The Pause That Refreshes

The knitting on Bee Fields is complete, and there is a huge void in my knitting life even though it is not “done”. To be sure, it has to be blocked, and pinning it out to dry will take a while. But that isn’t something I can do in my weeknight knitting because I like to block during daylight. I still have to weave in the ends, which I did manage to conceal successfully.

But for the rest of the week, I need something to knit.

I’m not yet ready to go back to my sweater WIPs because they require some thought. I still want to try Lucy Neatby’s buttonholes on the red Calvin Klein sweater. That will require sitting down with her DVD and following along with her as I try them out on a swatch—not something I can do on the same weekend as I’m devoting to blocking Bee Fields. The Devonshire jacket needs to have its fronts reblocked, and if Bee Fields dries in a day, as it should, I’ll do that. I still have to verify my sleeve-cap adjustment, and that may require morning time on another weekend.

So I’m turning to my planned scarves, and to a charity knitting project. Helena has talked about a mitten drive run by her Knitting Guild in Rochester, with the mittens given to inner-city children. Although I haven’t knit with acrylic a lot, and I’ve said many unkind things about acrylic, I do have some that isn’t terrible. I used Phildar yarn for my son when he was small (and I don’t think Superwash was available back then). The French imports, which I was able to buy in a small LYS in Greenwich Village, felt nice and wore well. I used this 100% acrylic

for this sweater, from a Pingouin pattern.

I also used a Phildar wool-acrylic mix for this sweater

So some stash diving is in order to see if I have any more of the heavy tan, or to find something else to add to it. This pause to knit some simple things and to finish a small project for someone besides me will be a nice break before taking on the difficult tasks of completing the WIPs—and working out some self-designed patterns that have been spinning in my brain for the three-plus months I spent on Bee Fields.

Comments

[Dorothy]

Can't wait to see Bee Fields blocked out. It's always such magic blocking lace. I don't know if you're in the market for going out and buying yarn for the mittens. If you are, I recommend Encore. It's a wool/acrylic mix and not too bad. Certainly not "real" wool, but a close substitute. I use it a lot for garments that I know will not be coddled, but thrown in a washer and dryer. It will be fun looking at what projects you do next. Your workmanship is always stunning!

[Caroline M]

I love the cable pattern on the first sweater. I used to knit a lot of Pingouin patterns because my aunt was a Pingouin stockist and used to find me interesting things to knit.

[Linda M]

I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished Bee Fields, it is on my must-make list for some day. I can truly empathize about the sense of loss when a big lace project is over. I felt that way with Peacock Feathers. Right now I'm mostly knitting for others, Knitspot Little Nothing scarves for two classmates who graduate this winter, socks for my dissertation advisor, a pi shawl for a pregnant friend... just not in the mood to knit for myself I guess (a strange feeling for me). I need to find a new lace project to fall in love with so I can do some monogamous knitting again. It is such a special feeling.

[robin]

Can't wait to see Bee Fields finished!

[tiennie]

Your projects are always amazing! Love that shawl and those warm looking sweaters!