Belly dancing

What has belly dancing got to do with knitting? I shall enlighten you. I went to Jersey on Friday for a belly dance weekend in St Helier. It was tremendous fun (including the shopping that my friend Heather and I skived out of classes for). I knew a lot of the women who attended - from other dance events I've been to around the country and from the class I used to go to in Preston.

The link with knitting comes as a result of costume preferences. When I took up the dance, about eight years ago, it was Oriental dance - all sequins and shiny things. Over the last four or five years, there's been a schism! :-) What is described as Tribal dance has become incredibly popular. It's an American development on the dance form. I don't see anything wrong with the dance developing and growing - if it doesn't it's dead.

The difference between the two styles of dance is most noticeable in the costume. Oriental involves lots of slinky dresses - not necessarily two pieces - and Tribal focuses on face paint, head dresses and lots of material. Both types can look magnificent. "Rowan 39" picked up on the Tribal look with their feature on tribal styles of costume .

With the exceptions of my pals Denise and Alison who looked amazing at the weekend, many Tribal dancers can only aspire to this look - usually making 'do' with knitted pom-poms and curtain tassels. It's not great. A few years ago, I saw a Tribal troupe who graduated from the pom-poms and curtain tassels to leather basques and long embroidered handkerchiefs...result: the 'S&M Morris Dancer' look.

And to balance up the score here, the Oriental/Sequins Brigade can go a bit magpie for shiny things with the end result looking (as my friend Maggie so memorably described one night as): 'Fantasy Night at the Women's Institute'.

At the end of the day it's all fun and the variety of costumes and the creativity of the women who make them is truly astounding.

Random Wittering

I caught the train into Manchester Piccadilly on Monday afternoon and as I was looking out of the window, I caught sight of factory. There are a lot of factories and mills on the Ardwick side of the station so that wasn't terribly unusual. What caught my eye was its name: 'Frogmore'.

Now if that isn't a hex on all knitters, I don't know what is.

KAL - The Grand Finale

Blogger has been playing ‘silly buggers’ again…so what we have here is three updates in one. (I know the Blogger IT people are very good and do work hard to fix problems, so I'm not going to moan about that).

Thursday’s Post – when things were progressing nicely and all was good in the world.

I've reached the faffy stage of the wrap over! I'm surprised at just how fast it has knitted up, especially as I have been taking my time (read: "slacking off to make socks"). Last night I finished the second sleeve, which took me to the first stage of sewing up. This was sewing the shoulder seams together. Easy! and not too much sewing.

I used some navy 4ply for this as I remembered the warnings I've read on the 'Angel Yarns' Knitting Forum - that "Twilleys Freedom Spirit" is a dreadful yarn for sewing up with. It's not strong enough and splits too easily.

Below is a close up of the real faffy bit - picking up stitches from sides (between the cast on edge and beginning of the sloping) to make a ribbed border. I think I've done quite a neat job - certainly an improvement on my early efforts of picking up stitches to knit collars. You could always see the holes between the main body of the piece and the additional trim/collar/border.It's still not perfect.

The pattern's instructions were to pick up 37 stitches for each of the two fronts' borders. For one side I picked up 35, for the other side I picked up 41. I never manage to get the right number (except on the gussets of socks).

It's probably just practice.

And last of all, here's a picture of the two sleeves (just to prove that I have finished two sleeves) along with the first tie I started last night. The instructions for this tie seem to very straight forward as it has to be knit until it's long to be placed as edged around the whole 'inside edge' - i.e. around the neck and down the sloping of both fronts.

This is beautiful wool to knit with. The finished pieces are soft and the striping effect is gorgeous. I do find it difficult to use on bamboo or wooden needles (no matter how well polished they are) as it catches on any imperfection in the surface, so I prefer to use metal needles. The wool was even catching on a scabbed over cut on my finger last night.

Friday’s Update – wherein everything seems to go horribly wrong but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I progressed to sewing up the right tie last night (see below). Does anyone notice anything wrong with this?

Well, it's the RIGHT tie and I was well aware of that. However, I set about blindly following the instructions... "Continue in rib until Band, when slightly stretched, fits up the left front slope, from cast off edge of Border to shoulder seam, across back neck and down..."

It says "LEFT" so that's where I put it. Grrrrrr!!

And the instructions continue...

"...across back neck and down left front slope to cast off edge of border, sewing in place as you go along..."

The first 'left' is a typo. It should say 'right'. I really wanted to kick myself for not noticing it sooner. So now it looked like the wrap over would fasten on the right hand side. I tried to unpick what I had already sewed but it began to pull at the wool. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fix it so I decided to leave it. “Hopefully my Mam won't mind,” I thought but I was annoyed.

