Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
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Hi, I'm Kelly. This is primarily a knitting blog, so obviously I like to knit and to write about knitting. Sometimes I muse about other things. I have lived in the US, Australia, and Germany, and currently live in the UK with my Canadian husband. I have a Ph.D. in Linguistics and have taught at universities, been a stay-at-home mom, and managed a neuroscience research center.
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
3w ago
It’s been a month since I posted last (gasp!). Lots of time to knit, you may be thinking. Alas, you would be wrong. Instead I have been working very hard on the day job, including an 11-day teaching trip to Johannesburg, from which I have returned just hours ago. But never fear, I have been knitting hypothetically, which is shorthand for buying knitting stuff.
For example, on my trip to Finland a few weeks ago, I found buttons for my red Hirne cardigan:
I haven’t had a chance to sew them on yet, but they are a pretty good match, especially since I didn’t have the sweater with me when I purcha ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
1M ago
It is always good to expand your vocabulary. This week I read an article in the Guardian about styling tips to spice up your wardrobes, which announced “Drapescaping is the new tablescaping”. It says: “Just as tablescaping is a fancy word for setting the table, drapescaping is a fancy one for wearing a scarf.” Ha ha! If drapescaping is cool and stylish, then we knitters have been cool all along! Who knew?
Here at Knitigating Circumstances, we have been unknowingly drapescaping for years! In hand-knitted shawls, no less!
Here we are drapescaping in 2023:
Above is Emma, in 2023, in Trafalgar Sq ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
2M ago
Last weekend was the Unravel festival at Farnham Maltings, a favourite yarny event. On the Friday, Doug and I had tickets to a show at Ronnie Scotts in London, so we spent the day in London instead of heading to Farnham to buy yarn. We had a fantastic day, the trains were all working (shock!), we had a terrific lunch, spent hours walking and people watching, wandered around the Royal Academy of Art, and had a great time at the concert.
Unravel was open on Saturday and Sunday, too, but having taken Friday off, I opted to work all weekend. As it happened, I was very productive on the weekend an ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
3M ago
Did any of you see the new episode of Death in Paradise last night? In it, Hayley Mills (that’s right – Hayley Mills!) was the unfortunate murder victim, stabbed to death with her own knitting needle. With apologies to the boardgame Clue (Cluedo over on this side of the pond), in which you guess the identity of the murderer not the victim, I couldn’t resist thinking “It was Hayley Mills, in the Bingo Room, with a Knitting Needle”. Hee hee.
Two things struck me right away. First, that was the most un-lethal knitting needle I’ve ever seen. Where did the prop people even find that? Second, I gues ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
3M ago
Today I took my new hat out for a spin.
Who would imagine that this is what it looks like once its been knitted and blocked?
Does this look like a hat to you? There is no opening in which to put one’s head. But then, you tuck one half into the other, and voila! You either end up with a white hat with a blue brim, or you can turn it inside out and you have a blue hat with a white brim. Magic!
It really is a lovely hat, and the wool is soft and bouncy. I used the pattern A.N.T. (A New Take) by Aimee DeBaun, with a couple of skeins of wool from stash, which I had purchased in Copenhagen a few ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
3M ago
I’ve got a lot going on right now, and as a result, I’m spending less time knitting. I am fully hoping to devote lots of time to knitting in the second half of the year, but until then, as a chronicle of knitting, this blog leaves something to be desired.
I finished the body of my piping hot sweater weeks ago:
I am worried it is a bit short, and that I may need to rip the ribbing back and add an inch or two to the length. I sensibly decided to wait until after it is blocked to make that decision. In the meantime, it has been sitting in a pile on the coffee table in front of my sofa, giving me ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
3M ago
It occurs to me that the title of this post could be an ironic reference to our covidfest of a Christmas holiday. I tested positive on Christmas Eve, managed to not pass it on to the family through creative and annoying isolation techniques in a small space, and then, the day after New Year’s, Leah came down with it, followed by Doug, followed by Emma’s partner, and then Emma. Much of the holiday was spent playing board games (I ruled in Catan, but Doug swept the board in 7 Wonders), so perhaps it is not so strange that we fell like dominos to covid.
The title reference however, is not to pass ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
4M ago
The end of the year approaches, which means it’s that time when I usually show you the projects which were completed during the year. I finished eight knitting projects this year – two cardigans, two tees, two hats, a shawl and a pair of mittens. (I will link to the relevant posts about each project at the bottom of the page, which contain information on the pattern and yarn.)
The cardigans were both knitted from the same pattern – Hirne by Kate Davies. I really enjoyed knitting this, as evidenced by the fact that I knitted it twice; I rarely knit a pattern more than once. I think I’ve worn on ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
5M ago
It’s that time of year again, when the temperature drops and I start composing my annual mitten post. Below is a selection of the patterns for mittens, mitts and gloves that have caught my eye this season. I hope they tickle your inner knitter’s fancy. (If you are in the southern hemisphere, it gives you lots of time to prepare for your winter while knitting small things in the heat.)
Expo 67 Mittens by Espace Tricot
© Espace Tricot
I love this pattern, which combines bold colour with an architectural feel. The latter is not surprising as the pattern is based on the architecture of the 1967 Mo ..read more
Knitigating Circumstances | Because knitting is excuse enough
6M ago
I braved a cold and windy day to take some photos of my newest top – once again, a summer top in time for winter. This is the Anker Tee designed by PetiteKnit.
I usually fall for a pattern and then search for the right yarn. In this case the yarn – Isager Trio 2 – came first. I was intrigued by the yarn content – 50% linen/flax, 30% cotton, 20% Tencel/Lyocell. The last is a fibre derived from trees, so essentially paper. I wanted to know how it would behave. I thought it would have a good drape and that the fabric would breathe. I thought that having a bit of paper fibre blended with linen so ..read more