anarchocraftism

[anarchocraftism]

Catch up post: #5 Brioche Twist, #6 Braided Rib, #7 Wrap Mock Cable, and #8 Cross Cable Panel.

I did all of these without keeping track but I can broadly say they're about a 6/10 rating for all of them. They're easy enough, I knew and have used most of them before, and they're easy to memorize.

Video Essays: "Perfect Moments in Bad Movies", "Fear of Cold", "After a City is Buried", and "Tetris Effect and Other Games With Immaculate Vibes", all by Jacob Geller.

I have been meaning to try Jacob Geller's videos and I'm glad I started working my way through them. I find his videos really engaging and well researched while also being relatively relaxing due to his presentation style. I had been getting a little burnt out on video essays because I kept running into ones I did not vibe with but Geller has drawn me back in, even when I don't know anything about the games or topics he discusses. I've watched a few more since these but these were what I worked on during these swatches.

[anarchocraftism]

#4: Woven Slip Stitch

Rows in pattern: 9 rows of 3 sts (plus 5)

Difficulty: 5/10, the slip stitch cables took a hot minute for me to figure out how to do without a cable needle but once I figured it out, it was mostly fine.

Would I use it as a design element: no, it's pretty but I didn't enjoy knitting it and I don't like the tension in the fabric from the slipped stitches. Or at least, I wouldn't use it with acrylic. Maybe with a yarn with more drape.

Overall rating: 3/10

My Swatch: 30 sts, 26 rows

Podcast: Monstrous Agonies

Top descriptors that came to mind: dry humor, relaxing, ASMR, quiet, cozy fantasy

Would I listen to it again: yes

Logo rating: 7/10

Intrigue in source: 7/10

Overall rating: 7/10

[anarchocraftism]

#10 Zig and Zag

Pattern: 20 rows of 14 sts

Difficulty level: 4.5/10 as written bc I don't prefer their left twist method in this one, but easily memorized.

Would I use it as a design element: no

Overall rating: 2/10, I had to rip back twice bc their left twist method is annoying and then when I did my own method the pattern didn't show up well so then I did it as written a g a i n just to have the swatch over with but there's literally no reason for some of this. You can even see the lines that are super messy in the official professional swatch. It's a good idea and I'd be open to reworking it my own way but I did not have fun with this one.

My Swatch: 30 sts, 30 rows

Album: Pagan by Faun (2022)

Where I got the rec: Spotify suggested Album For You, but it's only For Me bc I imprinted on their 2013 album Von den Elben back when it first released and still consistently listen to it, I just don't keep up with their new releases.

Top descriptors that came to mind: folkcraft, hurdy-gurdy my beloved, bardic, not noticeably unique, forest, crunchy folkmetal, Witcher-core

Best songs: Tamlin, Innisfree, the metal break in Gwydion

Would I listen to it again: meh. Maybe. Every post-Von den Elben album has been a disappointment in comparison, even when they're not Bad, so if I was in the mood for Faun I would prob just go back to Von den Elben or Buch der Balladen. But I like this one more than they're last few albums.

Cover rating: 7/10 it's better than a lot of their others but it's also like. Exactly the same as so many other band covers in similar subgenres.

Overall music rating: 6.5/10

[anarchocraftism]

#9 Classic Argyle

Pattern: 32 stitches, 20 rows

Difficulty level: 5/10

Would I use it as a design element: yes

Overall rating: 8/10 I love this kind of travelling stitch pattern 💗

My swatch: 36 stitches, 34 rows

Album: Western Stars by Bruce Springsteen (2019)

Recommend by: Ray @beaniegender

Top descriptors that came to mind: wandering, home, gruff, nostalgic, liminal, classic, comforting, wistful in a masculine way (appreciative), butch lesbian Bruce Springsteen agenda working overtime I see

Favorite song(s): Hitch Hikin', Western Stars, Sundown, There Goes My Miracle

Would I listen to it again: yes

Cover rating: 7/10

Overall music rating: 8/10!

[anarchocraftism]

What I am learning is that there are so many damn ways of doing twisted stitches. Almost every twisted stitch pattern in this book has a different way of doing them and I still just prefer doing my own way 😩

[anarchocraftism]

#3 Woven Twist

Stitches: 30

Rows: 20

Rows in pattern: 8

Difficulty level: 3/10, it's pretty intuitive once you get going

Would I use it in a design: yes

Overall rating: 7/10

My Swatch:

Album: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich, performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Kirill Petrenko (2022)

Top descriptors that came to mind: unsettling, layered, depth, frenetic, waves

Where I got the recommendation: Spotify's "albums for today" section

Would I listen to it again: no

Cover: 3/10 bland but pretty

Intrigue in the artist: 5/10

Overall music rating: 4/10, it's well done but I don't care for it personally. Shostakovich isn't really my jam to begin with.

[anarchocraftism]

#2 Tree of Life Cable

Stitches: 27

Rows: 27

Rows in pattern: 10

Difficulty level: 4/10

Would I use this as a design element: maybe but probably not

Overall rating: 4/10

My Swatch:

Album: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses by Slipknot (2004)

Where I got the recommendation: I listen to a lot of metal and never tried Slipknot so I randomly googled what their best album was and some stranger online said this one.

Top descriptors that come to mind: clenched fists, visceral, stimmy, grating (complimentary)

Favorite song(s): The Blister Exists, Danger - Keep Away

Would I listen to it again: yes, but not all at once

Intrigue in the band: 6/10

Cover rating: 6/10

Overall music rating: 6/10

[anarchocraftism]

#1 Right Twist Mock Cable

Stitches: 28

Rows: 18

Rows in pattern: 2

Would I use this as a design feature? Yeah, I love twisted stitches 🩷

Difficulty level: 2/10

Overall rating: 8/10

My Swatch: (I switched up the arrangement)

Album: Rain World (Selections from the Original Game Soundtrack) by James Primate et al. (2017)

Where I got the recommendation: @/albumoftheday-versary-town daily rec for 6.28.23

Would I listen to it again: no

Top descriptors that came to mind: wirey, discordant, humming, repetitive, kind of boring

Cover rating: 8/10, love the colors

Intrigue in source: 6/10, I'd look into the game but not in a hurry

Overall music rating: 3/10

[anarchocraftism]

Welcome to my twisted stitches or whatever 🧶

The Point: Swatching my way through Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 2: Cables while listening to a new-to-me album or podcast, or watch a new video essay/show/film in the hopes that this makes life worth living a little more. Eventually I'm gonna sew them into a sampler blanket.

The Specs:

Each swatch will be knit using US 8/5mm needles and worsted weight acrylic yarn from my leftovers stash (unless noted otherwise)

Each swatch will begin and end with 2 rows of garter, with 2 garter selvedge stitches on each side. Otherwise size is variable, based on the pattern repeats and my patience. They will be blocked by an iron.

Media recs are either found randomly or from a long list of shit I've been meaning to try out.

There will be no particular schedule and I am not overthinking this bc overthinking is the mind killer. I just wanna make it thru the day and maybe little squares of knitting will help me do that.

My Credentials:

I've been knitting ~10 years, give or take

I'm already pretty good at and enjoy cables, so take that into account re: my ease level. I'm going to try being relatively objective but obviously my bias is that I'm not starting from scratch here.

I knit English flicking style so that also sometimes affects how easy something feels.