Saturday, August 15, 2009

Can we talk about Knitting?

Its a habit of mine. I tend to develop a list when I start to feel overwhelmed by all I must, or rather WANT, to do. Right now its the knitting projects that are dancing before me and calling me to the needles. I am conflicted and mildly stressed trying to decide which to focus on. I have several projects on the needles right now. I admit to a sense of happiness in going from one to the other; although I do feel a little anxious about getting any of them completed. Here is my current list:

Ishbel shawl to replace the one lost on the TriMet bus. ( I pause to visualize the homeless woman likely sporting my lost, lovely shawl. At least she has a fashionable garment to ward off the morning chill.) I find the stockinette portion comforting to pick up for those parts of the day when I need to focus on more than knitting, like when my husband is sharing one of his stories (of course I 've heard his stories a few times in the past 37 years so full focus is rarely essential)

This pattern is the best. It has a healthy section in stockinette before it starts an interesting but very do-able lace section. Even if mistakes are made and not corrected it STILL looks good when complete. Just what I need. In a Blue Moon Geisha yarn, its yummy.

Goddess Mystery Shawl #13 It is really dormant because I am unhappy but not quite enough to rip it out. First experiment incorporating beads. Not my thing.

Socks for Krista I don't like this Bamboo yarn and while its a straightforward vanilla pattern, I have frogged it several times. It may sit a long time

Sweater for me in DROPS alpaca: A straightforward Gray cardigan The yarn feels so soft and wonderful to my fingers; I long to pet it. I adapted a back and forth pattern for straight needles to knitting on circulars. Its my intent to try steeking for the first time. I am brave, really really brave. (For any member of my non knitting family reading this. "Steeking" means taking scissors to the knitted fabric. A very traumatic image.)

Cable sweater for Steve Haven't really started this one, although I have the yarn. There is a competing pattern I would like to use this yarn for but haven't made up my mind.

Central Park Hoodie Its a KAL using a pattern from Interweave. I would like to join it but was going to use the yarn I had identified for Steve. Dilemma.

GlennaC Silkgarden socks A simple sock with a simple cable along the site. I am not using the NORO yarn she intended so have to change the pattern. Want to get into this, its a deceptively simple cable pattern. I have,however, become sidetracked with the stockinette portion of the Ishbel. By the way, Glenna has a lovely blog called "KNITTING TO STAY SANE". The pattern is a free download.

Japanese Vines scarf. A present for Mom (shh-don't tell her) Love the pattern, love the Louet eggplant color yarn in laceweight. Easy pattern to read in the knitted fabric once a bit of it is done, so its possible to identify mistakes as I go. This is a great pattern to learn a discipline of lace-- Meaning balancing reading the chart with reading the knitting and counting stitches as I go. There are four purl stitches that appear in the exact same place while all the other stitches vary with each of the 31 row repeat. That purl stitch grounds me as I proceed.

SIGH .. then there is a list of yarns beckoning to me from my stash with patterns that beckon for me to play with them. I especially want to use some FiberOptics laceweight for a snowdrop lace scarf design (Chrissy Gardiner design). Of couse I was going to double the width into a stole. Christmas is coming in the time it may take to complete about 2 lace, 1 sweater, and four sock project timelines. And there is a very lovely handmaiden seasilk yarn simply insisting its destiny as an elegant patterned scarf, if I will only let it find its way to that form through my fingers.

At least I have something to do .....
Of course I have lists of other things I must do before I pick up the needles. Too much on that list. Might as well knit.

No comments:

Post a Comment