New Year's (Knitting) Resolutions

Ah, by the popping of corks, I sense a new year is on the way, and with it the resolution to do things better than we did this year.  Whatever knitting resolution I make, August is pretty much out, as I’ll be in Japan.

I did think about resolving to design some of the ideas I’ve had kicking around in the notebook, but that requires yarn for which I seriously don’t have the space.  I did think about using up all the sock yarn I've acquired, but that would work out as one sock a month, which could end up being rather boring.  I did think about resolving to knit something per month from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitters' Almanac, but as the first is an Aran sweater and the second is baby jumpers, neither of which I need, that didn't have wings.

After much thought about what I wanted to resolve, knit-wise, I’ve come up with the following:

Learn to knit socks.  It’s a good knitting skill to have.

Try to learn to knit continental style.  I’ve heard that it’s quicker than English.

Now this one’s a bit more complicated:

Not buy any more yarn until the big project box is empty.

The big project box has yarn for four projects; a bolero, two cardigans and a sweater.  So far, so good.  Obviously yarn bought for gift knitting or souvenir yarn doesn’t count.  (‘Obviously’ I hear fellow knitters chime in agreement).  However, I’ve seen some lovely Jaeger yarn on eBay.  

I know that bidding because you feel sorry that the seller’s knitting career is waning isn’t the best motivator, but at the same time, that would make an awesome sweater!  Anyway, does the ‘no yarn’ rule really count if you make a bid before midnight ?

Either way, the final resolution is:

Knit a jumper for my husband.

Happy New Year – what resolutions have you made, knitting or otherwise ?

   

The Christmas Knitting plan...

…isn’t going to happen the way I’d planned – and that’s OK with me.  I tried, it didn’t happen and I’m not going to stress myself out worrying about it.  The plan was to do mini stockings as place names for Christmas Day.  I tried one, got a little bit more competent with the idea of short rows and picking up wraps and then realised I’d not left myself enough time.  On the scale of one to death, this isn’t even a drop in the ocean.  

Anyway, we had Christmas Day (part one) at the weekend with my parents-in-law.  We had discussions about repeats of self-striping yarn and I tried to roll some skeins into a ball.  I was dropping hints to my husband that a nostepinne would make a brilliant Christmas gift; he didn’t think I had any skeins to use it on.  I was basically proving him wrong.  With the aid of a kitchen towel holder. 

And in the midst of this, my parents in law gave me yarn:

Quite frankly I don’t care if it’s acrylic, or that I don’t have a clue what to do with it.  The acid bright colours suit me no end, and there’s enough to do something decent with it, like a striped jumper or somesuch.

Merry Christmas.  I hope you too are able to count your blessings.

I wasn’t going to get caught up in this ‘Christmas knitting’ thing.  I swore I wasn’t going to get caught up in it, and somehow I have without realising.  Maybe I just wanted an excuse to buy more yarn ?  (For those interested, Red Lion acrylic in red and white, and a white Stylecraft eyelash yarn.  Bet you can't guess what I'm going to be knitting with that!)

I Have A Plan, but having looked at the pattern yesterday it didn’t make as much sense as I wanted it to, and apparently involves Swiss darning.  Swiss darning!  I’ve never darned anything in my life.  Yet. 

I would do it this evening, but the in-laws are visiting today and all tidying up that I’ve done has somehow managed to be undone this last week.  That leaves Sunday, in amongst packing to go away and buying Christmas presents, and blocking the shawl from York.  And decided which knitting projects to take away, copying the patterns and swatching to know which needles I should take; that’s going to take at least half a day!

If the worst comes to the worse, I’ll stay home from midnight mass.  Or darn in church, and thereby give away the secret.  Or darn on the train and risk stabbing myself horribly.  This is the one advantage of knitting with acrylic – no need to worry about blocking time. 

It will all work out fine,  because if I don’t get this sorted for Christmas 2014, I’ll be well ahead for Christmas 2015!

Noting patterns

When we were in York, we met up with an old family friend whose wife sadly died a few years ago, leaving a stash of yarn and over 70 lengths of dress material.  Very kindly, he said that I could have some of the yarn, as he didn’t think his daughter would do anything with it.  Such a lovely gesture.  (I started with some pink wool, which I want to make into a felted hat).  This lady is a knitter so fearless she made herself a mohair jumper, which was then worn, ripped back and re-knitted not once, but twice.  She also made cabled jumpers for all her family – but the re-knitting of mohair is the feat of which I am most in awe.

There feels a certain responsibility in doing something with a deceased person’s yarn.  Should I be frivoulous and do something for myself ?  Should I follow her wishes of what she wanted done, should they be clear ?  Make something for her grandchildren – keeping it in the family, as it were ?  (All a moot point at the moment, as the yarn is still in the attic – but it’s still a consideration).

Following the Yarn Harlot’s example, I’m trying to start making a note of what yarn is intended for which project.  This is mostly to stop me buying three lots of yarn for project X and to remind me which yarn I’ve got kicking around.  Although I realise now there’s another advantage to this method of yarn stashing – should anything happen to me, my knitting friends will know exactly what to do with the yarn.

Far From a Winter of Discontent...

So, last week we went to York.  

We walked the walls and saw some genuine Tour de France bunting:

(although on going back to photograph it, I don't think it was the knitted bunting by the way it was curling at the bottom).

I went to Ramshambles, the knitting shop on The Shambles and bought yarn.  

And then went back the day after to get more.

(I did see the West Yorkshire Spinners bird inspired sock yarn, but as I've not yet learned to knit more than the cuff of a sock, I don't see the point in buying more sock yarn).

I got chatting to the lady behind the counter about my plans for the yarn - to make the bicycle shawl from Bespoke.  The original shawl is made with Rowan Kidsilk Haze; the photos look beautiful, but it's a whatsit to knit with.  She hadn't heard of the book, so nice to pass on information to a fellow knitter.  I bought the yarn as I'd never seen that make before, and the colours were beautiful.  Luckily my husband had stepped outside before I had to pay...

We visited the Quilt Museum (no photos allowed)...

...and saw lots of signature quilts; where people would pay to have their name sewn on to a square, which were then sewn together and raffled off to raise money for charitable causes.  We also say the oldest known example of patchwork, which appeared on the Quilt Museum leaflet:

I bought fabric.

I spent a lot of time admiring York's knitwear.  On two of the four days we were there, the local pub was flooded with Christmas jumper wearers.  I also saw a couple of very natty Christmas pudding hats, as well as the more usual ribs and cables.  This was also the pub where I realised that if you use a straw, you don't have to pick your glass up, leaving your hands free to knit.

Almost every time we stopped, I pulled out my knitting.  

I was very taken with the pub with shiny tables, opposite the Quilt Museum.

My rubbish as anything splicing held.

And somehow I managed to complete a shawl in four days.

Happy holidays!