KnitMe

Enthusiasm

I'm past the point in my life where I do anything for the sake of pleasing other people. If I practice music, it's not to make other people think better of my playing, it's so that I can play when, where, and how I want to play. If I knit, it's not to give something to someone so that they will appreciate me more. I don't do yard work for the sake of having the neighbors tell me I have a lovely yard, and I don't dress so that people will think I look nice.

There are exceptions to this rule, of course. I need to be sure that I do my job well enough to please the people who keep me employed. Luckily this is not difficult. Sometimes I need to do things for the sake of making Emily happy or taking proper care of her, so I do spend a lot of time schlepping here there and everywhere when I'd rather not.

In general, though, I am much less burdened by concern for the opinions of others than I was 10 or 15 years ago, and when I choose to do something I have a certain amount of enthusiasm for it because I'm doing it to please myself.

Writing a blog lies totally outside this mental framework. I'm not a good blogger. I don't have a voice, or a great sense of humor, or a compelling online identity. My projects are not as interesting and beautiful as Jan's or Melanie's. I don't hate blogging, but I don't have the enthusiasm for it that I have for knitting or music. Music and knitting are their own reward. Writing a blog is contradictory to my sort of midlife theme of trying to avoid doing things that require me to please others.

This blog has been going on in one form or another for more than five years, and maybe it's because I'm just not a good blogger that it seems nobody reads it anymore. It takes me longer to take and process the photos and think of something to write to put around the photos, than is worth it for 4 readers. If people want to see my stuff, they can find it on Ravelry, they don't need to read a mundane blog. Awhile ago someone wondered if Ravelry would kill off a great many knitting blogs, and I think perhaps it will, but only the ones, like this one, that only exist as a place to post knitting pictures. It's been a month since I last posted, and it's mostly because I could not work up the enthusiasm to do it. If it doesn't please anybody, it's kind of unnecessary.

I am not trying to whine, I'm just puzzling out the question of what does and does not make me happy. What do you think? Does anyone need this blog for anything??

Knitting pictures, because that is what anyone who still comes here really wants.

Last month at our spinning group, the shop's drum carder was sitting out on the table, and I happened to have my bin of cormo fleece along with me, so I took a break from combing to card a couple of batts as an experiment. It reaffirmed for me that I MUCH prefer combed to carded fiber, especially a fiber as tender as cormo, but I did get two pillowy 3/4 ounce batts and spun up the finest and most even yarn I could given the neppy preparation. I am trying to make a lace scarf out of it. The pattern is called 'Ironwrought' and I found it on Ravelry. She has you knit the first end, then the rest of the scarf from the other end, and graft the second end on - this allows you to stretch your yardage.

I have about 220 yards and 1.5 ounces, we'll see what I can get out of it.

Isobel continues. In reading through the amendment, I discovered that the finished length from underarm to bottom edge is supposed to come out 24 inches. That is two feet. I'm only about 5'3" so a 2 foot length under the arm seems a little excessive. I'm shortening it a bit. I think it will end up about 20 or 21 and will be adequate for me.

In this photo I am about 1 1/2 inches below the underarm and closing. I am liking the look of the fabric. This is the second time I've knitted Galway on size 6 needles and it really makes a durable fabric that shows texture.

I finished the body of the Go Retro jacket, using a total of about 6 3/4 skeins out of 10. I may still make it with my 10 skeins of Cascade 109, but I do have 3 skeins of Cascade 220 on hand to finish with, if necessary. (The color is not as orangey a red as the photo suggests. It's a bluer red. If you look up Cascade 220 color 9404, Ruby, online, you will get a better idea of what it's supposed to look like.)

I looked ahead at the sleeves, and I don't think I'm going to follow the directions exactly. Like the body, the sleeves start on the larger needles in the basketweave pattern, then switch to the smaller needles and garter stitch later. In addition to this, she has you do some decreases as you go up the sleeve, and then increase again to the point where you switch to the garter stitch. Why would you want a big coat to have bell sleeves?? I would want sleeves that are wide enough to wear a sweater underneath, but not wide enough to drag in the rain puddles on my car as I open the door! I think I will skip that shaping business and start with the stitch count as you end up at the elbows.

I started spinning up some pretty wool and silk that Sam brought me as a hostess gift a couple of years ago. I was not planning to spin it on the Mazurka because I wanted to spin it fine, but I was sick of spinning natural colored wool at spinning group so I brought it along anyway. I set the tension as loose as I could get it to go and still give me takeup, and I'm getting the finest thread out of that wheel that I ever have. I do have to treadle fast, but it's completely doable.

I've also switched the Mazurka over to double drive, it seems to run smoother that way and give me takeup all the way to the end of the bobbin. I didn't think I could make it spin a yarn like this, so I'm really pleased with the little thing.