When in doubt, knit!

So I'm the Queen of Procrastination, and when I'm overwhelmed with work/life, I start new projects....doesn't everybody?

Today I reclaimed a skein of delicious Malabrigo sock yarn, to work on a secret project for a most knit-worthy friend. It told me that it really didn't want to be the socks it was half-knit as, so I unravelled it. Here's a sneak-peek:

(close-up of the 1x1 rib section, I love how the stitches are beautifully curvy, due to the crinkly un-ravelled yarn - it'll smooth out once it's been washed and relaxed)

(this is more accurate in terms of colour - at least on my monitor - lovely, relaxing, teeny-tiny stockinette stitches, knit on 2.5mm square Kollage needles....)

Yesterday I went to the beach with my nephews, who are nearly 6 and nearly 4.  They'd asked me to make them some fingerless gloves, because by all reports, they help them ride their bikes faster :)

So I did.  I also threw a couple of beanies in too, bestest Aunty ever:

Turns-out that fingerless mitts help you swing on monkey-bars better, too.  Who'd a thunk it?

Nothing spesh, just cheapo acrylic from Spotlight, 4mm needles, made the patterns up as I went.

In case you're interested (after all, I've made 7 and a half of these suckers, so I remember what I did hehehe):

- cast-on 36 stitches, divide evenly on three needles
- 2x2 rib for about 5cm
- 2 plain rounds
- set-up for thumb gusset:
- knit first needle, then five stitches on the second. Place stitch marker, kfb in next two stitches, place 2nd marker, knit to end of round.
- knit round
- knit to marker, kfb in first stitch, knit to one stitch before marker, kfb, knit to end
- repeat these 2 rounds until you have 12 stitches between the markers (10 of these will be the thumb stitches)
- on the last plain knit round, put 10 of the stitches between the markers onto waste-yarn, continue knitting.
- knit another 2 or 3 plain rounds, then change to 2x2 rib (helps keep the mitt snug around the fingers) for about 3cm
- super-stretchy bind-off (knit 2 together, slip stitch onto left needle, knit 2 together, slip stitch onto left needle, knit 2 together....)
- put the thumb stitches onto 2 needles, pick up an extra 2 from the hand-part of the glove, knit 5 or 6 rounds (till the thumb is as long as you want it), cast-off.
- weave-in ends

Give to a little boy and he'll be able to ride his bike faster than ever before!!!

The beanies? Made-up basic hat pattern...

- cast on 90 stitches (4mm circular needle)
- 2x2 rib for about 4 or 5cm
- plain stockinette (the blue and red one is a simple slip-stitch pattern - knit one round in one colour, knit the next round [knit 1, slip 1]) for about 13cm (if you've got the head that will be wearing the hat available, just get them to try it on)
- crown decreases:
Round 1 - (knit 13, k2tog) repeat to end of round
Round 2 - all even rounds, plain knit
Round 3 - (knit 12, k2tog) repeat to end of round
Round 5 - (knit 11, k2tog) repeat to end of round
Round 7 - (knit 10, k2tog) repeat to end of round....see what I'm doing?  Keep doing this till you get to the k2tog round, thread yarn through all stitches, pull tight, secure.
- weave-in ends.

Give to little boy to help his ears stay warm while he's riding his bike really fast :)


Righto.  Gotta go - I've been told someone needs an orange and green hat.....

(I've got a tech-post for you coming-up, just got to find a flat place that's big enough to lay-out a blankie)

Happy knitting!

How excitement.....

A heads-up....there's a knitting-post coming-up.....! Picture-heavy, nuts-and-bolts, all knittin'!!  before-and-after blocking, silly knitting for little boys, baby-knits, and a bit of a sneak-peek of a crochet-in-progress.....

Watch this space :)

Discworld

A flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle. 

Planet June's Discworld amigurumi 'pattern'.

Terry Pratchett's books frequently parody or take inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and William Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, political and scientific issues. 

Is the Earth Actually Flat?

Admiral Richard E Byrd - Hollow Earth Video Interview

Moirai

In Greek mythology, the Moirai, often known in English as the Fates, were the white-robed incarnations of destiny.

Euphemistically the "sparing ones", or Fata; also analogous to the Germanic Norns. 

Their number became fixed at three: Clotho (spinner), Lachesis (allotter) and Atropos (unturnable).

http://www.greekmythology.com/pictures/Other_Gods/The_Fates/

Clotho: spinner

Clotho was responsible for spinning the thread of human life. 

She also made major decisions, such as when a person was born, thus in effect controlling people's lives. 

This power enabled her not only to choose who was born, but also to decide when gods or mortals were to be saved or put to death.

Clotho, along with her sisters and Hermes, was given credit for creating the alphabet for their people. 

Clotho and her sisters were real goddesses.

Clotho represented human life and her decisions represented the fate of all men in society.

Lachesis: allotter

Normally seen clothed in white, Lachesis is the measurer of the thread spun on Clotho's spindle, and in some texts, determines Destiny, or thread of life.

Lachesis was the apportioner, deciding how much time for life was to be allowed for each person or being. 

She measured the thread of life with her rod. 

She is also said to choose a person's destiny after a thread was measured. 

In mythology, it is said that she appears with her sisters within three days of a baby's birth to decide its fate.

Atropos: unturnable

Atropos or Aisa was the oldest of the Three Fates, and was known as the "inflexible" or "inevitable." 

It was Atropos who chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of each mortal by cutting their thread with her "abhorred shears." 

She worked along with her two sisters, Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured the length. 

Were these women really bloodthirsty?

'Perhaps they were just using knitting as a distraction from the horrors surrounding them – knitting is sometimes used today as a method to treat depression and anxiety in people. 

The revolutionaries were living in poverty and this would certainly have been detrimental to their psychological well-being. 

Perhaps the tricoteuses were merely trying to keep their mental health in check.' Purl up and dye

The inauguration of The 3 Tricoteuse

The 3 Tricoteuse was inaugurated on the 13th day of April, in the year 2015 at a secret location south of the city of Perth in the Western area of the country, for some time now, formally known as Australia.

Calculations of the pertinent stitch counts upon the ending of each row to the online amineko pattern were pondered by trained professionals and, it was agreed, increments of 18 were to be the Al Gore rhythm. Final checks with already existing calculations, supposed to exist at ravelry, are expected in due course.

Some debate was forthcoming as to the very definition of the term 'fibre' and it's effective correlation to the concept of yarn when indicating the exact nature of future meetings. However, as to date, no consensus has been reached.

The eating of way too much good food was ameliorated via the partaking of coffee at a nearby generic coffee house.

It is proposed the next meeting of The 3 Tricoteuse be convened in the final or penultimate week of  May at an undisclosed winery that produces a particularly fine verdelho.