Yards and Gardens

 I was baffled to see a large front lawn surrounded by flowering shrubs described as a 'front yard' in an American magazine article. This space was larger than most British gardens. We Brits would call it a garden, so why was it being described as a 'yard'? I've also seen lawned or rough areas around and at the back of the house described by Americans as 'yards'. 

Yards, to my mind, are generally paved, utilitarian areas. They may be small, like the yards at the back of Victorian terraced houses, space for a washing line, perhaps with a privy shed and a coal shed,  or just access to the privy and coal hole, a few strides between the back door and the gate to the back lane.  Or larger, like a farmyard, livery yard, scrapyard or builders' yard.

Intrigued, I asked an American friend to explain their use of yard and garden. It seems a 'yard', in addition to a paved, utilitarian space, is an outside space attached to a property, which isn't being deliberately designed and used as a growing space. Okay, there might be a stretch of lawn surrounded by shrubs, but it's whatever, nothing special. The grass gets cut and the shrubs pruned and mulched, the leaves raked up, but there's no thought of design, no intent beyond a tidy bit of kerb-appeal. It may be a space to play catch, have barbecues, sit in the sun, but it isn't being actively 'gardened'. To count as a garden, the same space would have design and intent behind it, from which plants to grow and how they work together, to landscaping of paths and levels, or a space designed for growing fruit and vegetables. If you happen to have a few citrus and olive trees in your Californian 'garden', it may nevertheless be a 'yard'.

So many people here in the UK, especially in houses built from the 1960s on, have a small, private, outside space - a 'garden'. Often described in estate agents' details as an 'easily-maintained garden', which they think is a positive, but is not attractive to someone who really wants to garden. There is an almost cultural imperative to have a lawn, which one feeds and seeds to make it grow, then cuts to keep the growth down, keeping it free of 'weeds' by using a broad leaf herbicide, keeping any shrubs around it free of pests by using a pesticide. Controlling the space is what makes it a 'garden' here in the UK. So if it's an outside patch with a patio, a shed and a patchy stretch of grass with a trampoline and swing, it's a garden in the UK, but a yard in the USA.

I can see the point here; this differentiation of yard and garden makes sense and is growing on me (sorry, couldn't resist the pun!). I would not often (if ever?) say this, but this is an example of American English usage that I would like to see introduced here in the UK.

Time Lapse

My blogging has lapsed somewhat, largely replaced by doing. While the weather was good, I spent spare time out in the garden, (currently) marked by my last published post in August, although there are (quite) a few draft posts which get looked at and tweaked from time to time.

When at my desk, I'm invariably working, still editing the magnum opus which came my way at the start of the year. It's a fascinating book set in 1949 Ethiopia, but irritatingly wordy, with dialogue in five languages and occasional words in a further two. The typescript was an incredible mess of typographical, spelling and grammatical errors, which are gradually falling away under my relentless nit-picking. I keep reminding myself not to over-correct or change the writer's style, that it's not my job to fact check - but inevitably, I've picked up on some anachronisms which needed further research and discussion. It's still very long, the equivalent of five average-sized novels, so it's undecided yet whether this will be one novel or perhaps a series of three or more. I'm really enjoying the work (although the amount of work I'm doing is disproportionate to what I'll eventually be paid!) and loving the way my relationship with the author is developing. I am learning so much about language and editing, and more than I ever imagined I wanted to know about Ethiopia!

I have also received a PhD thesis to proof-read, started earlier this year and now in its final stages. I've also quoted for another. Both have been affected by the supervisors' requests for rewrites. I've previously seen this 'you get it ready to publish, then I'll make suggestions for changes', which has the potential to become a soul-destroying, endless loop of draft versions and self-questioning - am I/is my work good enough yet? The answer, at least in my opinion for the thesis I'm working on, is 'this is awesome and you are utterly amazing!', but I guess the rarefied heights of academia have a more jaded and demanding attitude.

A combination of changeable weather and the conflict of what else I 'should' be doing has largely kept me out of the garden. The days flicker by and only time will reveal the cumulative effects of barely perceptible daily changes, like the comparison of first and last drafts, or the start and end of a time-lapse film. 

A Little Overwhelmed

Is it possible to feel only a little overwhelmed?  Doesn't the word imply being entirely overcome, utterly submerged?

