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The linen tank is progressing slowly, in little bits and pieces here and there. I knit in such short snatches of time that I would deny that I had been knitting, but I can see that it simply isn't so:
Ten inches of the back knitted, about 4 more inches before the armhole shaping. Tomorrow I drive down to LaGuardia to pick up DSD Miriam and baby Owen so there will not be much knitting perhaps, but I am anticipating some knitting and visiting over the weekend.
I am dreaming of sweaters. I am dreaming of sweaters whose yarns are not represented in the pile of yarn-to-be-knit. I am dreaming of sweaters for which the raw materials are most likely not anywhere in my stash. I am dreaming of three sweaters. There appear to be some similarities between the sweaters, but appearances can be deceiving.
These sweaters invaded my brain in the order shown above. In terms of discussion however the last shall be first.
I first fell in love with this sweater when I saw an advertisement for it in one of the spring knitting magazines. The pattern book was not yet available. Eventually I ordered it and it arrived yesterday. The bodice and peplum are knitted separately in Stacy Charles' Muse which is a 65% viscose, 25% cotton, 10% polyamide (nylon) blend. I find that I still love this sweater, I could easily order the yarn, and I might have something appropriate in my stash but there is still that pile of yarn in the corner.
Now this sweater is somewhat problematic. I like the sweater, but I think it looks dumpy in the photograph. It is swirling around in my head at the moment because of its similarity to the Anny Blatt sweater (first picture above). But wait, you might say, those sweaters are only marginally alike. Well, actually.....
The shape of this sweater is very much like the first sweater, both are fitted classic shapes. I have checked the schematics and both are remarkably alike when knitted to the same size. Of course the yarns are quite different and the drapes of the sweaters will be quite different. The Rowan Sweater is knit in Cotton Glace which will not hang with nearly the body skimming drape of the Anny Blatt Sweater. But there are many color choices available and I think this sweater has great potential. And although I normally would wear the colors shown for this sweater, I think the muted color adds to the dumpy image of the sweater. I would knit this in something much more vibrant.
But obviously the Rowan sweater is an "also ran". I am thinking about it due to indecision about the sweater I really covet which is the Anny Blatt sweater, named Padies: 
So why didn't I order the yarn for this sweater when I placed my Anny Blatt order? Indecision. Simple indecision. This sweater is knit in alternating stripes of 5 yarns, all in the same color, except for the Victoria ribbon which is used in two colors in the bottom eyelet section. This sweater is shown in a color called Tango, which is a light orange (yellow red) with contrasting stripes in Crepuscule, which is deep prune (or a deep red-purple)
So what alternatives are there? I found two.
FAIENCE which is, as you might have guessed, shades of blue.
GERANIUM which comes in shades of red, perhaps pink-blue red
I like Geranium, but the new yarn used for the bodice, Selene, does not come in Geranium, although every other yarn used in this sweater does come in that shade. Selene comes in two shades of red and it is possible that one of them would work. As for the contrast, if Geranium is a medium-to-light red-purple, the contrast, in keeping with the design above, should be a deep Yellow-Red which would make it something that reads as a dark brown. I would think that I would try for the colors Ecorce or Moon. Of course if geranium is orange-red or true-red, the contrast option would have to be different.
Now, every yarn comes in color Faience. So that problem is solved. But I already ordered yarn Selene de Bouton D'or for this sweater (click to enlarge):
There is also a fair amount of blue yarn in that pile of yarn sitting in the corner of my studio, waiting to be knitted. I seem to be running a blue streak right now, which is fine, I can wear certain shades of blue quite well, but generally I am more of a green and plum kind of person. So I wonder if I want more blue.
Faience also looks, and it is difficult to tell this on web samples, like it might be a little darker than the other two yarns, although it is possible that other yarns could be blended in to give the sweater a more light-toned look. Also the yarn appears to me to read as more true-blue, which makes the contrast a little more difficult. In the model sweater the sweater is all made in shades of one primary color -- in this case red. A light yellow-red sweater with dark purple-red accents. In the case of a Faience sweater I would need to use accents in another color, I suppose running to one of the secondary colors on either side -- green or purple, but the contrast is not as appealing to me.
As I write this it sounds more and more like I am leaning toward geraniums doesn't it? Originally I leaned toward blue, but that was before I started considering the contrast.
But I am not supposed to be ordering yarn. And I do, in truth, feel a little overwhelmed in the yarn department right now. Cotton Glace will be available, no problem, but the other yarns might not be.......
And this is how I talk myself into accumulating a yarn collection.
A few weeks ago, when I was looking for a new project, I started piling up yarn in a corner of my studio, in the hopes that I would make a commitment to a project. The yarns have been sitting there ever since and I have made a few additions to the pile as well. Today I sorted out the yarns into their individual projects, made a rough inventory, and tried not to laugh hysterically. This is more than summer knitting.....
