My friend Scout.

Sometimes, a knitting project is just right. A kind of Goldilocks Zone project that ticks all the boxes. And guess what – I’ve got one right now. (Yep, I’m pretty lucky.)

I haven’t quite decided on a name yet – my working title is the ‘Scout sweater’, because I was listening to an audiobook version of To Kill a Mockingbird the first couple of days I worked on it. (Read by the wonderful Sissy Spacek.) Maybe I’ll stick with ‘Scout’, or maybe I’ll go with ‘Jean Louise’… we’ll see. Anyway, I’m enjoying this project tremendously.

First, there was the planning – sketching and swatching and whatnot. Now, I’m one of those knitters who really enjoy swatching and stuff, so this part of the process was pure pleasure. Next, I ordered the yarn (as a namnsdagspresent for myself), and it arrived in no time at all. Yay!

Then I cast on and started knitting. And since then, I’ve hardly put Scout down. I’ve worked on her at home, and she’s come with me pretty much everywhere – to the park, the library, going for coffee… She’s such great company. Fine, she doesn’t say much (well, nothing, in fact), but her silent companionship is just fine by me.

The worst thing is, this knitting is going really fast. At this rate, Scout will be done in a couple of days, and I will have to say goodbye to her. Sure, I’ll have a lovely sweater to wear – but wearing my knits is never as much fun as actually knitting them. It’s like WIPs are close friends that you hang out with all the time – but FOs are more like acquaintances that you see every once in a while.

You know that feeling when you’re reading a book that’s got you absolutely hooked and then you start getting close to the end of it, and you find yourself reading more and more slowly in an attempt to make the story last as long as possible… well, that’s how I feel about Scout. Time to start knitting really slowly.

Music to knit by.

I don’t often listen to music when I knit. This seems rather statistically unlikely, since I spend a lot of time listening to music and I spend a lot of time knitting, but I still manage to defy the odds somehow.

However, there are times when the two meet – and for this to happen, the right combination of music and knitting is necessary. Here are a few examples.

The album: Daylight Versions by The Leaf Library
The knitting: Swatching for a new jumper
Why it works: This is one of those albums that have the power to transport you into a slightly different reality. Just what’s needed for feeling creative and inspired.

The album: The Ship’s Piano by Darren Hayman
The knitting: Lace-knitted jumper in WATG’s Sugar Baby Alpaca
Why it works: This is an album of beautifully crafted songs that make listen carefully to each word and every note. It calms me down and focuses my mind, and is perfect for early morning stillness. (I don’t think I could work with colour when listening to this album. )

The album: 99.9F by Suzanne Vega
The knitting: Cabled jumper for sister Emelie
Why it works: This album is one of my all-time faves – but then so are all of Suzanne Vega’s albums, really. I love her. And this albums is just… perfection. To be honest, I could probably do anything while listening to it: washing dishes, going for a run, jumping out of an airplane… but knitting seems rather more enjoyable.

Inspiration.

Bliss.

Paraphernalia.

Knitting can be about a lot of things. It can be about making cosy jumpers and scarves and mittens to keep you toasty warm even on the coldest of days. It can be about using nice yarn – soft and squishy and brightly coloured. And it can be about the tradition of knitting, passed down from generation to generation.

Of course, all of these are valid reasons for knitting. I mean, they’re all part of why I knit. But if I had to pick just one aspect of knitting, just a single reason why I love knitting as much as I do… well, I’d probably have to go with The Paraphernalia. You know, the tools and gadgets and whatnot.

I’ve always loved tools. Not just those that are used for knitting: I can appreciate any well-made, useful tool, whether it’s intended for gardening, sports, carpentry, cooking, crafting or anything else. I don’t think I’m alone in this – tools have always been important to humans. After all, human civilisation really took off once we started making tools. (We’re not the only tool-using species, though, some non-human animals also use them. Take crows, for example. They not only use tools, but will even make them! How cool is that?)

Anyway. Knitting tools. There are plenty of minimalist knitters who pretty much just use needles and yarn… but I’m not really one of them. Whenever someone says that they prefer to cable without a needle, I think to myself But WHY?!! When there are so many wonderful (and pretty) cable needles in the world! And don’t even get me started on the snobbery controversy surrounding the use of stitch markers…

Sure, I don’t technically need stitch markers or cable needles or any of the other fancy stuff. In a pinch, I’m fine with making do without – or else using paperclips, waste yarn and the like. You see, using knitting paraphernalia isn’t about necessity for me – it’s about enhancing the experience. Using green, heart-shaped stitch markers puts a little smile on my face. And so does using a brightly coloured darning needle that matches my yarn, or a pretty cable needle ring, or an ornate nystepinne.

And who doesn’t want a little smile on their face?

Knitted effigy.

Sometimes, when you really really really admire someone and think that their work is really really really awesome, the only way to express it is through the medium of knit.

I give you: Richard Wiseman.

Knitting + beads = <3

I’m not afraid to admit it: I love beads. I love them on their own, and I love them even more in my knitting.

Sure, there’s the danger of using them in a way that makes your project look crafty-in-the-wrong-way, but as long as you manage to steer clear of that, beads can really take your knitting to the next level.

There are lots of different ways of incorporating beads into knitting, but my absolute favourite technique is the Superfloss method. The first couple of times I heard it mentioned, I wasn’t sure I’d heard right. Dental floss? Beads? Knitting? Combined? It just didn’t make sense. Eventually, I checked out how to do it – and I was instantly hooked. There’s something deeply satisfying about using this technique, and it’s actually really simple. I’ll show you how to do it!

What you’ll need:

• OralB Superfloss (or other similar dental floss with stiffened ends and a spongy centre section)
• beads (I really like Miyuki Delica beads)

Step 1.

Thread one of your beads onto the floss, and tie a knot around it close to one of the ends. Thread some more beads onto the floss.

Step 2.

Knit until you get to the stitch where you want to place a bead – but don’t knit this stitch yet. Insert the un-knotted end of your floss into the stitch purl-wise.

Step 3.

Slide the stitch off the knitting needle, so it sits on the floss.

Step 4.

Loop the end of the floss and insert it back through the first bead.

Step 5.

Slide the bead towards the looped end of the floss, and push it onto the knitted stitch.

Step 6.

Slide the stitch back onto the left needle and remove the floss. Insert the right needle into the stitch (above the bead), and knit the stitch in the regular way.

That’s all there’s to it – easy, right?

PS: Want to put your new skills to good use? Check out my Hastings cowl.

Hi there.

It had to happen sooner or later, right? So, here it is: my very own knit blog.

Welcome.