The process of separating my things, bringing them in from store, cleaning, sorting and repacking is proving slow, frustrating and horribly dirty. Sorting out stuff inside the cottage is not much better, although thankfully cleaner. I can feel myself teetering on the brink of despair but refuse to feel completely defeated by this seemingly enormous task. Despite tackling it a bit at a time, it's difficult to be very systematic because of the random way in which things were put into store. (I should add, by someone else while I was out at work!) For example, vases; three different sources so far, and I think I may still be missing one. I've found candles, tealights and candleholders in four different boxes so far, and still have not come across the snuffer which should have been packed with the advent candleholder. There are currently boxes everywhere, as I try to find things, get them clean and pack like with like. I've become so cross with myself for not being able to find, for example, my jewellery tools (I'm sure it's not that long since I used them, they must be here somewhere, dammit!), that I have vowed never again to let things become so chaotic. In the meantime, I have other things to do too, not to mention the pile of laundry which is growing faster than I can get it washed and dried (mainly because I need a bath and a change of clothes when I've been rummaging around in the storage area in the back of the barn, and now that it's May, it keeps raining!).

People have been very helpful, finding packing boxes and making suggestions. A friend suggested I just pick out my things and repack straight away, leaving the cleaning and sorting until I'm putting away in the new place. That would probably be okay if things were just a bit dusty, but some things really are filthy. When I retrieved the rest of the mugs, one had a dessicated, headless mouse in it, presumably dropped and forgotten about by one of the owls. The muck stays here; besides which, I know I won't have the energy or inclination after the move.

A rather ruthless acquaintance pointed out that if everything was so filthy, and considering that I hadn't used any of this stuff in five years, I obviously didn't need it, so why didn't I just throw out the lot, or have a massive bonfire? And the simple answer is, because it would be wasteful, and there are some things in store which I have missed and felt too overwhelmed, or in too much pain to want to fight my way into the back of the silage shed, to search for until now. All my books on dance, old photos, a wooden kitchen tray, my honey drizzler ... even the Christmas decorations, unused for the past few years. I don't have the money to get rid and just treat myself to new whatever I find I need or miss.

Some people are minimalists, others have no choice, but most people accumulate things they don't strictly need, but keep just for the sake of interest, decoration, sentiment or convenience. If you have a grill, you don't, strictly speaking, need a toaster.  You can chop herbs and garlic with a chef's knife, but I love my mezzaluna. My cherry/olive stoner gets quite a lot of use, too. I like detail and find minimalist environments sterile and unsettling, distressing rather than de-stressing. Of course I could declutter more and no doubt will in future, but at the moment I take a load to the recycling, and a bag of items to the charity shop (trying not to bring anything back!) every couple of weeks, and constantly surprise myself by what I'm letting go. Bye-bye ice skates, the spare set of kitchen scales, the third teapot, my old jazz shoes.

So, no extreme decluttering for me. It always seems so cruel; I've seen advice to parents that they impose a 'one in, one out' rule for their children's toys! "You can only have a new toy if you part with one." feels like some sort of emotional blackmail, although I suppose some children have more toys than they know what to do with (and that's hardly their fault, now, is it?). As for the decluttering techniques which use disaster scenarios and questions such as "You have to flee for your life/your house is flooding/on fire, what do you save? What would you miss most and have to replace?", they fill me with sorrow for those who are actually living the nightmares, and gratitude for my abundant blessings.

It's easy to find lots of tips online if you're into that sort of decluttering, but I'm really enjoying reading articles from Apartment Therapy. (No, they aren't paying me anything for the mention, unfortunately!) They seem to take a more balanced, sympathetic, realistic view of things and there are lots of useful tips and life hacks, as well as practical interior design ideas.

I've just heard that the local searches are back at last, although it will be another day or two before I receive the report in the post. It's a bit too tight now to move in mid-May, but sometime from the third week of May to early June may still be feasible.

Oh help. I really need to get cracking with the packing

Mojo; Lost and Found

I was discussing tidying craft rooms with a friend, and telling her how tidying mine up a bit had helped me to find my sewing mojo again.

Mojo. It seems to be used a lot nowadays, but it's not a word I would normally use. It felt so strange to say it that I had to go and look up what it really means and work out what I meant by it.

(You probably know this already, but I'm a teacher, amongst other things, so can't resist providing explanations. Sorry. Skip ahead if you like!)

Mojo refers to a magic charm, talisman, spell, influence or magic power. It's derived from the name for a Hoodoo amulet bag worn on the person to attract luck, protection or the fulfilment of various wishes, made of flannel or leather and containing several items or 'ingredients'. These are usually associated with the reason for or desire behind the mojo bag, such as crystals, herbs, coins, charms, hair and so on.

