Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Achieving Bliss




Lately I've been asking myself, why knit? I have lots of clothes, admittedly none of them are exactly right for every occasion, some I never wear but they lie in wait for the perfect opportunity ( a combination of temperature, venue, slenderness and time of day), some were great for a specific occasion and some are favorites that I reach for over and over but are wearing out. I suppose I'm always dreaming of some piece of clothing that will be just right, but never found. I knit for the challenge of it, or to realize an idea that just might work. Sometimes the yarn is so beautiful it begs to be knit into some article that will show its beauty to best advantage,sometimes this goal is achieved, and sometimes not. This sweater began as a bag of 10 skeins of Debbie Bliss Merino Aran, a discontinued yarn in a perfect shade of teal blue, bought at Webs in the back room. It sat in bags for a while, was swatched, but never seemed to materialize. Finally I thought I'd try a top down cable and rib sweater, as I only had 10 balls. I knitted the whole thing, only to find I'd miscalculated and it was too tight. I scoured Ebay and Ravelry, only to buy 2 balls of same color number but different dye lot which were noticably different in color. I ripped out some , reknit, and found it was too short. Finally I though I'd sacrifice the sleeves and rip some more, reknitting from the waist down and having a short sleeved cowl necked vest/sweater. I love the result, and finally achieved some measure of Bliss..

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Wonderful Wisteria

A new online knitting magazine, Twist Collective ( www.twistcollective.com ) recently had a fabulous sweater by Kate Gilbert on it, and I had to knit it immediately. I loved this pattern at first sight, and couldn’t wait to cast on, so I used some hand dyed yarn I had purchased last year at Rhinebeck, but didn’t know what kind of yarn it was, as a small vendor had it for sale and I bought 5 skeins because I liked the color. Swatching yielded gauge, so I went with it. It was a bit unevenly dyed, so the total effect is uneven, but I loved making this sweater and watching the cables merge and emerge. I think it came out a bit long for me, and I shortened the arms by about 4 inches, but I loved the total effect. I might have to make another one in a plain yarn so the cables pop more.. Thanks to Kate Gilbert for a wonderful design!
Here I'm wearing it in the shop where I work, Sticks and Strings ( www.sticksandstringsknitting.com ) where I admire the Koigu and wish I could have every color....