Pam Alison Knits

The new cardi is progressing. I’ve completed one and a half sleeves and should be ready to make a start on the body pieces in a week or so. Digging through the less-accessed parts of my wardrobe, I found my tea rose skirt which is the one item I know will go well with this yarn colour. I love the fabric, but the waist is unusually unflattering so it’s been resting out of sight whilst I decide what to do with it. Knitting this cardigan should provide the incentive to work on the skirt and turn it into a wearable garment.

I’m very tempted to try and come to a decision about whether I will continue and knit my planned series of garments from Rowan Moorland Collection 2 around this colour, or use this as a one-off practice piece. I don’t feel that one and a half sleeves in is the point where I can make that decision, though. You can tell a certain amount from a sample, but that is usually best it you’re comparing two closely-matched things to decide if the colours harmonise or clash. I’m sure this soft pink will work with an all-navy base (such as the trousers and blouse I often wear to work), but beyond that I shall have to practice patience and wait until I have the completed garment which I can try on with a variety of outfits.

The West Yorkshire Spinners’ Croft wool is lovely to knit with, plump and springy and acceptably soft. One of my friends has recently used it to knit a cowl and that looks super. I’m fairly sure this isn’t the last time I will choose it for a project.

I’ve been accompanying my knitting the past couple of evenings with an audio-book of The Lord of the Rings narrated by Rob Inglis. Recorded in 1990 when Inglis was 57 years old, it is a nice, calm take on the story and very well-suited to accompany knitting. This is a “reading the book” version rather than a “dramatising the book” type and it feels very much in keeping with the era in which the book was written. The other option I had was the 2020 narration by Andy Serkis (who would have been 56 when the recording was produced) and I’m not sure, from the excepts I listened to, whether there was anything much between the two narrations, which makes me wonder why a more modern one was needed. I made my choice on the day and I’m happy with it; another day I may have chosen the opposite and been equally happy.

Now it’s time to get back to my needles. I hope your projects are coming along well.