Well, I didn't know that, but do like to learn something new every day.  I was thinking of it more like an abbreviated portmanteau word relating to motivation for and enjoyment of something. Probably, that's what it seems to mean now; inspiration, creativity, desire, passion, positivity, with a side-order of get-up-and-go. All things critical to getting things done and loving life, so no wonder the loss of it is depressing.

Having found my mojo, I've promptly, but hopefully only temporarily, mislaid it.  I overheard someone complaining that she'd lost her housework mojo. I don't think I ever had one of those. In the absence of getting a round tooit, I generally have to tell myself to JFDI. So perhaps if I tidied up a bit more, I'd find it again. Worth a try, particularly as I may need to start sorting out and packing in the not too distant future. Oh my, 2015 may turn out to be a year of changes!

Soothing sunset

One of the joys of living down here is the opportunity to just take a trip or a detour to watch the sunset from a beach.

I'd been up to Cardigan to have some work done on the car (ach, stress and money!) and as I collected it, I realised it was going to be a lovely evening. Too lovely to go home straight away, so I took the road which would take me to Fishguard, without really thinking what I wanted to do. As I reached Dinas Cross, I realised the west-facing Pwllgwaelod* would be a lovely place to watch the sunset.

On a fine evening, I love the whole time between the golden hour, when the setting sun turns everything to gold and blue, and the dusk when it gets too dark to see. After the sun dips below the horizon, the 'blue hour' might include a lovely sunset of reds and oranges to contrast with the darkening sky, especially if there are clouds to pick up the colours. Or it might just colour the sky and sea gentle shades of greenish-yellow, coral, violet, and eventually a sky-blue-pink as the pink band of the Belt of Venus stretches along the darkening horizon. The same thing happens in reverse at dawn, from dark to sunrise. Being a night bird, I tend to catch dawns by staying up late rather than rising early, although the latter has been known too!

It turned out to be a lovely sunset. I sat on the sea wall and watched as the sun disappeared, the sky and reflecting sea took on various colours, changing and darkening. I could feel myself breathing more slowly, relaxing, my mind stretching out into space. Lights came on in the distance, and I realised that they were the lights of the station and ferry port at Goodwick.

Reluctantly, I brought myself back to a 'now' which demanded action, got up stiffly, tottered back to the car and drove home.


* It helps to remember that in Welsh, W is a vowel, pronounced as a short oo. LL is a soft sound created by pressing the end of your tongue to the palate just above and behind your front teeth and then breathing out through slightly parted teeth and lips. 'Wae' is pronounced like 'why'. Pooll-gwhy-lod. Bottom pool or cove.

Disoriental Dancing

This post has been brewing for several weeks now, so dancers in my classes will have heard all of this at some point and performed the choreography which gave rise to this series of thoughts. I felt I needed to write them up, for future reference.

Working on the notes for the class choreography and the difficulties dancers were having in the last lesson of term set me thinking about awareness of space and direction, how I describe them, and how easy it can be for newer dancers to have difficulty with them.  My choreography notes always contain a table of the abbreviations I use to describe directions and as I copied it into a new document, I thought about the root of the words oriental and orientation. At times like this, I reach for my battered copy of The Concise Oxford Dictionary.

Orient, (noun): the East, countries east of the Mediterranean, especially East Asia. Middle English from Old French from Latin oriens, orientis rising, sunrise, east (oriri rise).

Oriental (adjective): of the east or of those countries east of the Mediterranean.

Orient, (verb): place to face east, determine position with regard to points of compass, settle or find bearings, direct towards, gain a sense of direction, position or relationship with one's surroundings, (from French orienter from Latin, as before).  Also Orientate, as a back form from ...

Orientation (noun): the act or process of orienting oneself or being oriented to find one's relative position, gain knowledge of surroundings, information or sense of self.

Add the prefix dis- and you have the reverse, removal or absence of this.

Disorientation (noun): A temporary or permanent loss of or state of confusion over one's sense of direction, position or relationship to surroundings, place, time, sense of what is correct, or personal identity.

Which is a very good word to describe the feelings of bewilderment resulting from the sensory overload involved in trying to keep track of, and concentrate on, what your feet, hips and arms are all supposed to be doing, the direction of travel and where you are supposed to be facing in relation to the 'front' and other dancers, while keeping time with and listening for cues in the music and probably also listening to instructions and prompts AND trying to watch and mimic the teacher (or the dancers in front or to the side and occasionally all of them in turn). It's amazing no-one falls over and not surprising at all that many dance students feel they have problems with coordination.

