Oolong knits

When I first saw Sophie Scarf I thought how cute! But then everything looks cute on PetiteKnit, which is one of the reasons for her success, and I was perfectly aware it wouldn't look that good on me. Then, copycat patterns started appearing everywhere: a stockinette stitch version, a ribbed one, one with a pretty motif on the tips, and so on. And every time I thought, they're super cute on cute, young and thin women, but I'm neither of those things. But you know how it goes... it's like ads: no matter how annoying they're, enough repetition and you end up getting tempted. I still wasn't tempted until recently a very similar pattern came out. I got curious about the differences between these two patterns for 2 reasons: (1) altering such an extremely simple pattern is not easy and I wanted to know how that gets done, (2) I also wanted to check how much changes you need to do in a pattern to avoid being accused of plagiarism. I was surprised at how differe...

The invisible bind-off is by far the best bind-off for 1x1 ribs , this includes the Brioche and the Twisted Ribs, besides the standard 1x1 Rib. It's known by many names, including Italian bind-off . It is also known as the Kitchener Stitch Bind-off , because it's equivalent to a standard Kitchener Stitch Bind-off, if you alternately move the stitches to two separate needles (the knit stitches in one, the purl in the other) and then proceed to join them while binding off, like you'd do to the toes of a sock, for example. Actually, if you prefer to memorize only one technique, you could always do it like that. But, I personally find moving stitches to two other needles too much hassle and prefer to work the stitches directly on the working needle. In this post, I'm going to write down the written instructions for this bind-off. If you prefer to learn visually this post has the same instructions presented as video tutorials. The instructions are slightly different if ...

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. What do you need to start a BJ? To be honest only a notebook and a pencil or pen to write. The notebook doesn't even need to be empty (write the Index section at the end of the notebook in this case). That said, there are plenty of options when it comes to stationery and you may find that some will make keeping a BJ more pleasurable. Pens, pencils, brushes There is so much choice on the market that I'm not going to dare any recommendations. Just use whatever you prefer. If you're into illustration or artwork, coloured pencils and pens and even watercolour can be used, as long as your notebook can handle them, as discussed below. Notebooks Any will do, but keep in mind: notebooks that stay flat are much more convenient. if you're going to use colour, use paper of good enough quality to support it (this depends on the kind of ink you...

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. Collections are pages for all kinds of random stuff: trackers (habits, activities, tasks, etc), lists (to-do, shopping, books, movies, ideas), notes (projects, plans, etc.), artwork (doodling, etc), graphs, charts, etc. They are personalised by definition. Trackers are particular useful. They are different than lists, because they register date/time. They are a way to keep track of particularly important tasks or activities (instead of adding them as entries in the general daily log where they would be mixed with everything else). Trackers can be added at the end of every monthly log or separately. Ideas for trackers: food, fitness, finance, habits/hobbies, house chores. Other useful ideas: a to-do list for regular tasks, if you want to keep a regular schedule for house chores and other tasks, for example. a regular shopping list (l...

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. Add a new section each day on the daily log. Start with the date and add tasks as you go. Check for unfinished tasks on previous days and add them. Personalise: to make it more attractive or more legible, use dividers (for example boxes) and decorative effects (like colours, drawings, labels). horizontal or vertical layout

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. What was said for the future log is valid for the monthly log: here you keep track of events and appointments for this month. You can copy any entry to your daily log later or not. Start a new one every month. At the beginning of every month, check previous month for unfinished tasks and add them here. Continue adding entries as you need. Recommended format: On the first page (left-sided page) create a line for each day, like this: June 1 W 2 T 3 F 4 S 5 S ... Note: if you regularly have a lot of appointments and one line a day is not enough, consider adding weekly logs to your journal or creating your own format. On the 2nd page make a task list. A task list is a blank section where you add lines when needed. Personalise: add regular monthly collections (ex: trackers). colour code. on 1st p...

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. The purpose of a future log In order to make sure you have enough space for everything, you create new sections as you go. This means that when at some point you have an event on a later month you need the future log to log it. Then, each new month, you check your future log for that month and copy its entry to that month's log. Recommended format: Start on a left-sided page and create 12, one for each month, equally spaced sections separated by lines and label them. Use 4 pages (3 months in each). Personalise: Add a task or/and goal section, for ideas that don't have a definite month associated with them.

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. Every bullet journal contains an index in its first pages. This is one of the features that make BJs so useful and easy to use. Recommended format: On the 1st page (right-sided): make a list of your shorthand symbols. On the following 4 pages: whatever you add to the journal, number every page as you go and then add entries here. Add in order of appearance. Personalise: use colour codes. create different sections, ex: reserve left page for standard logs and right page for collections.

