Misery Loves Company

Fox Paw

I know, I know the whole thing about the challenge of lace shawl knitting is getting old. I get it so I promise this will be the last post about it. In fact this post won't talk about a shawl at all. Instead you get to read about a beautiful set of stitches called Fox Paw shown above.

Xandy Peters has developed Fox Paw and sells the pattern on Ravelry. I recommend you look it up so you can see all the beautiful scarves, wraps, cowls and throws (basically anything that can be knit rectangularly) made using this technique. It is described as using increases and decreases to create the look of intarsia without actually having to do colour blocking. Apparently one knits using only one colour per row. It seems like a mighty nifty thing but I know enough about knitting to know it would be very challenging as well.

During the week of October 27 many of the normal things I do on a daily basis were neglected because I was getting my first shawl done. I already admitted dusting and cleaning were overlooked; you know I wasn't writing here; I'd also fallen behind in reading all the knitting ¨literature¨ that comes in daily.

The Yarn Harlot's Fox Paw

So since last Thursday there has been catching up to do. The house is now back in reasonable order and you can tell I'm writing more. The last thing to get my attention was reading. Today I caught up reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's blog, The Yarn Harlot. On October 31 she wrote about her experience knitting Fox Paw. You can read her post here.

Pearl-McPhee goes on about all the things she was not able to do when knitting Fox Paw. The Yarn Harlot is one wickedly skilled knitter and spinner adept at changing patterns to meet her needs and designing others of her own. She is also a very productive knitter; there is a new project posted on her blog every day or two and you get to see her finished work as well as the work in progress. She's that good and that fast.

So to have the Yarn Harlot talk about a pattern that won't allow her to knit on a plane or have a glass of wine or even be interrupted by anyone until she comes to the end of a row, well somehow it is very satisfying to this knitter. It is just too bad I didn't actually read her post on Friday because it would have lifted my spirits. Knowing my knitting idol, someone who seems always to finish everything she starts and does it all so effortlessly, knowing she was struggling, it just warmed my heart today as I read about it.

I know I am being selfish, not empathetic and heartless about this, but I was struggling the same week the Yarn Harlot was and it is oh so very comforting to know my misery had such formidable company. Pam, Tena, I know you too were struggling last week; it seems I need lots of company in my misery. Yup, I guess I'm that kind of person. (As one of my sons would say: ¨Mom, that's such a First World problem.¨ Only he'd say FWP. And of course he'd be absolutely correct, so enough with the whining.)

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time. One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock. So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep. Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot. And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms...

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing. I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away. Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close. Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening. As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend. Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration. I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned ou...

Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting. It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008. (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.) See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles. And what about the yarn? It is truly ex-bulky. It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space. Or h...

Flagel Knitting Files

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