Many people think their coordination is bad, but actually, it's such a common issue when learning to dance as to be normal. I think beginners assume that practiced and professional dancers don't have problems with coordination, but I've been in a class with other professional dancers where none of us could coordinate our arms and legs on the first try in one exercise. It took a bit of thinking about and slow, deliberate practice a few times before we were up to speed and could then let our bodies take over and stop concentrating so hard. Except for certain neurological and movement disorders can make it very challenging indeed, coordination can be learned and improved. This is why I regularly add coordination exercises in my classes - I need the practice too!

So let's have a look at issues of space and direction, and I'll discuss some other things which conspire to make you feel clumsy and uncoordinated when you're learning to dance in future posts.

When you're dancing, you are moving your body through space and time. I bet you've never thought of it like that!

The time element is in the beat/time signature, speed (beats per minute), rhythm(s), melodic phrasing, the corresponding speed and duration of dance moves and overall duration of the music and dance.

In terms of space, there are two sets of references:

Fixed, which describes directions in relation to the dance space. The dance space is often thought of as a box, with four walls and four diagonals. Turning clockwise from the front, you would face the right front diagonal, right side, right back diagonal, back, left back diagonal, left side, and left front diagonal. If you were on a traditional stage, the front wall is where your audience would be. Stage right and left are from the point of view of you as a performer on stage. Old stages sometimes had a slope or 'rake' so that they were higher at the back, so upstage is towards the back wall, and downstage is towards the front. Up is towards the ceiling, down is towards the floor. On is into the dance space, off is out of the dance space.
Some people think of these directions like points on a compass; others prefer to divide their space into 12 and think of a clock face.

Relative or Body, which describes directions in relation to your (the dancer's) body. You have a front, right side, back and left side. I sometimes refer to 'dancing in your own box'. You can move your whole self or just bits of you forwards, backwards, left, right, diagonally, turning clockwise (i.e. to your right) and anticlockwise (to your left), upwards, downwards, outwards (away from your centre) or inwards (towards your centre).

When dancing 'on your feet' (as opposed to sitting, lying, etc) your weight can be even, across both feet, or transferred from one foot to the other, or moved towards your toes or heels. When you are doing something like a hip drop, your supporting leg is the one carrying most of your weight, and your working leg/hip is the one doing the hip drop.  The leading foot is the one you step onto first, which may or may not be the same as your direction of travel. The trailing arm or leg is usually the one on the other side, for example, away from the direction of travel. It can be useful to think in this way when learning moves, as it relates them to the body, reducing the right/left confusion which arises when you do the move 'on the other side'.

I use clockwise and anticlockwise for the direction of circular movements, turns and curved pathways, to distinguish them from the directions right and left.  I could say round to the right, but this begs the question - on the spot or in how wide a circle?

Okay so far? As with anything, dance has its jargon.  Different teachers may explain things differently, but once you start to become familiar with a way of thinking about space and directions, it can make learning to dance easier.

It may help to think of your dance space as a box,  but what if the box has no distinct front or is a circle or other shape, with audience spaced around it? Dancing on a diagonal may take a bit more concentration, but you just have to decide which way is front. Your own personal front, sides and back don't change. Difficulties arise in trying to cope with both sets of spatial references, and the issues of right-left confusion, mirroring and handedness (which are big enough to need their own, separate post!).

Working with two sets of spatial references may need some thought, but is an accurate way of recording and thinking about what you are doing and where. It starts to get confusing when there is a perceived clash of directions, for example, moving forwards facing the back (i.e.upstage), working with your right leg/hip while turning left (or vice versa), or arms held in front while you are facing anywhere but front.

If you're in a class or workshop, and you find yourself a bit 'lost in space', there's a good chance that others are too, so ask the teacher to explain or go through it again. Break the movement phrase or combination down, thinking about the fixed and body-relative references and timing. Repeat a few times, building speed, then try to stop thinking about it so hard and feel the whole body movement instead. With practice, everything will start to fall into place and you'll feel less uncoordinated and disoriented.

A Flower a Day: Week 6 - Even More Crochet Flowers

The time has come to get to grips with crochet charts, so this week's offering is a miscellany from charts I've found online. I even popped in a couple of leaves for good measure.  Most of them had no picture of the finished flower, so it was quite entertaining to imagine the flower from the chart outline.  The large, jazzy  flower was interesting, as it was built around chain loops of different lengths. There are a few flowers with open centres where I played with the number of petals resulting from the original chained centre and they cry out for something in the centre, but that won't be a problem.

