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I did the spinning thing again yesterday. Another skein of the Rambouillet. Finished up that ball of roving which means there are four more to spin. Then the white for contrast or something. I'm still leaning towards the EZ Rib Warmer.
Although if I spin today, it'll be something other than the Rambouillet. I'm tired of spinning it and want a change. I requires a lot of pre-drafting, sticks to itself and doesn't like to be drafted in general. (Drafting is the pulling the roving to make it loose so that the fibers slip easily into a straight line and twist nicely into a yarn. When fiber drafts easily, it's much easier to get into a rhythm and make nice uniform yarn. The Ramouillet I have just doesn't want to draft easily at all, and therefore creates what I call a rustic yarn.) What I'll spin, I have no idea. hmmmm maybe the alpaca or llama I got almost a year ago at the Renaissance Festival....
Knitting...let's see. Oh, worked on the Mickey Mouse Waterloose socks. I've got about 3.5 inches of the first leg done. And I worked on the F & F Comfort Shawl. I put several of my Denise cords together and found that it's about 4 feet across the top of the shawl and about 24 inches to the point. I'm aiming for 36 inches to the point. I had quit adding width to it for about 2.5 to 3 inches, but I think I'll start those increases again to add a bit more width. Yes, it kinda puts a jag in the edge, but...when I'm wearing it, it won't be noticeable, and I was thinking about adding an edging to it anyway. Time will tell.
There is been a discussion on one of the knitting lists that started over the never ending discussions about copyright. Story is told of one designer that went over the deep end and sues/ed people for using other than the yarn called for, for changing colors, etc. No pictures of finished items could be published anywhere including the knitter's blog, etc. Then ensued lots of discussion, gossip, etc.
In the midst of all this someone stated that most of the knitters in the US wanted to only follow patterns exactly as written using the same yarns, yadda yadda yadda. Bottom line s/he felt that most American knitters show no creativity and can't even figure out how to substitute yarn or even yarn color when doing a pattern.
I'd poo poo this except when I was deep in the cross stitch world, there was a designer that did the same thing. To the extent that she couldn't find a judge that would allow her in his/her courtroom. She sued someone who had one of her designs hanging in the back ground of a professional done family portrait. And there were stitchers that said, "Oh I love that design, but I don't like pink so I can't stitch it." "Is it legal to change colors on a published design??"
Anyway, do you always follow the pattern exactly as written? Do you substitute yarns, colors, stitch patterns? Do you use patterns as a suggestion or as law? See Poll on upper right corner of blog!
Did you hear the one about the dyslexic devil worshiper who sold his soul to Santa?
Do you know how to darn a sock? I do.....now! Thanks to Turtlegirl finding and posting this!
Wow, you've been busy! So cool that you've been doing all different things. I Hope your GD feels better soon. Love the joke, btw. ;o)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab find, that video! Thanks for stopping by and saying hello...but I have to ask: Which Ann? Please tell me, please!
ReplyDelete(PS - I voted, too)
So, could this designer be the one who gave me so much grief last year? I'll never buy her books again and if I could remember her name right now, I'd give it to you and others...but it's the multidirectional lady. Great job at spinning, Lizzie, I'm enviouse.
ReplyDeleteI voted on your poll. I'm interested in hearing the results. You will annouce the results, won't you?
ReplyDeleteI will change colors or kinds of yarn and needles. But I am not far enough along to change the instructions much.
ReplyDeleteI had not heared of such a thing as sueing someone over it until know.
If some one wanted to be that way, I wouldn't purchase thier patterns!!!
I tried to leave a comment yesterday, but to no avail. I really like the set up of your blog. And darning socks....My mother would turn over in her grave if she'd knew about YouTube aand sock darning videos. Somehow we just absorbed these things from our elders. My mother's motto always was, we may be poor, but our clothing can be clean and mended. Your yarn is looking good. I like Rambouillet. Have a good day. Renate
ReplyDeleteThat is some beautiful yarn and I think it would make a heckuva rib warmer.
ReplyDeleteI posted my vote, but I think it's a bad stereotype that American knitters lack creativity. I consider myself a novice knitter, but I am (relatively) fearless about subsituting yarns and completely fearless about changing colors. Sometimes I make a pattern absolutely according to the instructions...the first time (but rarely with the exact yarn/color called for by the pattern). More often than not, I tweak something somewhere.
Many knitters (even those who have been knitting a long time) lack the confidence (not the creativity to tweak patterns. Some just don't like to experiment (and frog). Part of it, I think, is personality and part is in what sort of tradition you were brought up. The fiber artists in my family are all creative and consider patterns a 'suggestion' (they follow them to the letter only when they want to) and, thus, so do I (even though I'm a rookie).
Someone once asked me how I "learned to fix computers" and I told her "I have a basic knowledge of how they work and I've broken them in every possible way and had no choice but to figure out on my own what went wrong." It's the same with my knitting, but not everyone enjoys these types of challenges.