Keeping safe…

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kirstin McAulay (@caliburn.kira)

This is what I am currently knitting (along with a little jumper – obviously). Dualaich by Liz Cooke (https://www.lizcorke.com/product/dualaich/). I am knitting it with a present to myself – King Cole pure merino in the colourway Lapis. Whenever I lose 10 kilo I buy a prize – the last two were yarn I admit!!

Although I love this shawl – what I wanted to write about are the strings of embroidery cotton threaded through the kniting – my lifelines.

I learned to lifeline with the very first lace knitting I ever attempted – quite a while ago now. A lifeline is a thread of narrower cotton or wool threated through all the stitches at regular intervals as you knit – in Dualaich that’s every 12 rows which makes up a repeat. If everything goes wrong, you miscount, drop stitches or just lose the plot entirely you can take the knitting off the needles and ‘frog*’ back to the stitches you have kept safe.

(*Frogging is where you take your knitting apart and ripit ripit)

As I threaded the most recent of these I pondered my reading today in Daily Bread – Luke 15:11-32. The prodigal thought he had cast everything aside but his lifeline was still there… may we all be as fortunate.

I have a close and loving relationship with my family, they are always there for me… in prayer and in aid. I also have friends and the women of my church’s WhatsApp group if I need them. My lifelines are present and strong.

If you ever need them there is a webpage of resources here:

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/crisis-services/helplines-listening-services/

For anyone who knows me…. text / call / contact if you need … passing on what I have been given!

There is a shade of red for every woman…

Well, start a blog and finish a cardigan…. some day.

This is based on Stefanie Japel’s lovely Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan on knitty.com, find it here: Cardigan

It is adapted for me as I’m much shorter and quite a bit more curvy than the lovely Dr Japel, also I prefer bracelet or elbow sleeves rather than full length ones.  I also edged it in seed stitch rather than the rib of the original pattern.

I chose the yarn (Stylecraft Special with Wool) as I have knit with it before and it works beautifully.  Clear stitch definition, easy to tink and washes too!

The colour was easy too.  As Audrey Hepburn said, “There is a shade of red for every woman.”  I adore red: clothes, shoes and lips.

Probably my favourite part is the buttons.  I’ve recently begun to play with Fimo clay and these buttons are the result.  The knit effect is done by twisting ropes together and I made them into shank buttons by embedding split rings before baking them hard.

All together a great result.