Lesley Stansfield's book '100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet' gave me some practice in seeing how charts work, although at the time I found it easier to follow the written instructions.  However, the strength of charts like this is that providing standard symbols are used (and they mostly are), the pattern can be understood and used with no need to translate instructions from one language to another. Once you know the symbols and know the different stitch lengths, charts are suddenly far simpler than they appear.

Tarted-Up Pasta alla Puttanesca

When I'm hungry and have little in the fridge, my current, favourite store-cupboard standby is pasta alla puttanesca (from the Italian puttana: whore, tart, slut, and by derivation puttanata: something or someone worthless, rubbish.)  Salty, hot and piquant, I find it satisfying and good at any time of year.

There are all sorts of stories about how this originated with, ahem, 'ladies of the night', such as the implication that they've been spending too much time with their feet up to go out to buy fresh food, or even more scandalously, that it cooks in the time it takes to serve a client! (It's very quick to make - basically the time it takes the water for pasta to come to the boil and then cook the pasta!)  However, there seems little real evidence for these sources. Wikipedia cites a story about it being whipped up by a restaurant out of store cupboard ingredients which seems far more likely..

As you might expect from the title, it's not a refined dish, although I have seen some recipes where the instructions are to chop everything finely, and use fresh tomatoes. Like all classics, there are variations and why not? I like mine a little rough and chunky. I think the classic way might be to serve it with spaghetti, but in the spirit of things, I tend to use whatever I have in the cupboard, and prefer penne or conchiglie, so that the sauce sits in the pasta to make luscious mouthfuls.

Mine is further 'tarted-up' because I use slightly caramelised onion in the base, and then dump a can of tuna into the sauce towards the end of the cooking time.  If I happen to have half a sweet pepper in the fridge needing to be used up, I chop that and pop it in too. My recipe makes easily enough for two; it freezes (although you might want to take out a freezer portion before putting the tuna in, if you use it, as the tuna can break up into nothing when you reheat it from frozen). Alternatively, it's very good the next day, too. It does mean that your store-cupboard needs to contain garlic, anchovies, capers, olives, chili flakes, canned tomatoes and dried pasta, at least (if not the tuna and an onion).  If yours doesn't, then get some in, and you will always have the makings of something fast and delicious.

Ready? Here we go ...
Whip out two pans, one for sauce, one for pasta, chopping board, favourite knife, wooden spoon, can opener and your ...

Ingredients:
A smallish onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, three or four anchovy fillets, olive oil, a teaspoon or two of capers (drained), a dozen or so pitted black olives, chili flakes, a can of chopped tomatoes, a can of tuna, salt and black pepper, pasta of choice.

Method:
Fill the pan for the pasta with cold water, add some salt and put it on the heat to come to the boil
Measure out some pasta and note how long it needs to cook.

Skin and chop the onion and either use a little oil from the anchovies or a bit of olive oil to start it cooking.
If you have a bit of pepper to use up, now's the time to chop it up!
Peel the garlic and crush or chop
Roughly chop the anchovies and pitted black olives and add these with the pepper (if using) and garlic to the pan.  Sprinkle in a few chilli flakes to taste and give it all a stir.
Open your tuna and leave it to drain.
Drain some capers, chop if they're not already tiny and add them to the pan.
Open the can of chopped tomatoes and pour them into the pan.  Note how pretty the bright pinky-red of the tomatoes looks when studded with black olives and green capers.

Your pasta water is probably now boiling, so pour in the pasta shapes and get it back to the boil.  Note the time and work out when the pasta should be pretty much done.
Give the sauce a stir and lower the heat to a simmer. Go do something else until a couple of minutes before the pasta is due to be done.
After 8-10 minutes, the sauce will have changed to a darker red.  Taste and season with black pepper, but it's very unlikely you'll need any salt due to the anchovies and olives. Now's the time to take out a portion for the freezer if you want to. Otherwise, pop the tuna into the pan and break it up a little to heat through.
Test the pasta  - it's probably done by now. Drain it well, then pop it into the sauce.
Take a bowlful, perhaps shred a little fresh basil over the top if you happen to have some growing on the window ledge. If you want to make more of an occasion, serve with a green side salad and a glass of red wine.

Enjoy (with your feet up!).

