot up quickly but always wants you sign into Microsoft. I have removed a lot of apps I did not need, ( you can add extras from the store) then I minimised all but the one for the desktop (right click then select smaller)and made sure that sits on the left hand side of the screen and is the large size and as soon as I log on I can click the desktop and am into a screen that is easy to manage. One of the benefits is that you can pin programs you use to the taskbar ie calculator etc, the search function also found me lots of things I wanted to use. The big benefit I found is that I had been using Chrome for some time and of course that migrates complete with your favourites and your settings without problems so it has helped me to manage the new laptop quite easily. I rarely use the apps to go to places as I find them slower than having favourites or bookmarks in my browser. It takes some time to negotiate putting a cursor to the edges of the screen but the windows key always brings up the screen with the apps on it. The search function finds files quickly. I spent ages looking for "recent documents" then used search and it was all there! My bottom line opinion: it is OK but it seems to have added extra layers to get to stuff that make it a bit annoying but I can live with it and it is a lot less of a problem that my reading of forums indicated it would be before I bought it. I am sure it will get easier and I am sure I will find more things I can do with it all.

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  2. The Windows 8 for Dummies will help. But I have Windows 8 on my desktop and the Surface as you know and there are differences. I did get Dropbox instaled on the Surface but I haven't had time to play with it

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  3. I agree with you on the Shetland books. They were much more formulaic than the Simon Serailler books, which I read in rapid succession, in between chapters of Moby Dick.

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  4. Gerri2:15 PM

    Isn't the sweater garter with two rows/one ridge in a color?

    Is there book in the "missing manual" series for the Surface? They are usually pretty good.

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    1. It's reverse stockinette, so one row each colour. Working in rows could possibly be done using 2 balls of MC and CC each from opposite ends. Or alternatively, working with one ball of each, if twisting MC & CC yarns around each other at the opposite end, and then working with the trapped yarn to the end of the next row, where the loop can be fed through the twist into a neat intarsia twist. I've seen this technique explained in a video on 'in depth intarsia' where this problem arises when intarsia is worked in the round. I think the video is from craftsy. If not that, it was from interweave.

      Good luck,
      Imke

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    2. Just checked and the video is from Interweave by Anne Berk. The proper title is 'Intarsia indepth'

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    3. On second thoughts I would probably work on circular needles and work two rows of purls (first MC , slip the needles back and work CC) and then two rows of knit (again MC first and then CC). Just like you would in 2 colour brioche.

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  5. The Gardening Sweater is looking great!

    I am reading the next Anne Cleeves Shetland book, Blue Lightning, right now. I'm not sure you should attempt it - it starts out with a rather tense scene with them attempting to fly into the island in bad weather. :-)

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  6. Afterthought shoulders - Lucy Neatby has done a video on it.

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  7. Anonymous3:47 AM

    Hi Jean, I found your blog via Franklyn's link after his UK trip last year and have worked my way through your archives. I have really enjoyed your blog, and will continue, thank you very much.
    Nanette (unionmaid on Rav)

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  8. Anonymous8:42 AM

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