Aren't Knitters Nice?

A while ago, I was whining and moaning about the weather, the light (or lack therof) and the Black Dog being all over me. Lixie (no stranger to the Black Dog herself) was most sympathetic and asked if there was anything she could do. I, of course, replied (tongue half in my cheek), "Send yarn!".

Guess what arrived this morning?



The complete "Don't let the Black Dog get you down" package.

Some fun little magnets to help me express my mood (that's if the flinging of cushions and banging of household items hasn't already given the game away);



some postcards with beautiful pictures of yarn, yarn and more yarn - two of each design thoughtfully provided so I can send one and keep one;



Issue 2 of "Proud to be Crafty", wherein articles by Ruth of Woolly Wormhead fame, and Mary-Lou's patterns for fab flowers; last, but by no means least:

a skein of the most beautifully soft hand-spun angora ("bunny fluff") from Tess at Silkwood.



Lixie, I can't thank you enough.

Aren't Knitters Nice?

Did I miss a week (or two)?

I honestly do not know how the time seems to slip through my fingers - worse than money, worse than a slippery eel.

I haven't been doing a great deal of knitting. Cooking and keeping the peace have been much more important of late. I have cooked. I have kept the peace. Christmas has passed off without incident and a good time was had by all.

Here's "Back Field Saturday" again. (Yes, I know it's not Saturday - it's not sunny either, but there you go.)




This time, we have a horse.

Things do change, ever so slightly, in the Rural Backwater.

New Year's Resolution?

a) No list of "What I knitted this year" (that's a promise).

b) More regular blogging (ditto).

Sad, Neglected and Unloved

and that's just the blog.

I know, I know, I've been remiss. I want to thank you all for your kind thoughts. The Black Dog (not to mention the Black Cat, aka Beelzebub) has been knocking at the back door. The days are short and dark and as for the Christmas Madness - don't get me started.

However, I didn't start this blog to talk about me, and there has been a certain amount of knitting. As in, I have finished the frilly-edge scarf (done while I was waiting with #1 son for him to give evidence in a case of ABH - don't ask, but another possible reason why the blog has been a bit rocky of late.)



Don't even think about making "2 x 3.5cm diameter pom-poms using yarn B (Kimono Ribbon)" as recommended in the book, because, even using the new, improved pom-pom method, the whole thing will fall to bits, causing short strands of Kimono Ribbon to cascade onto the floor, thereby adding to the general unkempt nature of the household. Some say it adds to the "Christmassy feel" - I say "Bah, humbug!", but you knew that already, I think.

What I did in the end, was to use a bit of the same "Impression" yarn, hanging about in stash, albeit in a different colour. Knitter's choice, Knitter's fudge, Knitter using her own brain.

I have also decided to do "Out the back Saturday". Lots of people do "Saturday Sky" on their blog but to me that doesn't really give you much of a context. Sky is sky, after all. I am going to treat you to a view of the back field. I'm going to try and take it at the same time each Saturday. I may post them all, I may post none. Much of this depends on the new and improved (insert hollow laugh) Beta Blogger.

So, doing the best I can to catch up and ingratiate myself with the blogging community (if not the Knitters), I give you my back field on December 2nd:



and as if that wasn't enough, here it is again on December 9th:



As you can see, not much changes in the Rural Backwater.

Pom Tiddly Pom-Pom

Making pom-poms should be simplicity itself. I'm sure I was taught to make a pom-pom in primary school and while I haven't exactly made a career of pom-pom making, I'm pretty sure I have made my fair share of pom-poms over the years.

Imagine my surprise, therefore, when the making of the first pom-pom for the "Frill Scarf" went completely pear-shaped. In fact, the thing wasn't shaped like a pear - it just fell to bits completely. There is no photograph. It went in the bin; in the big bin; the outside bin; long before the camera could be deployed. There were short strands of yarn everywhere. It was a right mess. It also used up plenty of yarn and necessitated a trip to the LYS to buy another ball of Impression. I was a very, very good girl and contented myself with that one ball of yarn, although I did collect a 2mm addi circular (for the WRS) that has been on order for ages and a 4.5mm addi circ for use with the black Frost and Ice (hoping to make the thing go faster, but see below).

I got to thinking about the "traditional" way of making a pom-pom - you know, with the double circles of cardboard with the centres cut out and you wind yarn round for ever and end up having to use a needle to poke the yarn through the hole in the centre that becomes smaller and smaller as you go on. That method seems to me to be flawed in all sorts of ways. One way is that when you cut around the circumference of the circle and ease the two cardboard circles apart,ready to tie a strand of yarn round the middle of the pom-pom to hold the whole thing together, it is all too easy for the card to slip right off the cut ends of the yarn (particularly when you have a small diameter, as in this case) and then you end up with a pile of short strands that really, really want to be a pom-pom but can't quite hold it together.

So, it seems to me that you need to have the "tying yarn" round the yarn-to-be-cut, before you cut the yarn. And I don't see why you have to wind the yarn round the circle and cope with that infuriating hole in the middle.

This is what I did.

Cut a piece of card about 6in/15cm long and as deep as the desired diameter of your pom-pom (5cm in this case):



Fold the card in half (short side to short side) and poke a hole through both layers on the mid-line and near the fold. Cut through both layers along the mid-line up to the hole (and no further, do not cut the whole lot in half).

Thread the yarn you are going to use to tie the middle of the pom-pom so that it rests in the hole:



Wrap the yarn round the card:



Don't wrap too tightly. If you are hoping to make another pom-pom the same size then it might be a good idea to count how many wraps you do, otherwise your pom-poms might look un-even. (Ask me how I know this.)

Bring the two ends of the "tying yarn" together at the right of the card and shuffle (technical term) them down the slit in the card and tie - just once, you can tie it tighter later.

Poke your scissor blade down between the two layers of card at the top and cut the yarn:



Cut again at the bottom. Tighten the "tying yarn" if necessary. Ploof up (technical term) the pom-pom. Trim if necessary. Stand back and admire your creation:



Not a bad pom-pom and a heck of a lot better than the first miserable attempt.

I've just spent quite a large chunk of time putting right a mistake in the black Frost and Ice which came about due to overambition - "I can knit black mohair when I've just come back from work at mid-night and had several glasses of wine."

Guess what, I can't.

All done, now though. Not perfect, but it passes the running horse test.