Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The radio says that there is a letter in the Scotsman today, signed by more than 100 Scottish businesses large and small, recommending a No vote. I will be interested to see whether Jamieson & Smith is there. I think Shetland doesn't regard itself as particularly “Scotland” anyway and would much prefer that its vote could be kept separate – that is, that Shetland couldn't be forced to leave the United Kingdom unless Shetland votes to leave.

The young man who sells me my milk and newspapers every morning is Pakistani. His English isn't terribly good and I don't suppose he has a vote. He said the other day, “All over the world there are separate countries. Here there is the United Kingdom. This is better.” I nearly burst into tears.

(Mr Hussain who owns the shop is British, and will vote No. His 16-year-old son, however, is leaning in the other direction.)

Knitting

Two more bumps were added to the edging of the Unst Bridal Shawl yesterday. I'm now very near the second corner. That's not half-way, though, because I started somewhere along the first side so that the final join won't be conspicuous.

And I started the fifth stripe (of nine) on the outward section of the border of Rams & Yowes. Meadow Yarns has come home from its holiday and emails to say that my needles have been dispatched. So, maybe today.

And I did some research on Archie's behalf. I was much taken with a pattern called Streak in Britt-Marie Christoffersson's “Swedish Sweaters”. I love that book, although I have never knit from it. Brilliant photography, apart from anything else. On reflection, I don't think the pattern will do as it stands. It's  garter stitch in worsted weight yarn. That's going to be awfully heavy. What caught my eye was simple and cheerful two-colour striping.

I could knit an EPS in DK with stripes. I like stripes.

And over in Susanne Pagoldh's “Nordic Knitting” – the source of the Grandson Sweater – I like the Spjall (Gusset) Sweater on p. 60, a small all-over pattern shown in two colours rather close to each other. When I knit the Grandson for Joe I ordered the yarn from somewhere Scandinavian. What yarn? And who did I order it from? I might be able to find out from blog archives. I knit a circular swatch, I remember, and took measurements from a sweater he already had.


I'll look at Starmore's Sweaters for Men before Archie gets here this afternoon.  

4 comments:

  1. Garter stitch in worsted weight will be sagging in no time, at least in my experience. Simple cheerful striping with Archie choosing the colors and striping sounds perfect. Wide stripes? Narrow? Mixed? Kids have such strong preferences. (Well, I suppose he is now a young adult....) I don't own either book, I'll have to look for them.

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  2. Ellen1:19 PM

    In the US, Scndinavian Sweaters are generally knit with yarn from Dale Of Norway which is softer and soother than Jamieson, and not tweedy or heather as their colors are. However another authentic brand, less available here, is Rauma which is vitually interchangeable with Dale. In Minnesota where I live, the Scandinavian sweater is considered by many to be acceptable for even the dressiest of occasions. Working at an LYS I became fully expert at the differences between the Scandinavian and the Fair Isle camps, but being the daughter of a Welsh woman, I confess I have never actually knit one.

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  3. You might want to reconsider Grettir from Brooklyn Tweed. It has a nice yoke pattern, stockinette in the round, with or without a turtle neck collar and since it is knit in Shelter, a woolen spun yarn, it is warm without weight.

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  4. =Tamar7:43 AM

    The grandson sweater for Joe was made with Finullgarn, from Sweden.
    A few dates/quotes:
    Thursday, November 12, 2009 the yarn diet began the day the Finullgarn arrived.
    Tuesday, January 05, 2010
    Yesterday I cast on the Grandson Sweater.

    Thursday, January 07, 2010
    Important left-over issues
    The Grandson Sweater
    J-, if I pull this off I hope you will be emboldened to try steeking. I suspect it works best with sort of fuzzy yarn, like Shetland and like this Finullgarn stuff.

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