Monday 29 January 2018

Inverness Diamonds

So in other news over Christmas I finished filling out the whole second book of swatches and we are on the home stretch in terms of boring old knit and purl patterns we have less than 10 left! :O Next up will be slipped stitches but we'll get there when we get there. I've watched a lot of new TV over the past two weeks too, I've been getting racked off at the shows that obviously got cut before they properly ended. I was watching something called plebs, now I don't know if it was cut or if they're still producing new seasons still but I hate having a show where you only get three seasons which is just enough to get into it, and then it's over. I've also been watching something called "breaking the magicians code" it's so beautifully/painfully 90's, but it's weirdly compelling to see how even the really obvious magic tricks are done, and the masked magicians mask is pretty spooky.

Oooooh spooky

Today's pattern is the Inverness diamond, named for the beautiful fishermen's jumpers made there, this pattern often was included in panels. The tradition of fishermen's sweaters is a long one and honestly I think at some point every knitter should attempt one, they firstly introduce you to cables, which I personally think most knitters who haven't done them are unnecessarily afraid of, but this pattern is a nice "cheat" given it resembles cables strongly but it's really just a trick done with just knit and purl stitches, the effect of welts makes it appear embossed but really it's flush to the fabric.


Given this pattern is a panel so I did it without without repeats unlike previous stitch patterns, you can do repeats if you like however.
Swatch is as follows: 4ply - 2.5mm needles - 21st x 48st - Longtail CON - Chain COFF

Pattern for working flat:
Row 1 - K1,P3,K9,P3,K1
Row 2 - P2,K3,P7,K3,P2
Row 3 - K3,P3,K5,P3,K3
Row 4 - P4,K3,P3,K3,P4
Row 5 - K5,P3,K1,P3,K5
Row 6 - P6,K5,P6
Row 7 - K7,P3,K7
Row 8 - Row 6
Row 9 - Row 5
Row 10 - Row 4
Row 11 - Row 3
Row 12 - Row 2

Right anpther one finished I think I'll go make myself a cuppa and then get back at it, I might also take a knitting break too so we'll see if I write any more because I'm running out of rubbish to say at the start of the post and that's the most fun part to write! good luck and Happy Knitting!

Sunday 28 January 2018

English Diamond Block Pattern

So I've been busy. And by busy I mean insane exam period happened and I temporarily became fully nocturnal thanks to two back to back exams. Seriously wtf is the organiser doing? Every semester my exams have been well spaced and not stressful at all but oh it's the third years fuck those guys it's not like these exams are LITERALLY the most important, and stressful exams of their degree! Despite the HORRIBLE organisation (and one of the exams being a total awful curve-ball) It's gone OK. Well enough that I'm still on track (OK mum! Don't freak out!)


And I also ended up totally wasting the two weeks I had off (because my exams were so smashed together I got an extra free week I guess) on Final Fantasy XV, great game, the combat system is brilliant... or at least it is when there isn't a tree or hedge screwing with the camera! And for once the story wasn't pants-on head ridiculous, it does have a very weak middle act given one of the characters is criminally under developed, but I would honestly say there hasn't really been as brilliant a villain since Kefka in final fantasy VI, without spoilers - the villains motivations are pure brilliance.

Tobus has been busy driving me insane, over Christmas she escaped once and chewed a massive hole in her bin cage lid this wouldn't be so bad here because I don't own a cat unlike my parents. Since she's gotten back to aber she's chewed all the runners off  her wheel (that I made for her), figured out how to climb on the wheel to climb on the lid so the second box has to be permanently shut, but of course once she figured out how to get on the lid she immediately ran around the room she's in. I though this wouldn't be a big deal because she's not in our bedroom anymore we keep her in the empty room in the house, (it isn't being rented out right now) so the only stuff in there is a wardrobe and a desk. Now I blocked the bottom of the wardrobe up with books because it's a small enough gap for a hamster but not small enough for an arm so I didn't want her getting under there because I wouldn't be able to get her out. Obviously the first thing she did when she got out? She chewed up the corner of a book to get under the wardrobe -_- RIP rogues anthology. Luckily she's easily lured with food and no harm was done, but now if I let her free roam all she wants is to get under the wardrobe so I'm considering breaking up the old damaged bed frame for the wood slats.