The BF, at first didn’t understand why it was a problem – until I demonstrated with the help of dressing gowns.

However, I have been mulling this problem over since then. Maybe I could just cut the tie bit off and continue knitting up the other side? It might work actually. Then the bit I've cut off I could use as the proper left tie, in the right place. I just need to find a way of neatly fastening up the bit I've cut off. So the situation is not altogether lost. Typing this update really helped me to think about how I can fix it. It was all just too infuriating last night.

The Grand Finale

It’s finished. I’m made up and more importantly – it’s made up! I didn’t slack off at all during the sewing up. My plan for fixing the left tie fiasco worked like a treat too. All I needed to do was be calm and mull it over.

Additional result: two balls of wool left over. I think I’ll give the multi-directional scarf a bash.

The technophobe strikes AGAIN

I may not have mentioned this here - at least not since my first post when I was fairly overcome with shock at actually getting myself a blog - but I'm a bit of a technophobe.

I'm quite happy using computers, though at times I think it was a mistake to stop using slate and chalk; and exactly what was wrong with carrier pigeon? As it stands, I'm too damn contactable. I've got a landline, a mobile and four email addresses. At this moment in time, I haven't a clue where my mobile is which, quite frankly, is no bad thing. Yes, I'm an anti-social bugger.

Anyway, to anyone who has attempted to use the links to the blogs I like to read, I do apologise. I have only just noticed that they weren't working. It was a problem with my cut-and-pasting and, like the slacker I am, I hadn't bothered to check that they were working properly when I added them. Sorry.

I promise that I will try harder in future.

I attempted to 'soup' up the look of this blog last week using 'Blogskins'. It didn't work which is probably just as well, 'cos if it had worked, there would be some detail I overlooked that would have locked me and everyone else out of this blog, probably.

Glove Making

As mentioned earlier, I've decided to have a bash at making gloves. The BF asked me before Christmas if gloves were going to be the next project. "No chance," I said. "Far too fiddly." Knitting is one of those hobbies where I think I will regularly find myself eating my words. I also said I was never going to make socks - they looked too complicated. Knitting with four needles? Who could be bothered with the stab wounds? Nope - I was never going to make socks. Ahem.

Below is the celebratory shopping package I mentioned in an earlier post, complete with a knitting kit. The "Opal Feelings - Jeans" is going to become gloves for my Auntie along with a pair of socks in "Opal Petticoat". The "Fortissima -Sombrero" will also become a pair of socks... for me.

The resolution about making socks for me has been very successful. I keep thinking I should try a pattern other than the freebie pattern that comes with "Opal" yarns. The simpler colourways - "Feelings", "Charcoal" and some of the "Rainforest" (notably "Flamingo") would work well in a lacy-patterned sock, but I think some of the other colourways are just too busy. However, for myself, I prefer plain old stocking stitch for socks - more comfortable on my trotters.

PS

I finished a sleeve of the wrapover at the weekend. One sleeve and the faffy bits (the ties and the edging) to go.

It's progressed quite slowly this week, what with socks to distract me. I didn't get as much done as I was planning to this weekend. There were a few reasons for this: a bit of gardening, a bit of tidying and going to the pictures to see Simon Pegg's new movie: "Hot Fuzz". It's wickedly funny. Stop reading. Go and see it. Take my car!

There was also the cotton backing to put on the penguin blanket that I finished knitting... about a month ago. Completer-finisher? Me? Only under duress. Thank god for "Blackadder".

P-p-p-pick up a Penguin!

It's been an interesting week or so for weird charity knitting stories, and here is the latest one I've stumbled across: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/6367787.stm

A group of ladies in Seaham, Co. Durham have knit over 50 tank tops for Fairy Penguins in Australia. It seems that the penguins get regularly dunked in oil from 'passing' oil slicks. Their feathers can no longer keep them warm, because of the 'orrible, greasy, black stuff, so the jumpers do the job nicely.

And, no I don't mean 'tanker tops' :-) because they're what's causing the problem in the first place. The BF, however, got the wrong end of the stick: "But won't the chocolate melt?"

Everyday he gives me these little insights into the way his mind works...

Knitting Boobies 3

I took the knitted breasts pattern to the knitting group at "Borders" (Stockport) last night. As expected, it certainly raised a couple of eyebrows and a chuckle or two. Three of the girls took a pattern so we'll see if any of us get around to making a boob or two. :-) I, for one, need to put my money where my mouth is and actually have a go.

Mind you, a very interesting point was raised last night. Should we post them to Liverpool, stuffed or unstuffed? It's a FREEPOST address so weight/cost is not an issue - just the ease of wrapping. The post is going to interesting for a few days at the Women's Hospital.