Running to Stand Still

Is what I feel like at the moment.

Tickets for the Ravelry Weekend (13th - 14th August) at the beautiful Stirling University Campus went on sale at the beginning of April, so there has been a lot of work to do.

I'm still working in the yarn shop:





It actually looks much better than this now because more things are arriving every day. We are the only UK stockist of Grignasco, beautiful yarn at a reasonable price, which takes me back to my Italian days - I used it all the time. We are getting some Noro in and (at my instigation) Dorothy Sieman's beautiful Fiddlesticks patterns and yarn.

We also have plenty of Jamieson & Smith:



I'm still knitting things for the shop, too.

This:



is a rather dark shot of the "Helleborus Yoke" cardigan by Matthew Gnagy in Knitscene, Spring 2010.

I used Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica (available at Yarn Gathering) and had the body knitted in no time. Of course, I had to modify the thing - it's worked sideways from the right front and he suggests keeping the yoke stitches live throughout but casting off the stitches of the body at the side seam, only to cast them on again to start the back. I don't think so. I just carried on and ignored him. (Something I do in daily life, too.) I also did a provisional cast on for the sleeve and then grafted the seam at the end. In this endeavour I was greatly aided by an article in the latest Interweave Knits by TechKnitter. Her blog is well worth a look if you need to be reminded how to do some fancy manoeuvre (of even if you haven't a clue how to do it and need to be led by the hand). Thanks to her, the graft is invisible to the naked eye - so invisible that I didn't take a picture of it because I couldn't find it (and now the garment has gone to the shop, to star in the window.)

The collar of the Helleborus Yoke was an entirely different matter. The first attempt followed the pattern as written. No go. The second attempt reduced the number of rows in the straight section and used a chain selvedge. No go. Then I looked to Ravelry and found that most people had been having problems with the collar - one knitter even left it off altogether because she couldn't fathom it. The designer chimed in with his corrections. One word of advice - don't even think about doing it his way. That was my third attempt and it was fearful. On the fourth attempt I decided to go my own way (see "carry on and ignore him" above). This is how it's going to stay because I've had enough of frogging - it's not perfect but it is wearable. (I know "it will do" is not the attitude but I really am at the tearing of the hair stage.)

What I did (if anyone is interested):

Work 5 repeats of the corrected short row increasing section; work 1 short row repeat without increasing (to the centre back); work 1 short row repeat without increasing; work 5 repeats of the short row decreasing section.

This is the start of the collar:



and that's how it goes on.

That's enough for now - I'm going up to the shop to teaching children to knit - snaring them early.

We're going to Stirling this weekend for a recce, so pictures of that next week (if I remember the camera!)