I know I've been gone, but news! I have news (Fourth story from the top)!
The Beatles are reissuing their entire original catalog in a remixed box set and a mono box set. I'm sure you're all as THRILLED as I am. Who wouldn't be?
Just in case you're wondering I'm planning to be back with real content this weekend.
No, I don't expect you to all be thrilled stupid with me, but man...it's the god damned Beatles!
I some how end up doing scarves in the spring. It makes about as much sense as knitting a tank-top in November and saps the instant right out of instant gratification. Yet it's not all bad, I have a pretty scarf tucked away for that first crisp day in October, something to reflect on in the late August when the sun is trying to bake us into oblivion and the idea of one more raspberry lemonade is threatening to drive me over the edge.
As it stands today is sunny, 67°F, a light breeze out of the north with a black bird singing in the thicket behind our office. Definitely not scarf weather, but then I'm over scarf weather...for the time being anyway...so it's all balanced in some zen karmic sort of way.
Sometimes when you start a knitting project you quickly find the yarn and needles aren't doing what your head wants. So was the case with the Malabrigo yarn. The knitting just didn't feel right and when working with such lovely yarn it felt like a crime to push forward if it wasn't 100% there. As it turns out, knitting wasn't what I had in mind.
Surprisingly it was crochet. I tend to find crocheted pieces bulky, less artistic and less flattering than knit pieces. The drape isn't as nice, the lines are messier...in general there's something not quite polished, about crochet (which if you've seen Zach and Miri Make a Porno (filthy yet hilarious) can be a good thing.) (Those are links to the knit/crocheted goodies that flooded that movie...not porn...just to clarify.) and that's generally enough to keep me on the needles and away from the hook.
In this case though I wanted the messy heavier texture of crochet; something unstructred. Mostly because I adored a scarf from a 2008 Martha Stewart article on breast cancer. After trying a half dozen different stitches, this way and that I landed on a British stitch that had a passing resemblance to the scarf in the magazine. The wonderful suprise was how well the stitch pulled out the colors of the yarn in an almost impressionistic way. Instead of intermitent stripes or bands of colors, they splash together and create a gorgeous ripple across the scarf. All in all I'm thrilled...even if I do have to wait four months before I can wear it for more than five minutes.
I once read that there are 'types' of knitters. People who knit to enjoy the end result, people who knit to enjoy the challenge of learning new techniques/stitches and people who knit just to knit (I think this means they knit just because they like the experience...). Mostly I fall into the second group, the feeling of victory after mastering something that was previously unknown is pretty awesome. That said, the part I really like about knitting is playing with the color and texture of yarn.
There is something immensely gratifying about finding a beautiful yarn and paring it with a stitch or texture that really give the final product that, "Oh, wow!" factor. There's a moment in each project when you start to get a feel for what the final product will look like...it's wonderful when you can see everything coming together and complimenting each other. The stitch brings out the color of the yarn while the color enhances the visual texture of the stitch. Very awesome stuff.
In someways I think I'm a bit entraced by this, in part because of my real-life job. Interior design is all about the play of color, texture, pattern and light....knitting is, for the most part, the same thing on a much smaller scale. I've only recently gotten comfortable enough with the howforwhytoos of knitting to really get into these aspects, but considering that I spent an hour yarn shopping on Saturday looking for just the right yarn to go with a texture I'm considering, I'd say I'm already pretty committed to the aesthetics end of the craft.
These socks are from Sensational Knitted Socks and use the Diamond Rib pattern from the 8 stitch section, I lifted the Eye of Partridge heel from a neighboring pattern because the play of the leg pattern and the echo of the diamond in the heel is beautiful. The yarn is Creatively Dyed Luxury yarn (Merino/Cashmere - definitely not everyday socks!) in Coffee Bean from The Loopy Ewe. The pair isn't done just yet, but since I finished the heel last night, I'm pretty close. After that I've got to do something with the hand-dyed yarn I bought on Saturday.
I can't wait to see if the pattern I've got in mind will work out.
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