Barking Mad Socks Finished - With Spring Green Socks Translation

My Barking Mad (Spring Green) socks have been finished with only a minimum of frogging and tinking. Not perfect, but I learnt so much from this, my first socks project so all in all, I'm very pleased with them.
Here's what I found:
My tension/gauge of using 2.75 mm needles was very close to that on the pattern for 2.5 mm, but despite that, they are a little baggy, particularly around the heel as the heel flap seemed quite long, at 36 rows.
I have very wide feet (24 cm, same as my foot length) and large ankles, and these socks have more than enough room!
The twisted 1/1 rib seems to stretch out and stay there (instead of shrinking back), something which I've found on a pair of mitts using the same rib, so I might avoid that and perhaps do a longer rib on the cuff for my next pair of socks, and maybe also do the rib on a size smaller needles but with a stretchier cast on, or something.
I found I needed to pick up 18 or 19 stitches on each side of the flap to avoid holes, instead of the 17 given in the pattern.
At 9 or 10 stitches, the point of the heel is a little narrow  for my round heels.

I can understand why Ulla magazine doesn't publish an English translation.  Why should they, when there is so much available in English but very little in Finnish (or should that be Suomi?)?  And although it seems like doing things the hard way to select a Finnish pattern and translate it, I've also got another couple of patterns from Ulla queued up, both featuring leaves and crying out for green sock yarn (which I currently don't have, hence the reason these socks weren't done in the original, lovely green!)
So, with thanks to Kristel Nyberg for her original pattern, here is my translation of the pattern into English [with editor's additions in square brackets, where I've remembered! I've included a few of my own observations, which might be useful to beginners and are probably completely self-evident to knitters with some experience in sock making!].  I haven't reproduced the charts or written them out as instructions.  It was my first time for using charts and I was impressed with how easy they were to read, so suggest you visit the Ulla online magazine for the charts, and to see how lovely the original Spring Green Socks look.

Spring Green [Barking Mad] Socks
by Kristel Nyberg, published in Ulla 02/08

Spring Green socks lace pattern reminded me of fern fronds. The gently undulating pattern is also suitable for graduated yarns. The pattern continues to the toe of the sock and the toe decreases have the lace pattern arranged between them. If in doubt about colour pooling, knit alternately from two different balls.

Yarn

Shibui Knits Sock (100 % merino wool; 50 g / 175 m), 100 g green (7495, Wasabi) Fingering/4 ply; [300 - 350 m/328 - 383 yards]

Tension gauge

About 34 sts and 48 rows in lace pattern in the round = 10 cm [4”]

Needles

Sock needles, 2.5 mm or to get gauge

Size

A woman's wide, describing size 41.

The model is designed to fit wide feet. You can narrow the socks by using thinner yarn and knitting needles or by adding gusset decreases.

Method

Leg

Cast on 72 sts on double pointed needles and share the stitches, 18 stitches per needle.

Knit in Twisted Rib (P1, K1 tbl) for about 2 cm. [I did 8 rows]

Next, knit lace pattern according to chart 1. Repeat the 20 rows of the chart twice, or until the sock leg is as long as desired. With two repetitions the sock length should be about 10 cm. Each pattern repeat extends the leg by about 3-4 cm. [Tip - Finish after an even-numbered row]

Heel

Start the heel flap on the next row.

Slip first st knitwise. Knit the next 35 sts. Turn the work.

Slip first st [purlwise]. Purl the next 35 s. Turn the work.

Repeat these two rows, until the heel height is 36 rows and the last row is WS row.

Slip first st knitwise. Knit the next 20 sts.

SSK decrease, K1 , turn the work.

Slip next st [purlwise]. P7, P2 tog, P1, turn.

* Slip first st knitwise. Knit to the stitch before the gap from the previous decrease. SSK, K1, turn the work.

Slip first st [purlwise]. Purl along to the stitch before the gap from the previous decrease. P2 tog, P1, turn. *

Repeat from * to * until all heel sts are once again involved in the work. Heel flap is now 22 sts.

Slip first stitch knitwise and knit the heel sts.

Pick up 17 sts along the heel edge. [I picked up 19]

Knit the instep according to the row on chart 1. [If you did 40 rows for the leg, this will be row 1, otherwise it will be the next row from where your leg left off and preferably should be an odd-numbered row.]

Start working with another needle. [This will be needle 4]

Pick up 17 sts along the other heel edge and knit 11 sts with the same needle up to the next needle. [Needle 1]

Mark this row as the starting point for the gusset. [This will be the mid point of the heel]

Gusset

Start gusset.

Knit until 3 sts are left on needle 1.

K2 tog and knit the last st.

Keep knitting sts on needles 2 and 3 according to chart 1.

On needle 4 K1, SSK and knit the remaining sts on the needle.

Knit the next row sts. [The pattern is for plain knitting on odd-numbered rows.]

Repeat gusset decrease every other row until needles 1 and 4 each have 18 sts remaining. [So the gusset decreases happen on even numbered rows, where there are also pattern increases and decreases from the charts.]

