Keeping a Resolution
I’m not usually very good with New Year’s Resolutions. If I ever make them, mine end up abandoned long before the dreary dregs of winter have gone. The start of this last haul through the gloomy cold months is just not the right time to instigate policies of self control or self denial are they?
This year I thought I’d do things a little differently, and instead of promising to give up chocolate after 9pm or take up yoga again, I promised I’d give knitting a shawl a try.
Shawls seem to be a little bit like socks in the knitting world, in that there seem to be groups of people who make them endlessly. They casually refer to designs by name to one another and create pieces of intimidatingly awesome complexity while joking about how the cat kept sitting on their work while it was in progress. Another group have never tried knitting them, and have no intention of doing so as they don’t see how they’ll ever have use for them in their wardrobes.
When it comes to socks, I’m somewhere between the two camps, veering nowadays towards the latter. While I love the sweetie-counter effect of the 4ply/sock section of yarn shops and admire the technical expertise that goes into patterns, I’ve made a couple of pairs, got very bored by making the second each time and never really worn them.
As for shawls, I’ve never really got on with stuff that drapes around my shoulders but could see myself wearing them more like scarves. What scares me is the idea of tiny needles and skinny, skinny yarn (I’m a DK+ girl in general) not to mention the fact that whenever I’ve glanced through patterns in magazines I’ve been unable to make head nor tail of them. Nonetheless, being a curious knitter who likes to try out new things and also quite stubborn about resisting intimidation by scary-looking pattern, I decided that despite my qualms, in 2012 I would make a shawl. It was mainly a matter of finding time and a reason.
This was the reason. Or one of them. This ball of gorgeousness is Skein Queen 4ply Squash yarn in ‘Fairytale’. It’s a superwash wool that came into my hands as leftover from a yarn tasting my knit group did recently. I adore the colours and was going to use it for my Beekeepers Quilt. However, since I had nearly a full skein it seemed a shame not to make a whole item with it. Then it occurred to me that it was a dear friend’s 40th birthday coming up later in the year…and a reason to keep my resolution appeared.
I’ve chosen (on the recommendation of those friends who name-drop shawls) Liz Abinate’s Traveling Woman Shawl. I’m told it’s an easy one to begin with, and it looks lovely. So far I’ve begun on the ‘set up rows’ and already I can begin to see how shawls work. It might sound dim, but I didn’t even know where you began with a shawl- top? bottom? one of the corners? It’s the top, apparently (or at least, it is with this one). I’ve yet to hit the lace yet, when charts, repeats and multiple stitch markers will kick in, but so far it’s not been as bad as it looks. I may never become fluent in shawl-speak, but I think I’m going to keep this resolution. I might also add that, even without a resolution, this year I’ve taken up running…
>Back to simple
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Isn’t this just what childhood should be about? Splashing in puddles, kicking through leaves, scrunching on a pebbly beach and finding treasure (well, interesting pebbles at any rate!) Today we celebrated a few brief breaks in the clouds with a walk at Conishead Priory. Okay, so it rained a bit and we got a bit chilly but oh, that fresh air made coming home for a cup of tea so satisfying. Simple pleasures indeed.
More back to simple with my knitting. I just couldn’t face the Fair Isle after my pattern misreading stupidity so I’m having a break with more needles and less balls (!). Now that I’ve got going this sock is growing gratifyingly fast and I love the colours- they remind me of Fruit Salad chews from when I was little!
>Ravelry and unravelling
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I signed up on Ravelry quite a while back (I’m on there as Annabanna in case you want to look me up), but had never really got into it. I went back on to find a pattern for an earflap hat (the boy just won’t keep hats or hoods on so I need one I can tie under his chin!) and got drawn into it- oh, it’s an easy addiction to get!
Of course, all this knitting inspiration only led to one thing…more yarn buying.
Like I reeeaaaallly needed more yarn. Okay, no I really didn’t, but I couldn’t help it- it’s cold! I’m cracking on with the Fair Isle and have nearly finished the back, but I also have chilly fingers (when I’m out and about) and chilly toes.
I found this lovely pattern from Ysolda for flip top mittens. I had some flip top mittens before and found them so useful, especially out with the buggy, that I wore through the thumbs! The Artesano is a lovely pinky red and soooo soft, I can hardly wait to make the mittens, but I’m going to make myself wait until the Fair Isle is finished before I allow myself to buy the pattern- it’s the only way.
As for the socks- well the last picture shows the result of hours of squinting at a horrendously complicated pattern full of travelling stitches. They were going to be the Diamond Socks from Yarn Forward magazine September issue, but by the time I’d knitted, unpicked and reknitted myself down to the heel, turned the heel and embarked on the foot, I’d had enough! If I even made it to the end of one sock, I’d never have the patience to make the other. So all that work has now been frogged, and this yarn, and the lovely pinky stuff above is going to be made into nice, plain, easy to knit without concentrating socks, hopefully quickly so I can get these toes warm.
And yes, I know those are yet more Brittany Birch needles- but you know, if I’m going to make all these socks, I think it’s about time I had some gorgeous feeling needles rather than the nasty metal ones I’ve used in the past. In fact that might be why the Diamond socks went wrong. Ummm…am I protesting too much?