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. Shorthand symbols are used for rapid logging. As the name implies, rapid logging is useful for the log sections of the BJ. They label each entry as described below. Tasks: • Events: O Notes (facts, observations): — Inspiration (insights and ideas): ! Additional symbols, to be used in front of other symbols: Priority: * Completed: ✕ Transferred to later date: › Transferred to unspecified date (mainly the future log): ‹ Cancelled: strike through Personalise: use a colour code instead of or in addition to symbols. For example, write priority entries in red. use □ for tasks and O for events, then half-fill for wips, fill for finished tasks; add other symbols inside, not in front. same as above, but use • for wip and ✕ for completed.

This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject. A bullet journal has a standard organization that divides it in the following sections (also called spreads): Index : this is at the beginning of your notebook. It includes: a symbol key (that can be updated) and a table of contents. Standard: 5 pages. Future/Yearly Log : this spread is a year-at-a-glance calendar with future events, goals, and long-term tasks. Add birthdays, travel plans, etc. Standard: 4 pages. Monthly Log : this spread includes a calendar with a single line for each day of the month and a task page. In addition, add monthly collections, see below, like trackers. Standard: 2 pages, plus collections. Daily Log : this is your day-to-day task list. Collections : these are pages on anything you want. Use the index to keep track of everything. If you add much, make sure your index section has plenty of pages. Exs: ...

This is the 1st of a series of short posts on the Bullet Journal (BJ) method. There are a lot of resources about BJs on the net, but, in my opinion, they're either too brief or too long, and I wanted to write something concise enough, but still complete. Index Introduction Organisation Rapid Logging Index Section Future or Yearly Log Monthly Log Daily Log Collections Supplies What and why Bullet journals are a form of organising your schedule, tasks, plans, ideas, etc, in a single notebook. At their bare minimum, they resemble a planner with some added flexibility. But, collections add an enormous amount flexibility to BJs. In addition, the bullet journal method uses a technique called rapid logging . This can be used in a standard planner, but it's better adapted on a BJ. Bullet journals are popular for 2 main reasons: (i) they're simple to learn and use, (ii) they offer the perfect balance of rigidity and v...

A more detailed presentation can be found in this post . Here I'll sacrifice completeness and include only the techniques I deem the most useful. There is a much larger variety of increases than there are of decreases, there is also a lot more confusion with their naming. Here I'll try to use the most standard names, but, of course (and unfortunately), "standard" in knitting nomenclature is an extremely subjective term. Before we begin Left or right increases are called this way because of the way they look on the right-side of the work (RS). Therefore, stitches which are worked on the wrong side of the work (WS), as described below, look exactly the same as their RS counterparts. In case you're wondering, all these stitches look very similar on the WS, it's on the RS that the differences become more visible. Another important difference between left or right increases is that they have the effect of pulling the fabric in different directions. This effe...

Before we begin Left- or right-leaning decreases are called left- or right-leaning because that is the way they look on the right-side of the work (RS). In particular, this refers to the inclination of the stitch that stays on top as seen from the RS. This is also true for double decreases. Also, in the case of the centered double decrease, it is the central stitch (of the 3 involved in this decrease) that stays on top when seen from the RS (this stitch does not lean in any direction). Therefore, stitches which are worked on the wrong side of the work (WS), as described below, look exactly the same as their RS counterparts. In case you're wondering, all these stitches look very similar on the WS (see the photos on this post ). Another important difference between left- or right-leaning decreases is that they have the effect of pulling the fabric in their respective direction. This effect becomes very visible when decreases are stacked, i.e. when the same decrease is worked on...

After publishing last weeks very depressing post, I started thinking that I need to make sure 2022 goes a lot better than the previous year. I'm going to confess that it's not beginning any better than 2021, on the contrary. I'm quite sick, the doctors are clueless and not trying at all, my family is going through a very hard time. But it's all this that forces me to face the fact that if I don't start making very conscious choices about how I choose to live it, this year is pretty much doomed from the start. There were several things that went wrong in 2021, but, as my knitting shows so well, the main problem was that, I felt so drained of energy, I put very little effort in anything. Most of the times I just went with the flow and most of the decisions I made were made for the wrong reasons: not bothering, not putting an effort thinking before I started, not putting an effort correcting when anything went astray. To be honest, at the beginning of 2021 I was re...

Was 2021 a bad year for you? I guess it was for most people, if for no other reason, because of this never ending pandemic. As for myself, I'm not even sure what's wrong. Everything is like a fog. I've lost all sense of time, days melt together without highlights. I can't seem to do anything right. When something goes wrong, I don't have the energy or the mental lucidity to fight it and I also lack the enthusiasm necessary to get things right. I hadn't realised just how bad 2021 had been for me, until I checked out my list of knitting projects for 2021. It's strange how my knitting illustrates so well everything that is wrong with my life right now. I thought I'd knitted quite a lot this year, but I have knitted mostly small projects and not that many. But what I found truly disappointing is that I've not knitted a single project that I love. On the contrary, everything I knitted the past year was so boring that I struggled to pick some pictur...