Deep in the Experimental Phase
plus, another fantastic book!
I started a new design commission earlier this week. When I went to bed last night, I was 40 rows in. Nearly an entire skein of yarn.
When I looked at it this morning, my first thought was, “I’m not happy with this.” So, I ripped it out.
This design will be a shawl. I have a clear picture in my head of how I want it to look, and I thought I had figured out how to accomplish the shaping. I charted the pattern, did the math, and cast on. Only once it was on the needles and several inches long did I see that the edge was never going to lay flat. Experience has taught me not to trust that blocking will solve this sort of issue. And the last thing I want to do is send the yarn company that commissioned the design a finished sample that doesn’t lay properly.
It took me about an hour of thinking and recalculating to develop a solution to the problem. At least I hope I have the solution—it will take a couple of hours of knitting before I can be sure. Keep your fingers crossed.
The good news is that I finished the colorwork yoke pullover that was giving me trouble a couple of weeks ago. It has been blocked and is now on my dress form looking ready for autumn. I still need to turn my spreadsheet into an actual knitting pattern, but I’m feeling good about the design.
Both of these projects have been a reminder that creating a new design can involve an uncomfortable amount of trial and error, especially with an unfamiliar yarn. No matter how experienced you are or how much knowledge you have accumulated about yarn, technique, and shaping, things don’t always turn out as expected. The process of design often takes the form of finding out what doesn’t work. Learning never stops.
I expect the patterns for the pullover and the shawl will be released by the yarn company in October—it’s a cold-weather yarn. I’ll be sure to show you pictures and include links as soon as the patterns are published.
The Baby Blanket is Finished!
Fortunately, there were no false starts or do-overs on the way to this finished baby blanket. I am just tickled with how well this project turned out.
To those who commented last week in favor of adding a border: You were right! The applied I-cord border is a lovely finishing touch.
I’ve decided to publish this pattern. The pattern will include an outline diagram so you can play with your own color arrangement, and instructions for getting the I-cord border to turn smoothly around the corners. (Scroll back and look at that corner. Isn’t it pretty?) Give me a couple of weeks to write it up and make the pattern tidy. (I have so much work right now. Not complaining at all, just acknowledging my inability to add more hours to the week.) Paid subscribers will, of course, receive a link to download a complimentary copy of the pattern when it is published.
We have been blessed in recent months with many fantastic new novels by authors we already know and love. Just since May, I’ve been happy to recommend books from Lauren Groff, Elizabeth Strout, Andrew Sean Greer, and Maggie O’Ferrell. How lucky we are to have access to such beautiful work by talented living authors!
We can add this week’s novel to that list. It’s Whistler by Ann Patchett.
Don’t be fooled by the lovely cover. This is not a book about horses. Not that there’s anything wrong with books about horses. Black Beauty and Misty of Chincoteague were among the favorite books of my girlhood.
Whistler is the story of Daphne, a 53-year-old teacher in New York, and her relationship with her former stepfather, Eddie Triplett, to whom her mother was married for just over a year more than 40 years ago.
The marriage ended abruptly in the wake of a horrific car accident that nearly killed both Eddie and Daphne when she was 9. Now, Eddie recognizes Daphne at the Metropolitan Museum. (She resembles her mother. Don’t we all?) She is shocked to see the man she remembers as the perfect stepfather.
This is a book about love and forgiveness. Patchett writes with grace and tenderness about bonds of the heart which endure despite the odds. There are no villains in this story, just humans doing the best they can to find security and happiness in difficult circumstances.
As Daphne and Eddie rediscover each other and rekindle their relationship, the narrative moves fluidly between past and present. Patchett slowly reveals details of that crucial accident and shows us the Eddie Daphne could not have known when she was a child.
Patchett reads the audiobook herself, and she does so brilliantly.
If you’re in the mood for a book that sees the mess of the human lives through a warm and generous lens, I heartily recommend Whistler.
Things that caught my eye…
This dialog between The New York Times’ Ezra Klein and civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson moved me deeply. Klein comes to the conversation with such an open heart, and Stevenson (of whom I’ve been a fan since I first read his book Just Mercy many years ago) is a living saint. At this time in American history, this interview should be required watching.
This documentary on PBS Passport was a delightful surprise. Find it here.
Spend some time exploring the magnificent ceiling of New York’s Grand Central Terminal.
As always, I’m grateful you chose to spend some time with me this week. Continue the conversation: What are knitting right now? Do you have a lap full of wool, as I do (thank goodness for central air conditioning), or have you switched to plant-based yarns? Sweaters and blankets, or smaller projects? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
The I-cord on the blanket is perfect!
The I-cord holds it together perfectly! I look forward to the pattern. I'm always looking for patterns to knit with my hand-spun yarns. I haven't had much success just winging it and never seem to have enough for patterns I see. Obviously I need to just keep spinning more! ... Thanks for all your fascinating links!