Monday 15 October 2007

The yarn stops here

I, like many knitters, am afflicted with a terrible malady, the inability to stop purchasing yarn. I reckon my yarn purchasing to actual time to knit with said yarn ratio is easily 8:1….for every 8 garments worth of yarn I buy, I really truly only have time to knit 1 of them.

Photographing my stash for Ravelry has definitely highlighted the issue….that and having to stuff packets of yarn under the sofa and bed, because I’ve run out of space in my “craft” area. Hubby even cleaned out some his computer things shelves and I filled them in about 5 minutes flat.

Sometimes I buy the yarn with no particular project in mind (like the Knittery purchases below, they’ll become some sort of wrap, just don’t know which ones) other times I become obsessed with the idea of knitting a particular pattern and just HAVE to get the yarn NOW to knit it, but then something shiny distracts me and I’m casting on something else.

The 10 balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino I ordered from the states haven’t even arrived yet, again I was obsessing about knitting the Short Sleeve Vintage Cardi in the new Jo Sharp Knit 4, but I’ll be too busy with the Clappy to even think about it for a couple more weeks.

Anyway, I guess the point to this tale is that I’ve decided NO MORE YARN will be purchased (except if it’s for something specific, like baby things, seeing as my little sister and dear friend in Canada-land are both expecting). I just can't do it, I have to knit with what I have, I know there are more and more gorgeous things out there in yarn-land waiting for me to stretch forth me little mitts to grasp with glee, but they are just going to have to wait.

So, here it in writing:

I, Larissa, being of soundish mind but less sound body, hereby swear not to purchase any yarn in a frivolous fashion till half my stash has been transformed from fuzzy balls of yarn into wearable garments or usable things.

Now let's see how long that lasts shall we....

Tuesday 9 October 2007

No apologies


Started my Clapotis on the weekend and it's knitting up a treat, I've always been a lil bit scared to start because it looks a bit complicated and beyond me....but pfft to that....it's easy peasy pants!! There's nothing scary about it at all, just a weeny bit of concentration needed....so I banish my husband from the room while I knit. I love knitting it so much it'll be finished within the next week or so, no doubt!! I'm doing it in the Handmaiden Seasilk and the drape and feel of the fabric that's being created is stunning!

Got me thinking though, about a knitting class I used to go to and how it used to be such a great social outlet for me, but ended up with me being embarrassed to take anything too interesting to class.

I've been able to knit for years, mum taught me when I was younger....but I didn't pick up the pointy sticks again in earnest till about 2004. I was a dab hand at knitting garter stitch scarves, but not much else, so I decided to do a knitting class through a local evening college. It was great, I learnt how to knit rib (I didn't actually know about yarn forward thing) and read a pattern, the girls in the class were a lot of fun, some returning term after term just for the social aspect. So I decided to join them and kept enrolling. Anything more advanced in terms of technique I taught myself or shuffled of to “shock horror” a class at Tapestry Craft, the evening college teacher had an open dislike of lace knitting or anything that involved more complex than moss stitch and often made comments about me knitted complicated things to show the others up.

Ok, I know most of the people in the class were beginners and that the perfect place for them was spotlight or big w, because of their cheap and cheerful yarn range, and when you have NO idea what you're doing, a $2 ball of acrylic is a great place to start, but as my confidence in my ability grew the more I began to appreciate better quality yarns and the results I’d get from them.

The first special project I knit myself was a feather and fan scarf in the softest cream baby alpaca....I was pretty chuffed with the result (even though there was a mistake or two), but when I took it to class to show them, it was all about how much the yarn cost...."you paid $11 a ball and it took 5 balls???????"....um, yeah, 5 balls, but it's really beautiful and soft and it was less than $60 and you couldn't buy the same thing for that and besides, I love wearing it....but some people couldn't get past the cost.

Then I had the audacity to turn up with a couple of balls of Noro Silk Garden, the uproar that caused because I'd spent $17 a ball!! After that I was labeled the DINK (double income no kids) and I never went back.

Anyway, I don't like that I was made to feel bad about having a bit of spare cash....hey, I work hard, so does hubby....we can spend what we like on whatever we like....and I chose to buy beautiful yarn that I can fall in love with before it even hits the needles and shoes....he buys rare whiskeys and things for his computers....we're grown ups, we're allowed!!

And speaking of beautiful yarn....I discovered The Knittery.











Monday 1 October 2007

How to end a long weekend.


With a glass of Wine and some Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins fresh out of the oven.