Which Came First?

Either way it's silver dylon paint on a plain black T-shirt.

Virtue may be it's own reward but vice has others

I finally have Virtue done. It's shocking how long it took. I think I may stick to crochet for a bit. I'm a bit blah when it comes to knitting at the moment. Just have to ride it out. As long as I get those socks done for… sometime.

Anyway. I was sat watching Red Dwarf and knitting. Knit, knit, knit, watch, watch, watch. And I started squeaking when, nestled in the episode 'Parallel Universe' in series 2, there was a knitting scene. Bah. How have I never noticed this? Lister is sat knitting (or, more accurately, not knitting) a pink and brown… thing on bamboo by the looks of it. I am yet to find any knitting in Yes Minister, my usual accompaniment.

Pattern: Virtue (from It's A Tape Thing)
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Tape in green.
For: Me
Why: To match my new jacket.
Alterations: None.
Opinion: Lovely look. It is longer than it appears, I was just wearing it in a daft way.

Sentimentality (YPF)

Old clothes are more than just things we've worn. They are the t-shirt that your parents gave you that no amount of holes will make you give up, the velvet bolero that your Nan gave you and that your Mum ruined by putting in the wash, and the jumper you wore at least once a week but now is so pilled that you don’t want to put it on.

The bondage shirt that I wore on my first day at University was damaged irreparably last (academic) year. I cried. It held memories in its cloth. My first days, in jokes about how annoying the fastenings on my clothes are. It was special when I bought it, reduced but still expensive by my standards. But this was the top I wanted to wear. The top I wanted people to see me in.

Today I want to talk about the jumper. I bought it before Christmas last year. The first time I wore it was too my Aunt's Boxing Day party. The most memorable was on a Sunday 15th of January. Tom and I live far apart so he comes (or I go to him but that's a different story) for the weekend. The first time he came on Saturday. Stayed 'til Sunday 15th. When I wore the jumper. And yes, I can still remember what he wore too.

So the jumper pilled and pilled and pilled. And I needed to keep it. I wanted to recycle it. And I knew I couldn't felt it being all elastain and acrylic. I saw the hat in AlternaCrafts. It's made from sewing the jumper and braiding bits of it. And my jumper has a second life. Most of the pilling was cut out and my new hat looks darling.

My yarn also comes with sentiment attached. That's why my porn is usually accompanied by erotica. But I think I'll leave this one a mystery. Kid Classic.

Progress report.

I'd intended, upon my glorious return to university, to finish the finishing on the pattern vest. Only it wouldn’t fit in my first lot of bags and when went home to take it with my second lot of stuff Mum had gutted my room. And two of the things I can’t find now are my knitting and my twelve pack of condoms. I also can’t find my boyfriend who got lost moving in himself last week. (*waves* Miss you!)

I can’t finish the vest. I did finish an Anna I watching The Holy Grail a couple of nights ago. Didn’t blog because of camera battery buggerdness.

Like I said yesterday, I’m knitting a hat to go with my new velvet jacket. It’s actually a better match but the velvet, absorbing more light, didn’t photograph well. It’s a dark green and soft as a freshly killed baby seal (very off colour humour for the sake of any lurking Noggers *waves*)

There will be much knitting.

Darling Buds of October (YPF)

I've probably mentioned before how much of a big fan of gimmicks and novelty items I am. Really big one. And in knitting this makes me fall in love with ribbon yarns.

Last weekend my Dad bought me a green velvet jacket as an (early) Christmas present. So I trecked to the craft shop to find some matching wool so I could have a hat. Rowan's Cotton Tape was on sale. I had the pattern book due to an earlier, ill-fated attempt to knit one of the tops in it. So I grabbed two balls in the right colour.

The hat will (hopefully) be blogged about tomorrow

The ill-fated top was supposed to be red. I only got around to unravelling it all last week. These balls are the only evidence of its existence.

When I was in the craft shop I fell in love with my third yarn. The ribbon of the opening paragraph. Sirdar's Organza. At a loss for what to knit with it I picked a simple pattern…

Pattern: Pink Flower (from Sirdar leaflet)
Yarn: Sirdar Organza in red/purple
Ya What: 10sts*13rows, 50m, 50g, 80% polyamide 20% cotton, Lot 94
For: Me
Why: To see how it knit and because flowers are fun.
Alterations: None.
Opinion: Nice, quick, good yarn.