Zeneedle...needleart as life

NaKniSweMo Road Hazzard

No knit should be a slog. I've said that to several knitters this past week, including myself.  If it isn't fun, why are you knitting it?  If it's a slog, and not working out satisfactorily, why are you knitting it?  We could all use more time, especially more knitting time, so why are we so willing give up time to a slog of a knit. To digress just a little... If you need a quick gift, go buy something. It's unlikely the person your giving the gift to doesn't want your "quick" knit anyway.  Few people love your knitting the way you do and very few will appreciate it the way you do. Something as cherished as time should be only be given with great discretion.  This article in the Twist Collective says it better than I can.  OK, I got a little off track. Let's go back to the "No knit should be a slog" bit.

Just as Plan B  (Ravelry link) was moving away from the hard to see increases and into the easy knitting of the body and sleeves, I made a tactical error. All that intuition and experience failed me and I hit a big bump in the road, a bump which nearly derailed the whole project.  All the adjustments to start the sleeves were made when I suddenly had the brilliant idea to knit the sleeves in the round. How cool would it be not seam them, to just knit round and round with the Kidsilk and be finished! Whee...it sounded great! 

HOWEVER, after purchasing the size 8 bamboo needles, and starting to knit the first sleeve I quickly saw the error of this decision.  The yarn just isn't quite right for sticky bamboo and trying to handle four needles, the fuzzy yarn, a cable and the decreases (which doesn't sound too bad as I type) turned into a nightmare.   The sleeve became a BIG OLD SLOG.  I told someone that I officially hated this sweater and didn't know if I could go on.  But, go on I must and when I sat down to slog on I knew, I just KNEW a change had to be made. 

Immediately I took out the needles and started rewinding the yarn row by row.  It felt good, cathartic in fact, and before long I had the offending 4" rewound and the stitches back on the lovely Addi lace needle.  The first row of back and forth sleeve knitting and there was no doubt it was the right thing to do. That evening the sleeve was nearly finished and there was no hesitation in starting the second sleeve.  All is well in NaKniSweMoland.  Let's hope this sweater photographs better when finished than it does now.

On a happier note, the Forest Canopy Cowl in yummy Manos Silk Blend, color Java, is finished and I love it's softness against my neck.  The pattern is very quick and fun to do.  If you love someone very much, and you would like to give them something you've knit, this would make a wonderful gift.  But, make one for yourself, too.

What's Next?

For the first time in weeks I spent most of Saturday at home and I spun for much of the morning. Then, got sucked into the black hole of pattern organization and reassessment of the WIPs.  The pattern organization black hole almost did me in.  The thought was to put all the purchased Twist patterns into one notebook. Two hours later I was still sorting and had made 4 different notebooks of patterns, added to the 10 notebooks I already had, AND was about on the verge of pulling out my hair.  Thank goddess, Smith walked into the room, broke the spell and I put it all down and left the room.  It's still there, scattered about the floor and I'm not going to do a thing about it until later in the week.  So there.

You want to hear about the knitting reassessment:?  Well, let's see.  On the needles is was the Cardi Cozy (we'll discuss it and its fate later), the Maelstrom Sock and the Shetland Lace Shawl. I made a tactical error on the cardi ('nuf said), then I thought the Maelstrom Sock was going to end up to large so I pulled out the needles and was ready to frog it.  Good thing I actually tried it on because it's perfect and was saved, just in the nick of time.

The Shetland Lace? WELL(!) that's the knit that really stuck in my craw.  I just couldn't stand it!  The yarn is lovely, but not suitable for the pattern. It's much too tightly twisted and made a dense, not lacy fabric. Lace should be light and airy and as there wasn't much of either in the fabric.  The pattern is also quite dense and the double whammy made for unsatisfactory knitting.  There was nothing to love and I resented it.  The process was a slog and I couldn't imagine the finished product would be to my liking. All that added up to too many strikes against it...so out it came. The yarn will be happier doing something else and the pattern will be knit in another lighter weight yarn.

Meanwhile, I stopped into Black Sheep on Saturday afternoon as Nancy Bush  was signing her new book, Knitted Lace of Estonia.  She had all the gorgeous shawls on display and it was a delight to touch and drool over each one.  (No pictures, so sorry.)  The rest of the weekend I looked through the book every chance I got and decided to knit something from it right away.  A look through the stash (with a wealth of lace weight on hand there had to be something suitable) produced a lovely vintage Reynolds yarn called Cashmere Lamb.  A search of the Internet told me each skein had 155 yds (I have 3.5 skeins) and that proved to be more than enough for my chosen pattern. 

There is Kitchener stitch grafting involved, but I think I can bribe someone to do it for me.  Been there (once is enough!), done that.

Whole Lotta Spinning Going On.

A third bobbin is about half full.  This delicious merino was hand dyed by Anne.  I've been trying to live up to Carole's 10 Minutes a Day spinning code, but some days I only fit in a few minutes before bed.  Yesterday I spent all morning at the wheel. It felt good to finishing filling the second bobbin and start the third.  This may be ready to ply by next weekend. It wants to grow up to be a cozy, bulky 2x2 ribbed hat.  We'll see! 

Saturday Sky - Thursday Dawn (Again)

It was just too beautiful, the color of the sky Thursday morning and I had to stop and take yet another picture. This week has been warmer than last and the weekend holds promise of mostly sunny skies and warm days.

A Small Collection

Off and on over the last few years there have been one or two objects of desire that have captured my imagination.  At first this cause an increased my desire to gather them close and start small collections. I learned quickly that I'm not about "the quest" as much as a collector should be and I quickly loose the drive and the "collections" languish in disinterest. 

You all know how I love the weather and how the sky infuses my daily life. That love was the reason behind this small collection of wind chimes. Our patio is partially covered by a roof  which offers the perfect place to hang the chimes and, as luck would have it, the wind often swirls through the open area.

The wind chimes have been collected as we travel and when I look out and see each one I remember when and where it was acquired. This clanging, sturdy bell is a reminder of our trip to Martha's Vineyard in 1992.  It's one of the noisiest in high winds.  The color has been faded by years in the weather, but nothing else has worn.

This is our oldest chime and it's rusted over the years as it was meant to do.  It's been hanging here since the early 1980s and what I knew about the maker is lost in the ether of time.  As with the other chime, it is noisy and easily rung by a gust of wind.  If the winds kicks up when someone is in the guest room the chimes are taken down or the guest will never sleep. Together they produce a cacophony of sound.

The most melodious wind chime reproduces each note of an octave.  Its silver tubes rarely play a known melody, but more often create music of its own design...tunes to send out on the wind.

The hanging fish are my very favorite of all the wind chimes on the patio. Their sound is not beautiful, and as you might guess, they sound like clanking terracotta pottery.  The fish were purchased from a catalog  years and years ago (long forgotten which company) and about 2 years ago the thick string they hang from broke during a winter storm. The fish hit the cement of the patio and shattered to smithereens. A Google search produced the website of the designer who still had several of the same wind chime in stock.  He was so pleasant and, also, delighted to know I loved the chime so much I wanted to replace it.  Sadly, I could not come up with a link for you today and I can't remember anything about the company name.

This post has helped me decide that this collection must start growing again.  New additions to the patio wind chime symphony will help with my new found resolve to have a good winter season.  The chimes will help create a winter wonderland of sound.

W is for wind chimes in the windy weather of winter.