Yarnalong - the one where not everything is as it seems

This week I'm (re)knitting the beginning of Blank Canvas. When I pulled it off the needles to rip out four rows to restart the striping pattern I discovered it was huge. So I ripped it back and started again. The issue is that I am getting 18 stitches per 10 cm with a DK yarn, which makes no sense. Also, my gauge says this size should fit me, but I tried it on and it still seems big. But maybe it's just being weird, because gauge wouldn't lie? Right? Right??

I'm reading the second Cypress Hollow book Lucy's Kiss by Rachael Herron. I read the first one and it was just all right. I was a bit disappointed because I love Rachael's blog , and she seems like a lovely, lovely knitter. The books are unashamedly romance, but the first one was based around some kind of fake feeling (to me) miscommunication. I only started the second one because I bought them in a digest volume and I thought I had better try it or delete it from the Kindle. Well, I'm loving it. The romance feels natural and sweet and it's lovely.

I'm listening to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which addresses some huge issues of race, science, rights of control over your body, poverty, all told around one family. It's such a good listen. And the narrator is so good I sometimes forget she's not the actual author of the book. Not a dry science book at all.

So that's me for another yarnalong, where things got rather unexpected, but not at all bad. Pop over to Ginny's blog to see what everyone else is knitting and reading this week.

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Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

Linky Wednesday - the one with the drama

The drama about the Stephen West MKAL continues, and I can't be bothered with it. It's meant to be a fun, interesting, communal knit and and that's not what this year has turned in to. Stephen has done his best in a difficult situation, but I'm just not feeling it. Meanwhile, Israel is at war, and we (as a country) are going to vote "no" on a referendum that asks for basic consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. So yeah, lots of turmoil here. It's very tiring. I'm knitting a sock and considering what happens next. Luckily the reading was dramatic in a good way. I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Last Summer at the Lake House and it's great. Super dramatic family drama about three sisters who loose their father unexpectedly and then find out that the family has secrets. I 've nearly finished it and I don't know what I'm going to read next. I've got a bit of a break between review books, so maybe Sta

Mussleburgh musings

I made a Mussleburgh hat earlier in the year, and even though I thought I was following the directions exactly it did not come out quite right. It was a little bit loose. My head is 51 cm, my gauge was 7 stitches, so according to the pattern I knit the right size. It's also a little bit shorter than I would like it. Too long for a beanie, too short for a good turn-up. I couldn't work out why. I still wore it, but it was not quite right. When I decided to knit one for Elise I knew I wanted to make it longer, and tighter. After I finished Elise's (with 24 fewer stitches) I realised something about mine: Now, this is a knit tube. I know how to knit tubes. When I make sleeves or socks, they don't balloon out in the middle. So I decided to reblock it. The instructions actually specifically say to fold it inside each other after blocking, but I probably folded it and dried it on my head, because that's how I block my hats. Not this time: Now it's longer and thinner

What I made, by Sharon

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