Anyway on with today's stitch English Diamond Block pattern, whew that's a mouthful. Another one Barbra doesn't really say much about we can at least learn from the name it's from England but that's really the extent of the knowledge I can find which is pretty unsurprising given how generic it is, it's just another variation on purl welts really and a pretty meh appearance one at that.


Swatch is as follows: 4ply - 2.5mm needles - 33st x 40st - Longtail CON - Chain COFF

Pattern for working flat:
CON multiple of 14st + 5
Row 1 - P5*K4,P1,K4,P5*
Row 2 - K5*P3,K3,P3,K5*
Row 3 - K7*P5,K9* end last repeat K7
Row 4 - P6*K7,P7* end last repeat P6
Row 5 - K5*P9,K5*
Row 6 - Row 4
Row 7 - Row 3
Row 8 - Row 2

And that's all for this post I'll be posting this in the future *oooh spook past blogging* but I'll be continuing to write several posts and queue them up for the next few days so hopefully this will make up for the several month hiatus I've had. (seriously third year university is HARD work I have 2 less modules this term so hopefully I can write more) Good luck and Happy Knitting! :)

Saturday 27 January 2018

King Charles Brocade

You know what I just realized. I haven't told you all about my hamster! This is outrageous since I've had her since my birthday, and I practically won't shut up about her to everyone else. So everyone meet Tobus:
Awe isn't she cute when she's not keeping me up at 3am 😾😾😾
She's being a bit of a devil right now by making a ton of noise when I'm tired. The combination of her LOUD drinking (seriously just lick the ball stop chewing the metal 😑😑😑) and assignment stress is keeping me up so I've decided to write part of a post to chill me out. So let's talk about hamsters! 🐹 Most owners say every hamster has a personality, if that's the case than little Tobus is a schizophrenic. One day she will be happy to climb all up my arm and sit on my head and just chill out; other days she won't let anyone near her. Sometimes she'll try and get out constantly (those are the days I let her free roam in the empty bedroom) other times she'll sit in her tube for hours just hanging out.

She's pretty much the ideal pet though, she took a while to tame because she gets antsy occasionally and likes to test things via nibble, but she's probably the only hamster in the world who actually uses the hut provided with the cage as a bed. I'm a bit worried about taking her home on the train but knowing her she'll probably just sleep through it!

Enough about the floof though you came here for knitting patterns! The king's Charles Brocade is a stitch for for royalty. Literally. If you aren't British you might not know about old Charlie 1 so I'll explain. Charles the first is probably the worst monarch in our history, now a lot of people will disagree with that and point to John or Henry VIII, (who in my opinion gets a bad rap as king) but neither of them managed to cock it up so royally (pardon the pun) as to actually end it. (albeit temporarily) The English civil war was between a bunch of guys in silly hats Vs a bunch of guys in silly helmets.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the guys with helmets won. Now the leader of the helmet dudes (Roundheads) was a bloke called Oliver Cromwell. He was a miserable bum, he literally banned Christmas (because puritans are boring) but in order to fully establish the monarchy was over he tried the king and cut his head off (he assumedly would have gone whole french Revolution on the royals but Charles son, confusingly also called Charles, fled the country) now how does this relate to knitting you ask? Well Charles I wore a vest in the tower of London, where he stayed during his trial, and that vest was knitted in this very nice brocade. That vest is kept in the museum that is in the tower. I don't think he was wearing it when he got his head got chopped off though.


Swatch is as follows: 4ply - 2.5mm needles - 37st x 54st - Longtail CON - Chain COFF

Pattern for working flat
CON multiple of 12st + 1
Row 1 - K1*P1,K9,P1,K1*
Row 2 - K1*P1,K1,P7,K1,,P1,K1*
Row 3 - K1*P1,P1,K5,(P1,K1)x2*
Row 4 - P1*(P1,K1)x2,P3,K1,P1,K1,P2*
Row 5 - K1*K2,(P1,K1)x3, P1,K3*
Row 6 - P1*P3,(K1,P1)x2,K1,P4*
Row 7 - K1*K4,P1,K1,P1,K5*
Row 8 - Row 6
Row 9 - Row 5
Row 10 - Row 4
Row 11 - Row 3
Row 12 - Row 2

Sooo it took A LOT longer to post this than I expected.... I'm literally going to write the next blog post with an update about the even longer gap. :)