I won't go into the details. You will hopefully see some of these yarns emerge from this pile before the summer is over, perhaps even one or two before the summer officially begins. I am intentionally leaving the pile here out in the open where it can taunt me at those times when I sit down and don't feel like doing anything.
Most of the yarns are summer weights. For example the bag in front is Rowan's Summer Tweed purchased for a Kaffe Fasset cardigan LAST summer. I am determined to start it this summer, but it will not be a carry-along project as there are too many yarns, so it will likely be in process simultaneously with at least one or two other projects.
I also received part of my Anny Blatt order and those yarns are also in the pile. The order is not complete, but here is what I have gotten so far.
This sweater is(was?) high on my list because it just seems perfect for my mood this summer:
Unfortunately two yarns are missing, the blue Victoria ribbon and the blue Muguet. I will call the store on Tuesday to check on their status. These yarns are used at the very end of the sweater so I could start right away, but I hate to get something mostly underway and then have to struggle to find the finishing touch, or have to consider doing something different. I could use different yarns for the blue/green stripes, but I might not find something that I like with the pink muguet pictured above. So this sweater is still on hold.
The yarn for Padirac is complete:
But although this sweater is also white, it does not strike me as so explicitly summery. I think I could wear it in the spring and fall also with the right clothes. It is light but could be easily dressed up to go to a concert or nice evening out. Besides this is another relatively complicated project that cannot be easily hauled around as multiple yarns are used in each row. This will compete with the Kaffe Fassett for my attention.
In my normal distracted, scatter-brained, and bordering on chaotic life, I find that linen does not make for the most portable of knitting projects, no matter how much I enjoy the wearing of the resulting finished garments, either sewn or knitted. Linen yarn seems to resist all my attempts to remain wrapped in a ball, and it possess a powerful self-attraction, not being able to resist the urge to grab itself and form complex tangles and knots.
It seemed wise therefore, for the Thursday's spell of sitting-and-waiting, that I bring along those tiny size 0000 needles and start the second blue sock. I actually do enjoy knitting it, aside for the two difficult rows, first the yo, k2tog row where I create the picot edge, and later the row where the initial cast on is knit with the live stitches on the needle to form the hem at the top of the sock. These, try the patience on such small needles, but they were accomplished without incident.
I even continued knitting the sock into Thursday night. The darling husband was entertaining himself in front of the TV and I decided to join him. It was not long however before I was dangerously close to the point of bored desperation. Luckily G decided to go look something up in some other corner of the house and I was left in control of the remote for a few minutes. I figured that even a few minutes of mindless entertainment bliss would be welcome so I switched the channels. G is a charming sweetheart, but how anyone can sit and watch the weather channel for hours continues to confound and amaze me. I know he is not unique. I know several highly intelligent scientific types, renowned in their fields who also drive their wives to distraction with their affection for "local on the 8S".
But I digress.
As I flipped the channels I was thrilled and amazed to watch a wall of sea water pouring through the streets of Manhattan. I picked up the needles and knit in absolute fascination, the needles clicking furiously as the citizens of New York climbed over cars trying to escape the wall of water.
Have I mentioned that my knitting movie standards aren't always particularly high? I don't want a movie I actually have to think about when I am knitting, and certainly The Day After Tomorrow was obliging on that point. I think it is a movie that would not stand up to much scrutiny, but it was more than adequate for background entertainment value. I might even be able to watch it again and actually see the beginning. Even G was easily sucked into watching (maybe it was that giant weather vortex that got him) even though I offered to let him change back to the land of endless weather maps. So we watched through to the end and I got easily got through another inch of sock-knitting:
Well, the stitches came out of my finger and it is no longer sensitive to the touch of the knitting needle, so knitting has resumed, although not at the pace I would have hoped.
Somehow I had believed that retirement, even partial retirement, as I am still doing office bookkeeping and accounting, would afford me more time to knit and sew than has so far been the case. Of course there are other things going on, and even office tasks are behind schedule, in part because there is no firm schedule. I used to like to think that I was a fairly adaptable and flexible person, but I did have a schedule of sorts that I followed for maintenance around the house and for work. I also had time to knit and sew and read. But now it seems that keeping even the simplest schedule seems impossible and I find that I am not happy with this random slow - motion - do - what - ever - occurs - to - you - at - the - moment kind of existence.
So in this slow-as-molasses world where one still seems to be busy but nothing gets done, you would think I would be so grateful to escape into knitting time that I would embrace it with attention. No so. Apparently double moss stitch is not quite as mindless as I had thought.
Or perhaps nothing is truly mindless at 3 in the morning.
