All of which is fine, I love the process of making something, and I'll learn in time. Meanwhile there's a more pressing issue. This weekend seemed like a good time to sort out my yarn stash - which turned out to be... daunting. Fortunately D was here to help, but if I'd needed any confirmation about the epic proportions the pile of yarn was reaching - well, his expression was enough.
The thing is I particularly love Shetland wool. I love the colours it comes in, which is what persuaded me to learn to knit in the first place - the yarn looked so good I really wanted to buy it, and then there had to be something to do with it. I really love its 'sticky' quality which stops dropped stitches from running uncontrollably down the knitting (not that I drop a lot of stitches) and the feel of it. (Some people find it scratchy, fortunately I am not one of them). I like its provenance and love the weather proof quality it has - it's surprisingly good at keeping out wind and rain. And because I only get one opportunity a year to buy it I go a bit overboard.
That's not the biggest problem either, and I'm certainly doing my bit for the local economy there. What is a problem is that I'm buying it with no particular plan in mind so I have a tremendous range of colours but not quite enough of them to do anything much bigger than a hat with. Also, it had got to the point where I didn't quite know what I had, or where to find it, which isn't helpful either.
Happily it turned out that sorting yarn is a fun thing for a couple to do together (on a cold afternoon with a cup of tea in the offing). D sorted everything into a colour spectrum, I pulled out the different weights of yarn, and we filled drawers with colour families. Everything is beautifully tidy now - it's even more satisfying than sorting books, certainly less dusty, and I can find stuff again.
To celebrate I've joined the Fair Isle Fishermans Kep Knitting group on Facebook, bought the kep pattern (£10, only available as a PDF from the Facebook page, money goes to supporting the local museum which is an excellent cause), and hope to join their kep-a-long. It's just started, and though I have things to do before I start they're giving 2 weeks to each section so there's lots of time to catch up. It looks like a friendly and supportive group, with plenty of other novice knitters in it, and an amazing array of people's keps to inspire you.
Yup, sorting out the stash is very rewarding and makes one feel quite virtuous, and yup, figuring out what to do with it all is difficult. I am not a FaceBook person (many reasons) which is partly my antipathy to anything digital, and I am hopeless at following charts (despite a lifetime of knitting) which is, perhaps, because of dyslexic issues. Kate Davies has been designing some really gorgeous knitting projects and her husband Tom writes about whiskey as well as taking amazing photos of various parts of Scotland and the Hebrides. If you look at her website she's got lots of projects (using her own Buachaille) which should help you use up some of those lovely choices. She uses Ravelry (anthing to do with such sophisticated sites almost makes me break out in hives!) and I urge you to do some searching for her website and check out what she does.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile I've figured out how to follow her patterns using intuitive methods and some work arounds. She does a lot of shaping and stuff that I don't need or want to do. Lovely but too complicated for this old person.
You may not be accomplished by your own assessment but you've shown us things that you have knitted and they are gorgeous!
Good Luck
Thank you so much for the encouragement. I follow Kate Davies blog and have a couple of her books. I love her work, but the shape would be all wrong for me so haven't really made anything so far (and yes, I also find her patterns a bit complicated at the moment, though with more experience I can hope they'll seem less so). The whole thing is a learning curve, but it's something I enjoy, and find very calming so that stash will get used eventually.
DeleteYou and my mother would have been great buddies. She was never without some knitting and when her failing eyesight meant that she could no longer manage to make garments that way she turned to crocheting with wool which she could do by touch. There was never a baby born to one of my friends or work colleagues who didn’t come home from the hospital wrapped in one of my mother’s crocheted blankets.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of craft (anything textile based) doesn't come particularly naturally to me (I can draw a bit, though haven't for years) my sister can't draw, but is brilliant with textiles. I've watched people crochet and have no idea how they do it. Knitting feels like it has very therapeutic qualities though, and creating anythingbis satisfying, so I stick with it. And what lovely to have things your mother's blankets must be. Unique for each baby, and something to treasure.
DeleteWhat a lovely, wolly collection you have there; my own stash is very much smaller than that.
ReplyDeleteI panic buy wool! It's obviously deeply engrained because I had an anxiety dream about it the other day - I'd been up in Shetland and had no time to get any yarn. I woke up feeling terribly upset despite knowing I have no room for any more at the moment, and no real need for more yarn either.
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