I’ve been cleaning out my digital camera and have both pictures and patterns to go with it. That is, I don’t know if I’ll get the patterns up today, but what the hell. Let’s start and see where it takes us, right?
At least six months ago, maybe more, I was gifted some handspun yarn and a beautiful handmade journal by The Madwoman In the Attic for helping her dechifer a chart. The yarn was beautiful, in different reds and pinks and purples and some glittery stuff too. It was thick and thin like handspun yarn is and decided on some kind of drop stitch pattern.
Cue about two weeks of research during which I rejected the one everyone knows about and have knitted (including me), Clapotis, although I like the bias, and I don’t know how many others, most which had something I liked, but still weren’t quite what I wanted. In the end I came up with the pattern for this. It’s very, very simple, but I’m going to type it up (and link to it here) anyway. Below is what it looks like when it’s not stretched and pinned down. Still pretty damn good if you ask me!
Going home to Sweden meant that I got to be there when I gave my grandmother Kiri (lot’s of warnings for clicking, it’s a pdf!) that I finished for her in March last year, and have been meaning to send to her, but was stalling because I didn’t know if I could trust USPS with something that valuable ($0 monetary value since the yarn was a gift but unvaluable emotionally – yeah, I don’t think even insuring the package would have been possible).
Here she is with my grandfather, who went almost completely blind during the five years I was gone, but still loved the scarf I made him, although he couldn’t see much of the cable pattern. That all but broke my heart; coming home and realising that I had been gone for so long that he could barely see me (he has no sight on one eye and maybe 25% on the other). But now I’m home and I’m staying. Never ever doing that for a guy (or a girl for that matter) again.
Here is a closeup. The flash has sucked most of the dimensions out of it, unfortunately, but it’s Annie Modesitt’s i-cord edging and a cable (that I came up with after seeing the Ropes and Ladders scarf a while ago) on a garter stitch background. I would have preferred reverse stockinette, but it was curling like mad and I really like the edging, so garter stitch it was.
And finally what I refer to as my “therapy sock”. I started this on my way home, leaving my life the five last years behind me, and knitting it was sure a form of therapy. It was my first “real” sock, and doing it on a total of 20 hours on a plane made me appreciate how slow and yet intriguing sock knitting is. I thought I would be well on my way with the second one when I hit Swedish ground, but in fact I got to turn the heel (on the first one) in my parents’ kitchen. I have to do something about the cast on edge. Although beautiful it’s way too tight.
And I should probably cast on for the second sock…
The sock, scarf, and Kiri all look lovely, as do your very happy grandparents.
Came by way of Crazy Aunt Purl; take time with yourself and understand that getting over it happens slowly, like a very big rock that your subconscious manages to push an inch a day. It is hard work. it will take a long time for noticeable change. Energy is being burned like crazy on something you’re not fully aware of.
And now I’ll stop pontificating.
Thanks so much for your sweet comment! The break up happened during a very bad time in my life as it was, so it takes a lot of energy just coping. But knitting is helping, that’s for sure.