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To stash or to let it go, how can I know?
I, like many knitters in the U.S., have a considerable stash. Between good intentions, “omg that is beautiful yarn!”, picking up sample yarn for designing, winning yarn (whee!), failed projects, and leftovers, the stash has become daunting. Oh, and then I used to work at my amazing LYS Yarn Harbor. It is so hard to resist yarn when you are surrounded by all that goodness all of the time, and I am a wee bit (ahem) compulsive. More than just daunting, it has become paralyzing. I could knit for the next four years just to get caught up on all my good intentions. After that long most projects feel like drudgery and obligation, not joy…
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In this new year? Knitting for the pleasure of the craft.
I have been reflecting on my craft. I’ve asked the questions why I knit, what I take the most pleasure in knitting, how I knit. I have, like a lot of knitters, quite a backlog of yarn and projects I’d like to make. I also have a lot of scarves, shawls, and mittens, so I really do not need more. I do need more socks, but that is another story. So why do I knit? I love beautiful things. I love pattern, fiber and texture. I have always loved matching fiber and fabric to a project and have it all come together. I love the pleasure both in simple garter…
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A fun Autumn
This autumn/early winter I have published a pattern (Happy Socks), been playing with some new ideas, had a trunk show, and tomorrow I am part of a fiber guild holiday sale. All this makes me happy. Plus, I am playing with a clean new template. I may fiddle a bit, but it is an improvement. All good work before bed. Happy weekend!
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A happy accident
Sadly, the yarn I knit most of my Happy Sock samples in has been discontinued, which means I need to re-knit samples. This is not such a sad thing, though. It is a fun, fast sock to knit. While working on new samples of my Happy Sock pattern I stumbled upon a very happy thing. Most balls of 6-Ply sock yarn are 150 grams. There are a lot of leftovers. Not enough to make a second pair of socks (at least for my size 11 feet), but, there IS enough yarn to make a matching pair of mittens! Whee! I have chosen to make the sock pattern 3 sizes, which will…
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Well THAT took a while
I moved. I have been settling in, but still traveling from where I was to where I am now every week. It takes around two hours to go each way. It is amazing how much energy that takes. We were also redesigning the publication we produce at my day job. That has been an intense three-month project. There is more to do, but the first issue is successfully launched. Once we post the issue online I will put a link here. It turned out nice and we are proud. I was going to cut back to visiting Mom every other week in order to get caught up with The Chameleon,…
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Visible and not-so-visible progress
I have a few photos of progress from last week. As I grow near the day I move into my new apartment, things grow a bit more erratic. Still, I knit on. My Big Foot Knits sample approaches completion. The pattern is working, which is hugely cool. I can see that I will want to redo the heel, it bags a bit, but in her instructions she does encourage one to knit it over until it works, record what one has done, and then ta da, you have a heel that fits your foot that you can refer back to as long as you have your foot. I am liking…
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Two steps forward, one step back
I have no photos for this week right now. That may change (hopefully). I have worked on three projects, and have had mixed success. First, I will report the happy news. The back panel of the Bathrobe of Eternity is now 33 inches. It will eventually be 41 inches, so I am hitting the home stretch. Yay me! Once the back is done, I can figure out the angle of the decreases on the front panels, finish them, and then figure out what else is going to happen. The nice thing about designing something on the fly like this is that it is all based on squares and rectangles. It…
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I’ve done quite a bit, but have little to show for it.
In this weeks installment, our heroine has been doing a lot of math, lots of measuring, and not that much knitting. I went deep into the book Big Foot Knits and have figured out, drafted, and partially completed my sock, and I am pleased thus far. I did find myself wanting a lot more graph paper and 2 to 4 column ledger sheets than provided in the book. Fortunately I have a bit of an office supply habit, and have everything I need. I can see that I will be creating more explicit lists of how to proceed, what to do with all the numbers, how to decide what works for…
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Keeping me at it
I am finding these posts are helping me to keep focused. Yes one loves readers, and I’m not sure this one has many readers because of the sporadic past posts. It is serving its purpose. All is well. I finished my RailRoad Rib Socks. I am pleased. They will be good in my hiking boots this fall and early winter to keep those toes just a bit warmer. I am still wishing I picked a tan or brown. These will be functional, though, and I will soon forget that I am annoyed as my toes stay warm, or I will gift someone with them. Railroad Rib socks from Fiber Trends,…
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My somewhat weekly progress report
Sundays are my time to wind things up and get ready to drive back to Grand Marais. Of late it has also been a terrific time to update all my projects. I am enjoying the process, and it is helping to keep me focused. I like. This week I have: The gauge swatch for my Big Foot Knits class. I am using Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Color in a great green-striping colorway. In the past I have always knit fingering socks on size 0. My gauge has recently changed (after how many years?!), so I thought I’d best swatch in both 0s and 1s. It seems I will be switching up to size…