Jerry's Christmas sweater, which I finally finished last week, after deciding that the pattern wasn't right and I should reinvent the collar. Of course you can't see the collar, but believe me, it's beautiful.
I almost bought some yarn on sale the other day, but I stopped myself. I’ve decided that I’m not going to spend the rest of my life dealing with yarn that is too hairy, too hard, too weirdly-colored (the technical term in knitting circles for a puddle of yarn that combines too many weird colors is “clown vomit”), or, basically that I don’t love.
This yarn was all of the above, but it was really cheap. A few years ago I'd have gotten it, just because some day I would find the perfect pattern for it.
Not any more. Now I’ll stick with those I really enjoy. I made a sweater a while back from a mixture of merino wool and silk, and it was like knitting a hot fudge sundae, an incredibly sensuous experience. After I finished that, I tried some fancy hand-spun yarn someone gave me, and it was splitty and full of little bits of grass, and I hated it, so I tossed it without even feeling guilty. Or not too guilty.
Instead, I resolve to buy yarn I love and start a new stash of yarn for projects that I may never get to, but every inch of it will be worth it.
Knitting even gives me some bucket list material. New yarns come out all the time, and while I’ve knitted with the standard wools and cottons and made a shawl with bamboo, I’ve never tried the trendy yarns made with corn, soy, or seaweed (truly). They sound like fun, though I wonder if I should attack them with knitting needles or chopsticks.
I know someone who got some possum fur yarn from New Zealand and made it into a scarf. Or it’s possible to get spun dog fur (note: greyhounds are not good for this), or more realistically but much more expensively, qiviut, spun from the inner coat of the musk ox and going for almost $100 for 300 yards. I figure it would cost at least $800 for a sweater, so I guess that, at least, is off my bucket list. Let’s not go overboard.
Besides yarns, there are techniques I’ve never given a fair try – lace, for example. Or there’s Fairisle, entrelac, and double knitting, techniques that I’ve read about only to shudder at the thought of following a chart. Maybe I need to challenge myself on some of these, though I refuse at this point to do something just because I “should”. And I give myself permission to quit if it stops being fun. Come to think of it, I always could have, couldn’t I?
4 comments:
The sweater is beautiful and so is the model. I admire your ability to count Lucie. This has kept me from trying my hand at knitting. Jerry is all wrapped up warm and cozy in a creation made with your own hands. What better gift could be given!
Oh wow! La Piece de la resistance! gorgeous work. aND HE LOOKS SO STUDLY! Nice going.
Your decision to work with only wonderful yarns is, naturally, great. I too figure life is too short to waste on the lesser stuff. I may have to rifle through my stash to send you some lusciousness. stay tuned to this Bat Channel...onwards and upwards
I'm still waiting for you to do something with belly button lint.
It's gorgeous! I'm impressed that the zipper is not all humpy-bumpy. You did a great job.
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