After the gusset decreases, the starting point for subsequent rows goes back to the side of the foot. [And needles are therefore renumbered.]

Knit needles1 and 2 in stocking stitch for the sole, and needles 3 and 4 lace pattern according to chart 1.

Toe

When the foot length is about 6 cm less than the desired length of the sock, start toe decrease according to chart 2.

Work decreases on chart rows 1, 10, 20, 23, 25, and 26 on both the sole of the foot and instep needles. Continue with lace pattern, however, only on the instep needles.

After chart 2 row 26, cut the yarn, pull it through the remaining sts and fasten off. [The Ravelry tags include Kitchener.  I did some sort of 3 needle cast-off.]

Weave in ends. If you want, lightly moisten the socks and spread out to dry into shape. [That is, block them.  But I didn’t, they went straight on my feet!]

Barking Mad Socks

As part of my current knitting craze, I decided I would learn to knit some socks and have been browsing Ravelry, queueing up likely contenders.  I've been adding all sorts of patterns to my queue; there are over 350 on there now. I wondered if I was being excessive, but by the looks of others' profiles, it seems quite usual to have a few hundred patterns queued, and I've just seen someone with a couple of thousand patterns in their queue! So, quite normal, not mad at all.

There was also a sale on some Drops sock yarns in February, so I have ordered some to play with. When I went to buy the needles to let me get on with the Vite cowl, I saw a Woolcraft sock yarn in shades of milk and dark chocolate brown, which made me think of wet tree bark (and chocolate). I bought a ball to be going on with.  I had been reading a few sock patterns and could not get my head around the instructions for the heel and gusset, so I thought perhaps I should just have a go and see how it works.

As I was reading through patterns, I was a bit concerned by the sizing.  Okay, you can make the foot longer by knitting more rows, simple, but what if you have wide ankles and feet?  You could go up a needle size, or even a yarn size, but how can you then calculate if you'll have enough yarn? (It must be possible, I just have to add that to the list of things I need to learn!)

I came across some nice, wide-looking socks with a lace texture pattern which could have been fern (knitted in green, as they were) or bark. Ah, slight glitch; the pattern is only available in Finnish, a language renowned for its difficulty, and not one I've ever tackled.

Well, (I thought) it's not so much of a problem now that we have Google Translate, is it?  It's always easier to translate into your own language. So I'll translate it.

Sometimes I wonder about myself. Seriously. I've never made a pair of socks and now I think it's a good idea to try a pair with a lace pattern in Finnish? Completely, certifiably, barking mad!

Google Translate isn't a bad tool, but it doesn't always result in a reliable, ready-to-use translation.  So far, I've caught it translating cm as inches in one place, and there's a bit of a difference between 6 cm and 6 inches! It evidently recognised a knitting context, managing correctly to translate the abbreviations for stitches and rows, but translating the unabbreviated word for rows as 'layers' instead and not managing to translate purl. There are syntax errors. I see Google Translate also now offers a sort of thesaurus of synonyms and alternative translations, and the opportunity for the user to select one to improve the translation, but I can't find a way to type in what it should be if it gets it completely wrong. There are a couple of sections in the pattern where the translation is evidently not at all correct, and doesn't even give me a clue. Given where they come in the pattern, it probably relates to the short rows for turning the heel and the gusset. I reckon I should be able to find my way through it by using some other patterns and YouTube for comparison.

Now I've started, I have to finish, just to prove to myself that I can. I'll post a picture of the finished Finnish socks and the pattern translation when I've worked it all out!

Knitting and Crochet Jargon - A Selection

I've mentioned elsewhere what a source of inspiration Ravelry is, since I picked up my crochet hooks and knitting needles again. Browsing through the patterns fills me with desire for all the lovely things on there and wanting to learn how to do lacework and socks and colour work and double knitting and start all sorts of projects. (Steady now!)

I thought I knew how to knit and crochet, but looking through the patterns on Ravelry, I realise I only just know the basics, and even then I'm not up to speed on the various methods for increasing and decreasing.  I hold my needles and yarn in a completely cack-handed way. I've discovered there are loads of different techniques for casting on and off, even for the selvedge stitches. I can't remember the basic crochet stitches without looking.  I get confused trying to read charts.

