Lately I have knitting startitis and a sort of knitters nastiness about wanting instant gratification and not having to work hard to get something I want. I go through these patches now and again (I have heard
tale that it is a common phenomenon amongst knitters, but it does not seem to be amongst the knitters I hang with so I must be the token ) where all I do is start new projects or dream about new projects
(especially projects above my skill level), or start and rip out projects, or generally hate the project I'm a being forced to work on (you would think at gun point the way I carry on!), and so nothing gets
finished and there is knitting strewn across my house.
I have also fallen off the stash reduction wagon in a huge way:
* I bought the Bernat Thick & Quick for all those crazy cowls (my girlfriend ordered a purple one - well I might have told her to pick a color since she was getting one, but really what's the difference -
she's gonna love it and think she did indeed really need and want me to make it for her).
* I ordered lovely hand-dyed yarn from katdry on Ravelry , whom I met during a visit to Wakefield, PQ at a local Farmers Market. Her gorgeous yarns had me smitten, simply smitten, from the get-go and the cardigan she was wearing was just the thing for my winter wardrobe, and so she dyed to order 4 skeins in a grey which I am picking up shortly - I simply can't wait! See what I mean about startitis?
* I went to Fibrefest in Almonte, 2 weekends ago, and one of my favorite vendors was there, as usual, Julie & Vivianne Stewart of Fine Fibre Finds in Stittsville, ON (sadly no web page yet, so spotting them
free ranging in the wild is a real treat!). Julie & Vivianne un-ravel sweaters and other gently worn knitted garments no longer in service, and wash and re-skein the amazing yarns. These beautiful re-cycled
fibers are too much fun to pass up and so 4 skeins of a lovely blue-green-rust tweedy cashmere blend came home with me for a fraction of what it must cost in the stores. I love to re-cycle, re-use, and
re-purpose things, especially textiles and fibers, so I think Julie & Vivianne are amazing and should get more respect from local shops who profess to offer up un-usual and eco-friendly knitterly wares. Shouldn't re-cycled yarn fall into the category of un-usual and eco-friendly?? Anyway very good stuff these gals have indeed!
* Next guild meeting is Vendors night - I'm doomed!
* End of October is Creatif Festival in Toronto - that Susan and friend Lisa and I are going, and they are enablers of the highest order - I am double doomed!
In my defense I have knit from stash for the last 18 months, and my stash that is left is really not suitable for bigger projects like sweaters. It's all bits and pieces, odd balls of yarn, save a few bundles bought for specific projects and of course my sock yarn box (yes-it's a box full of sock yarn - what of it?). So when I go there to see what I have, I get frustrated because it's too much work to find a project that goes with what I have. It's good stuff for my charity knitting, and so I will continue to plug away at it for that purpose.
I haven't made as much headway on my WIP's as I would have liked, either this summer. I have made an executive decision last night at Guild when my friend Shelia confided she had taken her gorgeous but much too big, knitted T-shirt to the sewing machine for a re-fit. I have had a sweater vest that has sat in pieces all summer because I know it is too big, but I have no wish to rip out and re-do it. Simple - I'm going to seam it together on the machine and wear it with pride this winter! One down, many to go!
And that Laurie, Shelia and I went to the Richmond Fair on a re-con mission. That Laurie wanted to enter the knitting competition at the Fair so we decided to go have a look this year, and she and I have
committed to at least entering one piece next year (we think we can kick butt - our husbands think we're going to cause major grief and heartbreak amongst the rural knitting community).
I've charted my first (and almost last - you know I hate charts, right?)) knitted scarf, derived from the stitch pattern of the Mixt Cowl in the latest Weekend Knitter magazine. I made the short cowl as
specified in the pattern (of course you know I did - I'm obsessed with cowls, remember?), and liked the stitch pattern and wanted a skinny fall scarf in a lovely raspberry plum cotton blend from my stash, so I had to convert the pattern from in the round to flat (that Laurie made me do my own chart and I almost died - she's a task-master that one - don't say I didn't warn you). Took me 5 tries to chart it and even more to figure out why my swatches weren't working. But it is finally ticking along and just right for a small take-along project. Probably took me longer to chart than it will to knit the darn thing!
I finished one sock - not a pair; just the one. Sigh..... I could just slap myself sometimes.
Knit on....
