EZ Evangelising.

This week I finished knitting the adorable Annabel Cardigan as a sample for the shop. Not only was I lucky enough to get a sneak peek of this wonderful yarn before it arrives over here in the UK in this month, but I managed to squeeze a new technique into the mix as well.

It was a very simple cardigan to knit in and of itself, being a top-down raglan in plain garter stitch, but that construction presented a problem to me which I have continually encountered and wanted to resolve. I've never been really happy with previous techniques I've used to weave or darn in ends in garter stitch. I'm not usually too much of a stickler about these things, especially when it only shows on the wrong side, but as I wasn't just knitting this for myself, I wanted a nice finish. So I went to a couple of knitting "bibles" but there wasn't anything specific to garter stitch, and the information just generally wasn't particularly helpful. Luckily we've been getting a lot of traditional books in stock at the shop, including Schoolhouse Press books, and so I turned to a copy of knitting guru Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop for guidance.

She's a genius clearly. She waxes lyrical about the joys of weaving in ends, and then she gives the best advice I've ever had on the subject:

Basically, tie your two ends in and overhand knot.

Then separate the plies of each strand.

I had 3 plies in one strand of Quince & Co Osprey.

Thread a sharp darning needle with one ply and then skim the the surface of the stitches (make sure to go through both the bumps from the garter stitch AND the flat "knit" rows between the bumps).

Pull the fabric a bit to even things out, snip the end of the strand close to the fabric, and marvel at your amazing invisibly woven-in ends.

I imagine this works just as well with stockinette and just about any other stitch pattern. Rest assured I will be using this method almost exclusively in the future.

I showed this to at least 5 people in the hour after I tried it and all were suitably impressed. And you will be too. Go on now, try it!

Knit and sew.

I am so behind - so many things to share! Firstly, I finally finished my most recent cardigan - the rising-up-the-ravelry-charts Manu, by the lovely Kate Davies. I have been following Kate's blog, needled, for only a short while now, but in that time, I and her many other readers were shocked to learn she'd had a stroke. It looks like she's on the road to recovery now, and back on the knitting track, and since her stroke she's not only been able to make such achievements as being able to walk and knit again, but has managed to get a pattern published. Impressive indeed.

I love the cardigan (you can read my detailed notes on the pattern and process on my ravelry project page) and it's absolutely perfect for spring. The yarn is lovely too, and while I wasn't sure about the bright green colour at first, now I just can't stop looking at it, or wearing it, for that matter. I was sure that I wouldn't have anything to wear that would actually go with the cardigan, but it turns out I was wrong about that too - it goes with almost everything!

In particular, I would like to think it goes well with this skirt I made. I got the limited-edition Liberty print fabric from the recently opened Quilts exhibition at the V&A. Feeling inspired by the sewing skills of KristenMakes, I checked out the BurdaStyle website (an almost-ravelry for sewing) and found a "novice" level pattern that worked out perfectly. Seriously, I can only use my sewing machine for straight lines, and that's all this was.

Speaking of the Quilts exhibition, it was huge. I could have spent hours in there. I don't think it was the greatest exhibition ever, or even the greatest quilt exhibition ever (that remains the Quilts of Gee's Bend exhibition I saw at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2005) but it was still amazing. Among the critiques I have are that it was so dark! It was probably to protect the quilts, but still - I wanted to see that stitching. There were also a few rather "arty" quilts thrown in there. I felt a bit like these were there to somehow justify the presence of quilts - gasp - being in a gallery. Come on now, can't we appreciate the inherent beauty and history and craft of quilts? All that aside, there were some stunning examples in there. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed, but here's a snippet of a lovely one from the exhibition booklet.

And one from a postcard from the exhibition:

And the good stuff from the shop:

I went to the exhibition with my friend Lara, and she and I both don't work Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so we're trying to get to another exhibition, historic house, etc every week! Next up: Leighton House Museum in Kensington.

Cardiganarama

Lots has happened since my last post. Lots meaning cardigans.

Here's the finished Herringbone (rav link):

I haven't worn it anywhere but around the house so far. It's almost too cold already for it to be of any use now, and I feel like in the summer it was a bit too warm. It shall be my "house jacket." When did I become a housewife?!

Far more exciting are my Garter Yoke Cardigan and my Duotone Cardigan, both from Vogue Knitting Fall/Winter 2008's piece on top-down raglans.

Cute no? Both really easy, both really cute. Definitely outside-world-wearable.

For the Garter Yoke Cardigan I just used a load of random buttons from my grandmother's old stash. They don't match and are all different sizes, but the gold in them brings them together and I am really liking the effect.

In other news (sort of), Murray and I just got back from the End of the Road Festival this weekend. I camped out. Seriously. But I did bring my knitting. The weather was glorious, so I actually didn't really need to actually wear any of my knitting - who knew the sun could come out in England in September? See below:

Anyway, glorious it was and I got started on what I will call my "Festival Socks" (Drops 103-11 Long Socks) because I had every intention of wearing them all weekend with wellies to keep out the mud, even though I never had to. See proof of said glorious weather in this sunset shot:

Bliss.

Eating: Garganelli with Pumpkin, Sage & Goat's Cheese (so autumn-y and lovely)

Listening to: old Tori (because I saw her last Thursday night!) and Vetiver (because they were one of the best at EOTR).