I made the Evenstar fingerless mitts thinking they would be big enough for me, but in the end they were too snug for my taste.  I found patterns for legwarmers on Ravelry, but decided against them because they were often designed for slender-limbed teenagers or models, rather than my chunky legs! I decided I would start some 'bespoke' legwarmers and dutifully did a couple of swatches, one in K2 P1 rib, one in stocking stitch, using DK yarn and 4 cm dpns.  From my swatches, I calculated how many stitches I would need to cast on and went for it.  As I knitted, I re-measured and found it to be good.  But when I slipped on the top 4 inches I'd knitted, I found that it had way too much give.  Instead of covered legs, I would have been standing in knitted puddles.  I think perhaps the needle size was too big, producing a softer knitted 'fabric' with too much give in it for my carefully calculated method to work.  There will be a slight pause on that project while I rethink it.  Perhaps I need to do the rib on a smaller set of needles in the same way that if I remake the gloves, I will need a larger set of needles. (Neither of which I have, of course!) So I frogged what I'd knitted and rewound it onto the ball.

Ooh, get me, using knitting jargon!  Yes, beyond the ever-growing list of knitting and crochet stitch abbreviations (psso - pass slipped stitch over, dc - double crochet), there are other terms ready to trip up the unwary, newly-awakened yarn junkie.  Like all good jargon, it is very useful in context and once you know it, it immediately and subconsciously becomes part of your vocabulary and you forget that there was a time when you didn't understand the jargon!  I had a cursory search for terms on the interweb, and only came up with the usual abbreviations and stitches, but I expect there will be the same and more in other blogs out there somewhere.  In the meantime, here's a selection:

CAL: Crochet Along, when members of a community all crochet and talk about the same pattern or project. Similarly: KAL: Knit Along. And MKAL/MCAL: Mystery Knit Along/Crochet Along, when the group are all knitting the same pattern but either don't know what it is or know it's (e.g.) socks, but are not exactly sure what it will look like.

WIP: Work in Progress.  If it's knitted, then it may be said to be OTN:  On The Needles. Or it could be OTN and Hibernating: A work which has been in progress at some point and then put down for so long, it must be asleep by now. UFOs: Unfinished Objects are often hibernating. This could be because it's a BUFO:  Boring Unfinished Object, which you may have to decide to FOF: Frog or Finish (viz, the Autumn Leaves Thing).

Frogging: (because frogs say Rip it! Rip it!). Also known as ripping or ripping out. . When you notice a glaring mistake several rows back or the whole piece isn't going according to plan, and the only thing to do is take the work off the needles and pull the yarn end to unravel, either back to the mistake, or completely.

Tink:  Go back a couple of rows by dropping and then picking stitches up again in order to correct or pick up a dropped stitch or two.

Your object may not be finished because it is (or includes) one of a pair, in which case you may be suffering from SSS: second sock (or sleeve) syndrome, which I guess may be SGS for gloves.

Or you may be wondering about methods and techniques such as:

JAYG: Join as you go, methods for joining crochet motifs as you work them, instead of sewing them all together at the end.

Thrum: A lock of unspun fleece or roving knitted or crocheted into an item so that it hangs on the wrong side.  Regularly spaced thrums form a fleecy/felted lining, making the item extra warm and suitable for Arctic conditions.  I occasionally long for thrummed slippers and mittens for when I'm sitting at this computer.

Steek:  Cut into circular knitting and then either pick up stitches to knit on, or sew in, other elements of the garment. Popularly used for Shetland jumpers, where the main body is knit in the round with extra stitches where the armholes are, which are then stabilised and cut down the centre so that sleeves can be sewn in.

Stash: Collection of yarns, beads, fabric, accessories, tools, etc. I cannot be the only one who's noticed the word has connotations of addiction. Uncomfortably accurate, perhaps?  Hmmm, moving on .... When you only have a few bits, in a box or drawer, you don't have a stash.  I was like that once. You start acquiring tools, yarn, etc and the box becomes several, or a cupboard full, then a studio or workroom, and possibly starts to leak outside the SCZ: Stash Containment Zone, which is especially bad if your SCZ is your entire house. By the natural law of the stash, it won't contain the yarn/fabric/beads/findings/sizes of knitting needles/crochet hooks which you need for the project you want to start right now.  A potential source of items for the stash is the LYS: Local Yarn Store, which is where you can go for SEX: Stash EXtension (or Enrichment) EXpeditions. This can lead to ...
SABLE: Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy - in other words, you have acquired so much, you could not get through it in your lifetime. Time to ...
De-Stash: Get rid of your stash, as in use it, sell it, swap it for something you know you will use quickly, give it away.

You know you've got it bad when you use every KO: Knitting Opportunity, even KIP: Knitting in public, possibly because you are KAT: Knitting against time (trying to get something finished), because there is nothing like a good FO Finished Object (hurrah!).