knitting neels

Obsessed? Moi?

The hap shawl continues to grow. Amazingly, I have used only half of my Malabrigo sock so I am thinking about adding a big squishy border at the appropriate time. I followed the instructions (mostly) but my increases have gone a little awry so this will probably end up being bigger than the pattern intended. I don’t really mind: our weather is really bizarre right now. It is very hot in the sun (this is where the hap can be used to lie out on) but then a hurricane of wind and rain can come out of nowhere (and this is where it can be used to cover head and upper-body whilst fleeing for cover). And all other times, it can be used to shield against Evil Air Conditioning.

In a few weeks, I’m going to travel to Finland with the violinist that I play with. She’s Finnish, you see, so she has arranged a concert in her home town as well as some masterclasses with her old teacher. (A masterclass is a public lesson with a teacher that you don’t normally study with. People can come in and listen to the lesson. It’s a good way to get to know a teacher that you might like to study with or, at the very least, get a another opinion on what you’re playing. I had a masterclass once about ten years ago with a very famous French teacher who despaired of my Beethoven playing. She completely destroyed my score with her small, charcoal pencil. There is something uniquely excruciating about an old French woman’s despair. All the same, everyone later agreed she was insane. My best masterclass was when the teacher pulled a chair right up beside at the keyboard and we worked through three Debussy pieces and I got to ask all the questions I wanted, and he completely ignored the audience. Which was awful if you paid in – but great for me.)

Errr, I digress. The bottom line about going away to Finland is that they actually have a season called summer there. Insensible though it may seem, I have cast on for a short sleeved cotton top.

The pattern is Arielle from Kim Hargreaves’ latest book, Misty. I’m knitting it in a white 100% cotton called Safran from Drops. It’s not a mercerised cotton so it’s quite nice in the hand to knit with. I picked white mostly because it will match lots of my clothes. I think the top is a style that I can wear with jeans or with a posh skirt for playing in. I tend to wear very light things to play in all year round because I get very, very hot when I play.

The pattern leaves a few things to be desired, unfortunately. The border is stupid. I don’t like using that word but here, I think I am right. It’s a border that you knit lengthwise and then pick up the stitches along the edge of the strip for the body. Getting that border to sit just right is a fine art. In my mind, it’s like the nightmare of buttonbands grown to take over a quarter of the garment. Add to this situation the Rowan requisite that everything is knit flat. Both of these things were quickly discarded and replaced with a simple baby cable rib knit in the round.

I went hunting for buttons today for my Audrey cardigan but alas, to no avail. I also have no pictures of my green alpaca cardigan even though I have been wearing it since yesterday. My resident photographer has been feeling a bit sleepy. Take my word, though, it is perfect for this gusty, changeable weather. I think I will knit another in charcoal for autumn.