I like that, but...

Let's break that down - I don't know about you, but I've lost count of how many times I have seen something that I like overall, but I'd change the colour, a design element, the material or any one of a number of small ( & sometimes not so small) details.

I think part of the reason we make is so we can do exactly that; execute the changes that make something unique - or to put our stamp on something.

It appears that I've carried the "I like that, but..." attitude over to my knitting.

A certain textural striped cardigan caught my attention a few years ago. It sat in my queue on Ravelry for a year before I purchased the pattern, & then for another year after I purchased the merino & mohair yarn... & then a bit longer still because there was a design element that irked me.

What had attracted me was a 4-row repeat of stripes one in a solid merino & the other in mohair all the way down - what put me off was that this stripe was not continued at the neckline. There it was at least double the depth of just the merino yarn & it looked odd.
I tried to figure out how to change it while knitting top-down & adding the short rows for the shoulder shaping - but just could not get it to do what I wanted,

I contemplated other patterns with raglan shaping but wanted more of a boxy fit  & a contemporary look than a raglan would allow. Traditionally both raglan & fitted sleeves fit closely around the arm...
& show every bunched-up bit of short sleeve tops, dresses & t-shirts worn under them - this was something else that I wanted to avoid.

Then there is the fact that there are loads of striped raglan cardigan patterns around & not a single one of them fits nicely across the back of the neck.
They are all top-down & all have straight, wide ill-fitting necks... as is often the case with top-down cardigans, unless you can use some strategically placed short rows.


The only thing left to do was to design something myself. So I did & I couldn't be more thrilled with the result.

Below are a few captures of the design process. I'll explain the steps I went through in a later post.

Just a Short Break

Well, in the grand scheme of things what is 6 years between blog posts?
Right!

It's time to dip my toes in again & the fact that I have started spinning is reason enough.

I did think about starting to blog about my knitting adventures on this side of the ditch - but there are enough new experts on the subject to sink a ship.

It often feels as if these days all you need is  the ability to watch you-tube, a little bit of knowledge coupled with a sense of self-importance & you can sell yourself as the Yoda of all things knitting & yarn-related.

No one needs an old fashioned "45 years+ of trial, error & figuring things out for myself" type of experience chiming in. Believe me, when one does - no one listens. Even if they have specifically asked for your help or opinion.

But back to spinning.

I've discovered that spinners are awesome, helpful souls that are happy to offer gentle guidance & encouragement. The ones I have encountered are down-to-earth, pragmatic women with none of the clicky elitism that seems to surround the fibres, tools & branding of knitting these days.

This brings me to my point - kinda...sorta.

Not long after I started on this spinning journey a long-time knitter, who used to spin said to me

"all knitters should learn to spin -  it teaches so much about fibre characteristics & yarn construction".

Even as a newbie spinner I couldn't agree more.

Now I understand why woollen yarns containing silk seem to always be a looser spin & feel slightly thinner than the equivalent weight in wool alone - something that irritated me if I wanted to mix yarns in a project. I also understand why merino is probably the worst type of wool to use in a lace shawl that you would like to keep its blocked shape in order to show off the lace.

I'm looking forward to many more "aha" moments on this spinning journey - to reinforcing what 45 years+ of working with the various fibres has taught me &, most of all, to learning new things.