Testing, testing...

I'm currently over at TypePad, experimenting with their thirty day free trial and a new blog identity.

I don't know that I'll stay there - the jury is still very much out - but we'll try anything once. (Some things we'll try several dozen times...)

Stash IN

Yes, yes, I know, but this comes under rule 2c. I knew I was going to need more yarn to finish Lily, and this is it.

Since the Debbie Bliss Maya in which I've knit the body is discontinued, and would probably be too chunky for the crocheted edging anyway, this was always going to be a fun match; but I think 1 strand Patons Diploma Gold in a very dark, heavy green and one strand of Cygnet Wool Rich 4 ply in a lighter, khaki-er green held together will do. The DK is thicker than the 4-ply, which sort of means they match the balance of colours in the body, and it all seems to work OK together. I was originally planning to ply the two yarns together, but I think I'll see how just holding them works; I'm thinking it will look less regular that way, which I like.

Photos later, as I'm at work now, and though I do have my camera, I'm not photographing yarn (or the completed sleeve that was brought along as colour comparison) in the workplace.

Stash damage:

      Patons diploma gold, dark green:      100 g, 240 m
    Cygnet wool rich 4ply, sagey khaki:    50 g, 205 m

Oh, and Mary?? You can quit feeling guilty about using some of my green Maya; it is indeed the same yarn, but I had plenty to finish with and enough for seaming up, too. And I don't think I'd have had enough to crochet the edging in this stuff even with that smidge - even if I'd wanted to!

ETA: The picture.

Dark, but still a good colour match

Spotted today, in the gym...

...a poster advertising the fitness tests that are free to members. Amongst other virtues, we are assured that the fitness test is

"totally non-evasive"

Love it!

New skirt!

Actually, it's not that new; I finished it in time to wear for our Stitch 'n' Bitch Christmas lunch (which was on December 1), but at the time I didn't think I liked it much. It's been sitting in my wardrobe awaiting a second opinion, so I got J to take a photo or two, and he likes it, and, looking at the photos, I don't think it's that bad, either.

The pattern is Vogue V7607, view C; I originally bought the pattern for the other view(s) with the cascade at the front of the skirt, which I still intend to make, but in this case I had fabric to get rid of, and thought it would suit the other style better.

The fabric is a lightweight cotton jersey, and was originally a very vivid green colour; a bit like lego green, but lighter. Pretty hideous. I overdyed with Dylon machine dye, in a burgundy colour; I was aiming for a warm, chocolatey brown, and I don't think I missed by far!

The reason for the amused grin in the previous photo is that there was someone else wanting in on the action...

Knit what you love; love what you knit

Dawn's birthday post has got me thinking today; or rather it has returned me to a thought that pops up over and over again. I'll bet that anyone who reads knit-blogs at all regularly is very familiar with statements like "this is going slowly; I hate moss stitch", or "not going too well, I do not like basketweave". If you are going to 'knit what you love, love what you knit', are you talking about loving the process or the product? Or do you get ultra-picky and only knit garments you adore in stitches you find fun?

Just because you're a knitter, does that mean you have to knit all the sweaters you own? Well, that'd be daft. It might happen that way for some people, but it doesn't *have* to. But where do we draw the line between "You'd have to be mad to knit all that [whatever] stitch at such a tiny gauge" and "But I could knit that for myself"?

I know some people who seem to knit stuff purely for the joy of knitting; I know two old ladies who give everything they knit to charity. I'm not suggesting they get nothing out of the product, but the process seems to be the main thing, and the product secondary. I know there is at least one very famous blogger out there who has piles of beautiful, beautiful sweaters she has never worn. Personally, I'm at the other extreme. I am inspired to knit by the article that will spring fully formed (humour me here) from my needles at the end of the work. I think that's why I find it so much easier to knit for myself or very dear loved ones. I like to be able to picture the garment on the intended wearer (me) as I go; see how it suits them (me) and how it is enjoyed by them (me) and admired by others (love admiration). I love the process, too (wouldn't do it if I didn't), but the product is the inspiring jump-off point.