Upon looking at the above photo, there are several areas where I have messed up the order of the stitches, most apparently in the wide blue stripe. Although generally, since this is the back, I might not notice this unattractive tangle of misplaced stitches, but then again, someone else might. I am fairly certain that, now that I am aware of its existence, visible or not, I will feel like there is a big glaring light on my backside drawing everyone's attention to that part of my anatomy which can least bear the scrutiny.
Once again, we are moving backward.
Very often my knitting time is also my time to let my mind wander explore whatever thoughts happen to pass by. But what happens when I am not knitting? Do I stop thinking? Do I stop daydreaming? Well I hope not because I would be an incredibly crabby person if that were the case. Yet, I am still a little crabbier when I have not been knitting, as I have not of late.
It is not like my life has been fiber-free. I have been fondling my yarn, imagining sweaters knit and imagined, more imagined that actually knit at this point. I love these imagined sweaters. They fit beautifully. Imagined sweaters are always perfect. But one can't actually wear imagined sweaters or crush them between one's fingers, or feel the softness or weight, or admire the beauty of the stitches. Oh well, I suppose I shall have to knit again.
And I will. Knit that is.
But this week I started reconstructing my database. It is a slow process because I can't just pull out the yarn and count it, record it and forget about it. I have to try to remember what dreams originally prompted the purchase, I have to imagine its future life, I have to savor its presence. This all takes time, and it takes time away from knitting. I am finding projects that had slipped into the back recesses of my mind, projects I want to knit soon. Projects that will have to wait a little longer, because truthfully every time i hold a bit of yarn and imagine it as a sweater I want to be knitting that sweater RIGHT NOW. But I can't knit them all right now, can I?
Actually I am having trouble knitting any of them right now, due to the simplest and most stupid twists of fate. I have a paper cut. Actually it is a cardboard cut, incised on the edge of one of those cardboard storage boxes used to start files and charts. I never realized that such a thick piece of cardboard could be so sharp, could cut so quickly, could be such an inconvenience. I think of a paper cut as a simple thing. But a cardboard cut, quickly made yet wide and deep might require stitches. A cardboard cut on pad of the index finger puts a bit of a brake on one's knitting output, but not on ones knitting dreams.
The painful part is almost gone. The stitches and the little cut are beginning to heal up. Knitting will resume.
In the meantime, the life of the mind continues on as well. I actually read a book for the first time since all this other stuff in my life started.
The book led me to think and let my mind wander and once my mind was wandering, of course it wandered from ideas to fabric and yarn and dreams of future projects. The hands may be idle but the perigrinations of the mind go on, and there are enough dreams to supply a lifetime of knitting (not to mention yarn).
Cool linen in taupes and blues just speak of lazy summer days. A lazy spring weekend yielded a completed gauge swatch and the beginning of a summer sweater. The swatch was actually started at Thursday knitting but did not progress far as my hands were to busy shoveling salty snacks into my open mouth, and the slippery Addi turbos that I had with me did not make linen knitting particularly enjoyable.
Once I got home and switched needles however, this project became pure joy.
My next project was one that I wanted to be simple and mindless, although I am seriously considering another simultaneous projects for those times when I am capable of actually focusing my attentions rather than sitting dumbly and letting my fingers mindlessly do the work. This project was supposed to be simple stockinette. It is double moss stitch, still easy-peasy compared to the tedious rice stitch of the last project.
I am knitting a project that has been in my stash for a few years, it leapt out at me as I was searching for a potential yarn for some other dreamed-of sweater.
The pattern is by Ram Wools the yarn is Euroflax Linen in the colors pictured. Summer days await.
I opened the mail one day this past week and found this magazine:
Now, I don't subscribe to Sabrina and quite frankly, as I looked through it the first time I had a bad feeling. I wasn't sure exactly why I had received but had a sneaking suspicion that this meant I would not be getting something else. My fears proved to be true. Hidden deep inside the magazine, nestled between the pages, was a note from GLP International, the distributor who provided my subscription, telling me that Hubert Burda Media is no longer publishing Verena and that they have substituted Sabrina for the remainder of my subscription.
They also tell me can subscribe to Filati Handknitting if I wish, so the next thing I do is get on the web to see if I can rustle up a copy of Filati Handknitting so I can compare the two.
There is no question in my mind. Filati Handknitting is the magazine for me. I got this issue:
And it is loaded with wonderful patterns, far more exciting than those in the Sabrina. You can see the designs here .
Well, the rice stitch cardigan is Done!
And here it is in all its glory, this photo taken just minutes after I finished sewing on the last button. The sweater was pulled on and we dashed outside for a photo before the sun got to low in the sky for a decent shot.
By the time this one was taken it was too late to get any detail photos, but you've seen the details as we went along, right?
I love this sweater, but yes, I can wait for it to be cold enough to wear it again.
