Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Edinburgh’s weather hasn’t been too bad today, but worse is forecast and it sounds as if it’s blowing up a storm out there. Alexander may not be able to get here tomorrow to be measured, and my reconditioned Aga may not reach me on Thursday. We shall see. This is far and away the worst weather we’ve had all winter, and here we are two weeks into Lent, with March on the horizon.

Today, however, was the Alternate Tuesday – Fruity Knitting Episode 48 is up, and it’s all about Susan Crawford! The book will be officially published tomorrow. She has restricted her examples to the decades in which she is expert, ‘20’s through ‘50’s. Everything we saw looked slightly Stitch-in-Time-y. Fruity Knitting is about to launch a Vintage Shetland KAL. There was no reference to crowdfunding.

I am a Fruity Knitting Patron and proud to be so, but (like Knitty) it’s completely free. Just go to YouTube.

The Soutache continues well. I wound and joined in the second skein of the main colour. I’m distinctly past the halfway point, so that’s fine. The background contrast is a set of gradients. I will soon finish the double-length centre-of-scarf section and start down the far side.

Continues well: but I was distressed to discover a fairly inconspicuous mistake which must have happened yesterday, when I thought I was sailing along. Some dots of the wrong colour show through. I think I must have been knitting when I should have been purling. I am cross at myself, but am certainly not going to attempt to frog.

Thanks for the pointer to Maggie’s Rags, Chloe, for tips on corrugated ribbing, and for yours, Else, to the Techknitter. Both suggest that it may be wiser not to knit the ribbing on 10% fewer stitches, if the ribbing is corrugated. Meg does, however.


Maggie recommends Feitelson and Starmore on the subject. I’ve got both, and will take them to bed with me soon. Also the Feral Knitter’s more recent work – corrugated ribbing makes several appearances in her index. One thing I must face up to doing in the weeks ahead is disposing of some of my husband’s art books, concentrating on the big ones which occupy the extra-tall shelves so necessary for many knitting books. I’ve got far too many knitting books in piles on the floor. If I’m going to stay here, and it looks as if I am, they should be shelved.

6 comments:

  1. I haven't done any corrugated ribbing for ages, I'll have to go back and look to see what I did, if I can even tell. Glad you can stay inside sort books, and knit.

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  2. I wonder whether you spotted a little glimpse of the Museum sweater at the start of the interview with Susan Crawford? I've not watched it all yet, so I don't know how it figures in the book.

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  3. When I do corrugated ribbing, Jean, I usually use about the same number of stitches as the body, maybe a few less. I do use a size smaller needle than the body.

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  4. Many of those art books may be valuable, they often are. I would recommend getting them appraised by a fine book dealer.

    Am in the throes of moving to a new bigger apartment with more rooms than I have ever had in all the apartments I have lived in since I left home. Am looking forward to the days when I am settled months from now and can knit on my front porch with a view of the Hudson River. Or in my living room in front of a fire or in my soon to be designed garden. But that’s a ways off. Til then lots of purging and packing. Oh vey. Send boxes!

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  5. Anonymous1:53 PM

    YES! You could sell the lot... your husband being well known as he was, one might be proud to own one of his valued art books... or the whole bunch...
    I suppose what I'm thinking is that they would end up where they would be loved and appreciated- if not sold, and appropriate, parceled out to grands and great-grands or such. good luck with that. Am slightly miffed at the possibility of weather AGA delays!
    I have a baby sweater sitting dormant that needs frogging and won"t get it - I Hate frogging and re-knitting. Dad-blast-it! I swear a lot over it all... hope the error in yours is not enough to make you cuss. Have at it.

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  6. You may be able to sew over the error with the correct yarn to minimize the mistake.
    If you don’t sell all the books would your public library be interested in them?

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