Why don't we enjoy some knit-processes anyway? (Apart from considerations like 'this yarn is so rough it rubs blisters on my fingers' or 'working at this gauge is physically painful'). Are we just too impatient? Or too easily bored? Too easily distracted, maybe? (You know who you are...) Mary-Lou suggested in a comment a few weeks ago that moss stitch is so much of a bugbear for some people because it grows s--l--o--w--l--y. And it's true - apart from all the extra time taken swinging the yarn between the needles to switch between knit and purl all the time (and let's face it, you have to do that just as much with 1x rib), a moss stitch swatch will be wider and shorter than a stockinette one made with the same yarn, needles, number of stitches and rows etc. etc.¹

So are we all *progress* knitters, then? We might like the product; we might love the process; but if we don't see the progress we expect we start to fret? Why would that be?? Surely a slow project gives us even better value for money out of all that expensive, luscious yarn? Are we worried that the rest of the stash will run away if we don't finish this now??? Folks who are knitting a project on a deadline clearly have an easy answer to this one, but I think most of us knit most of our projects on an easy-going timeline, not really tied down at all.

Why not just buy a sweater that's in a stitch you don't like knitting? Well, I guess by the time you have seen the picture or visualised your FO, the concept is actually too detailed; too complete for you ever to find anything ready-made that matches it. Plus, some stitches (like basketweave and moss stitch, come to think of it) are relatively hard to do on machines, if I remember correctly.

How about this idea: for a while, the lust for the finished product tides us through the process. If the process takes too long, the product-lust wears off and we want to start something new. But that sounds horribly as if we don't actually like the process at all!

Well, that can't be right. We know we love to knit!

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¹ There's a reason for that - the purl side of a stitch is bulkier than the knit side. If all the purl sides are crammed together, like in stockinette, the fabric is pushed 'taller' by all the stacked bumps - that's why it curls. It's the easiest way for both sides of the stitches to be the size they want. In moss stitch, the bumps are very efficiently packed and the fabric can relax down to a shorter height - and not curl. Garter stitch shows this, too.

The Last Big Splurge

How's this for a splurge of colour?


Each of those bundles is a group of three skeins of very fine two-ply. As far as I can tell, there are no dye-lots in this yarn, and each skein is a subtly different colour. I spent my whole lunch-hour sorting these bargain £1 skeins into closely-matched groups of three one day at the end of November.

The yarn is a very fine two-ply and completely unlabelled, and I think it's supposed to be used for crewelwork or some other kind of embroidery:

However, this little lot is going for two trips through the spinning wheel before I do anything with it. First I'm going to tighten the existing ply, then I'm going to run those groups of three back through the wheel to produce a six-ply yarn. Because none of the yarns are quite the same colour, I should end up with some wonderful rich, heathered colours.

Afterwards, I plan something stranded and stunning. I'm vaguely hoping to have enough for a sweater, having been very inspired at the time by Bohus designs. Even after futher plying, this will still be a rather fine yarn, so this will be a rather long-term project.

But I'm very much looking forwards to it!

2006 retrospective/2007 prospective

Happy New Year everyone!

Looking back at last year's roundup post and skimming through the year's archive, I see that in 2006 I have:

• finished three out of four items that were on the needles in January last year
• fulfilled exactly one of my six January goals
• finished 9 knitting projects (compared with 14 in 2005)
• started spinning
• been ill
• travelled to Canada
• done very little sewing

This year, I have finished:

• The Triple Mohair Triangle
• Ice Maiden
• Minnie (though she still needs corrective surgery)
• Lakes for J
• 1 pair Jaywalkers
• Mask
• Asymmetric rib pullover
• Oslo socks (plain stockinette)
• Jude

Still on the needles from last year are:

• lacy socks in Lorna's Laces shepherd sock, Somerset

On the needles from 2006 are:

• 'Lily' - and the good news is that I have enough yarn to finish the main pieces!
• 'Making Waves' socks - and I finally caved and bought replacment needles!

I took up card-making and bought and assembled a new spinning wheel. I have spun enough yarn for two sweaters, two pairs of socks and a funky hat or something.

And today, I documented my stash. It is scary. Facts about my stash:

• It weighs more than half of what I do
• Unravelled and laid out, it would stretch 93 km.
• About half of it is stored (very snugly and securely) in the loft
• It's actually not as bad as I feared.

Having signed up to knit only from my stash this year, I will be keeping an eye on the progress of stash reduction. Last year, I aimed to halve my stash during 2006; I didn't come close. In fact, I think the stash probably grew in that time. This year, I am not planning a monthly schedule of projects; instead, I am going to shop in my stash whenever I get near the end of my current project and figure out what inspires me. I almost certainly won't get anywhere near halving it, but I hope it will shrink somewhat noticeably!