writers block is really just procrastination
April 11, 2012
for some reason i can’t sleep.
and since i can’t bring myself to do ‘real’ work,
i thought it’s high time i attended to my beloved blog.
since i’ve done such a good job deferring my knitting writing,
shall we begin this post with photos of cute animals?
(photos courtesy of sally of rivendale farms. thanks sal!)
that’s steven jr. and his mother lucy.
as you can see,
he’s growing up quite well.
though still a mama’s boy, apparently.
i know nothing of alpaca maturation or culture
but shouldn’t he be smoking behind alpaca high by now?
you can’t have much fun snuggled up to mommy.
just sayin’.
in yarn news,
march sock club came!
the color way is ‘budding twig’ in socks that rock medium weight.
i had my reservations about this skein.
first, i never choose such highly variegated yarn.
second, i never choose colors this bright and perky.
third, pink is my nemesis.
but i believe i’ve come to trust tina’s judgement
at least when it comes to color.
so i decided to challenge myself
and cast something on.
in my first two attempts,
i tried to avoid pooling, flashing, puddling,
or any other word for ‘color accumulating in fabric’ that i despise.
both times a failed but learned some things:
garter stitch in the round with sock yarn held double is hideous.
holding two strands of sock yarn for a 2×2 rib is gorgeous!
but is quickly ruined when one transitions into stockinette stitch.
finally i said fuck it,
and decided to let the yarn do it’s thing.
mindless knitting is all i can handle at this point.
and so i began a largish cowl.
mostly stockinette stitch
with enough purl rows thrown in for interest
and to keep the sucker from becoming a big fat neck doughnut.
of course, the colors began pooling
but in a cool, interesting way.
every row stacked up such that
i became mesmerized.
i was in love.
and not only did i love it, i got it.
i understood how the colors went together.
tina is a color witch.
do not cross her.
but just like how god punishes you for not praying, (grew up catholic)
the knitting goddess punished you for lack of knitting.
soon the yarn started pooling differently
and not in a good way.
and! not only did my purl row placement do nothing to curtail curling
they made the cowl look fucking ugly.
thus no photos.
and so, i’ll start over again soon
(when i regain my inner strength)
however! i have one final plan
to avoid the pain of unwanted pooling.
as far as i know, the only antidote for pooling
is heavy texture.
am i right?
wrong?
will some seed/moss/broken rib do the trick?
finally, a f.o.
one that’s been done for a while now.
i just haven’t had time to clean a surface off
i just had to be home when the sun was up to take a photo.
yarn – blue moon fiber arts twisted in ‘grawk’ color way
this project didn’t go exactly as planned either,
but i am in love with the finished product.
it’s about 9′ long (i swear it grew when it hit water).
i was going for 7′ and thicker,
but i wouldn’t change it for world.
bundled it about my neck, it looks perfect.
however, my mojo was totally on when it came to casting off
that, my friends,
is about one yard of yarn.
one. fucking. yard!
go me.
i just have one final decision to make:
do i leave the scarf as is, saving it for christmastime
OR do i seam together with that last yard to make an infinity scarf.
cons: me no like seaming
my slipped stitch edge would be for naught
i won’t have that yard as an impressive reminder of major mojo.
pros: it’s a reversible process
potential for enhanced über coolness.
thoughts?
ideas?
admonishments for lack of writing?
go on.
i can take it.
Bitches Get Stitches 
April 11, 2012 at 6:00 am
I have to say I’ve wasn’t crazy about the color either but your scarf looks like it came from a totally different skein of yarn. Gorgeous! Seam it and make it an infinity scarf, I think.
April 11, 2012 at 7:28 am
Variegated yarns with high contrast colors are cruel. I almost always end up in tears when I dare to believe one will not be. Good for you for finding the love for them…sometimes.
Now, go write!!
April 11, 2012 at 8:12 am
Yes, Steven Jr should likely be smokin’ behind the alpaca barn, and he’ll be moving in with the Big Boys soon. He’s still small enough that they’d kick his ass right now, but he’s getting there. Damn, he’s a handsome young dude.
Twig yarn: I’m stumped. Also not good with pink on this end. I’ve seen some gorgeous Malabrigo Neck Thingy’s knit up out of highly variegated yarn, so maybe that’s a thought? Big texture.
Grawk scarf: Love it!! I’d leave as is rather than seam it (also not a fan of seaming if I can get out of it), but mainly because it’s spectacular as is so why screw with it?
April 11, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Go be a good Catholic boy and pray for an answer. Or you can cheat and get a magic eight ball.
April 11, 2012 at 12:55 pm
You should know that “big fat neck donut” just about made my day. Also now I REALLY want a donut.
I hope grad school is going okay! I associate lack of sleep (like yours!) with grad school in my own life. I hope rest comes soon.
Also, I super love cowls, so I’d seam it! Mostly I love them because I’m very very clumsy, and cowls mean the garment cannot fall off me and get lost as easily.
April 11, 2012 at 1:43 pm
If you seam it, then you’ll have an even smaller remnant leftover to show you how much MORE awesome you are. Plus, that slipped stitch edge will make the job easy.
On another note, if you think this skein is highly variegated, hold onto your socks, because you’re in for a hell of a ride. Welcome to the club
April 11, 2012 at 10:42 pm
I agree with Camilla on the seaming the scarf together. But, before you do it, pin it into a loop, and see if it wraps nicely around your neck. i’ve made a few extra long scarves in hopes of turning them into cowls, but they’ve come out an odd length, and no matter how i looped them, they looked fucking odd.
for the variegated yarn, do something with slipped stitches. my amateur knitting brain tells me that will help mix up the colours a little more.
-Nicole
Knit, Nicole, Knit!
April 11, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Steven, Jr., may just be going through one of those awkward stages, when a boy needs his family support system. Looks like he’s roughly the equivalent of a human starting high school, so he wouldn’t want Mom around all the time –just when he really needs her. He’ll be out smoking (and rolling smokes) behind the barn soon.
My experiences in seaming things together are either a.) I’ve got enough yarn left to knit several feet more or b.) I think I’ve got enough yarn to do the seam, but really don’t. I think you’re closer to my b. than to my a.
Finally, the pooling issue. It can be very refreshing to go pooling on a hot summer’s night. It can also be very refreshing to make the pooling happen in an attractive manner. Knitty has a pattern (I forget its name) to make yarns do this. Knit in strips, each strip can be a funky scarf — several joined together make a colorful afghan. They used Socks that Rock yarn and several other well-known multicolor yarns. Look up the pattern and you may be inspired (or inspired to vomit, whatever).
April 12, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Why seam now, when you can make the decision to seam later?
And email if you’re interested in testing a theory with your pooling yarn.
April 15, 2012 at 6:25 pm
I thought Steven, Jr and his mama were stuck in quick sand. I really did until I saw the third picture. So happy that they were just cuddling.
April 25, 2012 at 12:13 am
about the scarf- do you ride the train for transportation? or take many elevators? just don’t let that extra length ugh…..become hazard. just sayin.
July 5, 2012 at 2:49 pm
This scarf is epic. Love the tiny hint of green.