I spend most of my waking hours revising. The chapter I’m editing for work will look quite different at the end of the day than it did when I started it, and I’ve lived with such continuous change for forty years. So it comes as no surprise to me that I’m constantly tinkering with most other things, but especially my knitting. This is not indecisiveness, but improvement.
There have been occasional manuscripts that were so well done I had nothing to say about them, but I can count them on the fingers of one hand. And, I might add, they scare me. It is easy to submit work littered with changes and ask for payment, but it seems as if I’m slacking if I send in something and say there is nothing I can do to make it better—but I’ve spent x amount of hours to come up with this opinion. I look at the work thinking, “Surely nothing can be this perfect. There must be something to fix.” If my knitting seems too good to be true, I also have the same sort of second thoughts.
This brings me back to my list of projects for the NaKniSweMoDo KAL. My original intent was to use it as a stash-busting exercise, but as I got to thinking about the 12 sweaters, I considered the clothes I’d want and need, and my yearning to do some designs of my own. And so, I moved a few projects that weren’t even figments of my imagination in mid-December to the head of the queue—and I’ve bought new yarn for them.
I’ve wanted to do some sweaters of my own because Ed’s green sweater was such a satisfying project. It was fun to develop the pattern and knit with such beautiful yarn. I did no major designing in 2008, and that has been a disappointment. I’ve been eager to try some heavier weight merino that has a twist like Zara. So I succumbed to my urges and got batches of Karabella’s Aurora 8 and Berroco’s Pure Merino to try out for warm pullovers:
The Aurora 8 (color 19) came from the very accommodating
people at kpixie, and the Berroco (burgundy) is from WEBS. I’ve always wondered how the yarns
compare, and now I’ll know. They
look very similar.
Both are supposed to have great stitch definition, and there
are Barbara Walker patterns that I’ve loved for years that I want to try
out. These pullover sweaters are
intended to replace the ratty sweatshirt that I work in at present.
While I was browsing the WEBS site, I treated myself to a
few other goodies that I had my eye on for a while. I still want some portable projects for 2009, and socks and
washcloths seem about right.
Here is Dream in Color Smooshy in Chinatown Apple:
I've seen so many beautiful socks from this yarn in blogland that I want to try it for myself.
This is Shibui Superwash Merino in a deep magenta:
This seems similar to STR in its twist, but definitely thinner than the medium weight I just used up.
And, thanks to Susan’s encouragement, I’ve indulged in some Blue Sky Organic Cotton for what will be luxurious washcloths.
For now, I've been progressing nicely on the Cable-wise Cashmere pattern, and I'll be up to the armholes tonight. It looks as if this will be done in January--perhaps with some time to spare for swatching for Sweaters #2 and #3.