Alternative Knitting

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Yes! Here's my button

Knitting Bookstore
to browse and drool

Anne's
s*t*a*s*h!
(blush)

52 or 79 things I have discovered about me, life and knitting. Or fewer. Or more. Currently 77

What Anne does for a living

Work on needles

New for 2006

Amethyst cashcotton sweater

Unexpected knitting in greens

Anne's finished projects 2006
Lacy hemp shawl

2005 2004 2003 2002

Online yarn stores and resources

Knitty
Threadbear
Ozeyarn
Martina for sock yarn
Kangaroo
House of Hemp
Ford Barton
Laughing Hens
Hip Knits

SECRET

Well, nothing really. Can't even tantalize myself.

Bodywork and other training
I've done a shed-load of training in the last few years, some in new areas, some pretty advanced. I recommend these training establishments for outstanding integrity, professionalism and allround excellence:

Jean-Pierre Barral Visceral Osteopathy

John F Barnes
Myofascial Release

Upledger Institute Craniosacral Therapy

Jing Advanced Massage
(I also teach with these guys)

Pilates Training Solutions

March 26th

Wahay! Amethyst sweater finished!
And I'm wearing it. Photos asap. the sleeves are just long enough to reach where the thumb parts company with the hand - I like them like that - the neck is funneled so does its own thing, it's well shaped as the sleeves fit the main body, and otherwise it's loose and snuggly.

So... er... what do I knit now? the sari silk is turning into a modular shawl along Vivian Hoxbro's lines. I'm knitting it on 5.5mm needles, so really far too big for my comfort. I prefer 2.5 - 3.75mm at the largest. A pair of socks next, maybe? With the lovely merino variegated?

I need to knit some swatches for the hemp. OK, photos will be made and uploaded. Rather a large amount in charcoal grey and the same amount in raspberry amethyst. Both enough for a sweater or a jacket. I have one 200g skein of salmon pink and the same in kingfisher blue left over from previous projects, too. Hemp socks? No, no, no. As much as I love hemp, socks need to be soft and snuggly, and that is not hemp.

March 25th

I love admin, I love admin, I love admin...
Oh yes I do! I love admin when it's done and finished with. And this was exciting admin, i.e. I have sorted out to almost exactitude my comings and goings as regards training and teaching for this entire year. Not only do I know now when I am going to run my Pilates courses, but I know when I am going to be out of the country, when I shall be teaching / training with Jing and others and how much extra extra stuff I can allow myself, and when!!! For me this is a real breakthrough, as it was all beginning to become rather muddled and I was losing sight of what was happening. Now, you may interject, all it would take is a year planner and a bit of paper shuffling to get on one page what's happening - but when one has such an allergic reaction to paper shuffling as I have, that's not so easily done. But I've achieved the (last week) unthinkable, and just in time too, as I was on the brink of getting so much teaching and training booked in, there would have been no time for ... work. Not only that, but I've assembled all my new training evidence for CPD points to satisfy the insurers. I love doing this almost as much as I love getting my tax return together :)

So close to finishing
The amethyst sweater is so close... I'm doing both sleeves at the same time, and am powering my way up to the decreases, from whence it's downhill all the way. I went for narrow sleeves with a staggered rib to make it alittle different, and because I was getting bored. Already. After the rib. Which was two rows long.

Sari yarn
The sari yarn is taking shape as a biased wide scarfy shawly type thing. The colours are lovely and the feel is soft and silky... not surprisingly. No sawdust, thankfully, and no breaks in the yarn. The bias is in the yarn, not in the knitting, so I wouldn't use it for a fitted garment. I've used plain stocking stitch as the yarn needs simplicity.

March 19th

Yummy yarn
I succombed to a lovely item on ebay - 585 grams of merino variegated 4ply:

I'm thinking shawl / scarf / wrap again, probably in some kind of lace.

This little lot has also fallen prey to my current need for beautiful yarns for stash enhancement purposes. I can't get away from wraps, this is going to be a fairly loosely knit throwaround...

I've finished the front, or is it the back? of the amethyst sweater and have started the sleeves, both on the same needle. I'm adding columns of single purl rib climbing up the sleeves, and they will be identical and almost symmetrical. Makes sleeves much easier to finish as I have to make a decision every 6 rows or so.

March 16th

New stash!
My wonderful hemp has arrived from House of Hemp - now sitting in my baskets awaiting ideas. I'm also looking on ebay for the first time in months and months and months - it's totally exploded! And so many goodies... am looking specifically at sari silk, of which I have one skein, unused, from way back.

Life has left me emotionally paralysed for the time being, so knitting is comforting. Who was it who said 'knit on...?' EZ probably. Cleo is currently chewing on my webcam, which is lending a timely opportunity for reality checks. I'm listening to KT Tunstall - still - and James, DS2, has decided that he may go to Italy instead of NY in September to gain experience as a chef, and could I help him with Italian? Strictly speaking, no, although I did teach Spanish one year without being able to speak Spanish. 'Snot that hard to grasp the 'getting by' vocab and grammar. I read Latin so reading Italian has never been a problem, read Dante in target language at uni. He'll have to get some tapes and an Italian friend. I'll help with the nuts and bolts. I *love* the way he is willing to try out other languages. when he last went on cricket tour to France he was the only one who attempted to speak French. May have been the girls...

I would die if I ever lost my kids.

March 5th

I love March!
The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting, spring must surely be springing? Have just ordered new cashcotton yarn in Apple from Kangaroo to start Rachel's version of this

The amethyst cashcotton sweater is going strong and I'm nearly at the sleeve shaping on the back. Can't make up my mind whether to have flared or straight sleeves. I'm taking its shape from Sally Melville's Knitting Experience Book 3, the funnel-neck pullover on page 149. It does look good with slim sleeves.

My hemp yarn hasn't arrived yet - which is probably a Good Thing, as I can zoom on with these other projects. I'm doing excessive amounts of teaching and training over the next couple of weeks though, so that may well hamper progress. However, I have finished the hemp shawl, and here it is on the last straight receiving a little pre-finish blocking and care from cleo:

And finally:

The frondy underwater shape type thingy is awaiting a union with its (hopefully) soulmates in the 'greens' bag. I'm still not sure what it is going to become finally.