I had a great bloggy weekend - full of stuff and no time to blog.
Saturday, Erica, Connor and I went on a little yarn tour of Franconia. We started off nice and early and were at Wolle Kontor in Erlangen right after opening. We spent a couple of minutes checking out her sock yarn offerings and then concentrated on the wall of mohair for about half an hour. I had no idea there were that many ways to spin up mohair - there was sparkly mohair, silky mohair, rough mohair, shiny mohair, fuzzy mohair, slick mohair and everything in-between. The entire back room of the yarn shop is dedicated to cotton and cotton-mixes. I bought a super-silky linen mix to maybe make a summer stole (for someone who lives in a place with cool summer nights.....) and more yarn-baby sock wool. Pictures to come.
Next we hit a couple of yarn shops in Nuremberg (the snobby one with the Rowan and Noro, ooooh) and popped into Idee (German Michael's) for slipper soles and sockie- no-slip-pad-thingies. Sounds like a lot of fun, I know - but it was all just too much for us and we were forced to take a break at Starbucks ;)
Sunday was a our faux July 4 BBQ. We grilled out with neighbors, Jean and family and Erica and family. We had a pretty good mixture of of food: German Bratwurst and Oscar Meyer wieners and S'mores for dessert - super yum!! Talk about your summer camp flashbacks! I even have some leftover marshmallows - can't wait to do some more fireside roasting.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Monday, June 27, 2005
If It Feels So Good, It Can't Be Bad, Right?
Finished the first sock and must say I can't stop blubbering about the pattern (and the yarn). It reminds me of something Mum said when she taught me my first stitches. She said a German lady told her years ago to always knit with the best yarn she could afford, never settle for less. She was a bit miffed at the time being that this woman was a complete stranger and unsolicited for advice but found it a great nugget that stayed with her through the years..
I agree that the nicest yarn I've knit up (aka: the most expensive) has made some of the most memorable and satisfying projects. Like the Sweetness Sweater for Erika, the Noro Booga Bag for a work colleague and the cabled sweater in merino I made for Cian to wear in Ireland.
I love blogging! I can pretend to wax poetic about projects, memories and even throw in sage parental advice when all I'm really doing is rationalizing another order of Mountain Colors' Bearfoot from Threadbear.... Mastercard, here I come!
Ain't the Internet great???!!!
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Taking Issue With The Process
I'm having issues with my knitting.
Not with yarns, patterns, needles or accessories, but my knitting.
On Sunday I taught France to cast on, knit and purl and then went perusing through the Stitch and Bitch book while she practiced. I just meant to check for beginner patterns, but then realized it was one of the best learning-to-knit books I had seen to date. And then I came across the page where Debbie described her categories of knitters. Like the Yarn Snobs, the Forever-Acrylics, and the Never-With-Patterns. I wasn't paying much attention until my eyes came across something like "most of this knitter's projects are given away as gifts" and I thought "that's me! which one is that again?". It was the Process Knitter, who doesn't necessarily knit for something to have or wear, but because they like th stitch or pattern.
I immediately read through all the descriptions again, thinking this could never be me. I'm sure I'm more like the Yarn Snobs or the Creative Types or Old Grannies Club....and this has been running around in my head since Sunday, driving me even closer to nuts than I already was.
Finally yesterday I realized that the silly cable sock I knitting was never going to fit anyone I know and I was seriously only knitting it because I liked the pattern. Not because I wanted to wear the pattern or thought the yarn would look wonderful in it - but because I liked the pattern and was excited to have a yarn that would lend itself to the design nicely.
The only reason I came to this crossroads is that this is some of the first "nice" yarn that I've ever bought for myself and I really wanted to wear it. Quick background, when I first started knitting, Mum found loads of yarn for me in the 2nd hand shops in England and I was soon loaded up with some outstanding wool. But rather than having bought yarn for a pattern or because I liked it, I received wool and then went searching for a pattern to match the gauge and amount of skeins and then made my project. Then, I got such a big kick out of giving away projects that I started knitting whatever patterns I found and then worried about a recipient after.
And I think this is how I became a Process Knitter and this is why I have 1 pair of my own socks and didn't even make myself a scarf until I'd been knitting over 2 years!!! It's like cooking and not eating your own food!!
Last night I broke the chain of Process Knitting last night. I put away the cabled sock pattern (maybe Mum is right and I knit the pattern too tightly, but it ain't never gonna fit any feet I know and I really want to wear this yarn, dammit!) and I searched the internet for a better pattern and found this. It's been adapted to my yarn and gauge and it think it's going to be just gorgeous and just for me :)
And I even like the process, too!
Not with yarns, patterns, needles or accessories, but my knitting.
On Sunday I taught France to cast on, knit and purl and then went perusing through the Stitch and Bitch book while she practiced. I just meant to check for beginner patterns, but then realized it was one of the best learning-to-knit books I had seen to date. And then I came across the page where Debbie described her categories of knitters. Like the Yarn Snobs, the Forever-Acrylics, and the Never-With-Patterns. I wasn't paying much attention until my eyes came across something like "most of this knitter's projects are given away as gifts" and I thought "that's me! which one is that again?". It was the Process Knitter, who doesn't necessarily knit for something to have or wear, but because they like th stitch or pattern.
I immediately read through all the descriptions again, thinking this could never be me. I'm sure I'm more like the Yarn Snobs or the Creative Types or Old Grannies Club....and this has been running around in my head since Sunday, driving me even closer to nuts than I already was.
Finally yesterday I realized that the silly cable sock I knitting was never going to fit anyone I know and I was seriously only knitting it because I liked the pattern. Not because I wanted to wear the pattern or thought the yarn would look wonderful in it - but because I liked the pattern and was excited to have a yarn that would lend itself to the design nicely.
The only reason I came to this crossroads is that this is some of the first "nice" yarn that I've ever bought for myself and I really wanted to wear it. Quick background, when I first started knitting, Mum found loads of yarn for me in the 2nd hand shops in England and I was soon loaded up with some outstanding wool. But rather than having bought yarn for a pattern or because I liked it, I received wool and then went searching for a pattern to match the gauge and amount of skeins and then made my project. Then, I got such a big kick out of giving away projects that I started knitting whatever patterns I found and then worried about a recipient after.
And I think this is how I became a Process Knitter and this is why I have 1 pair of my own socks and didn't even make myself a scarf until I'd been knitting over 2 years!!! It's like cooking and not eating your own food!!
Last night I broke the chain of Process Knitting last night. I put away the cabled sock pattern (maybe Mum is right and I knit the pattern too tightly, but it ain't never gonna fit any feet I know and I really want to wear this yarn, dammit!) and I searched the internet for a better pattern and found this. It's been adapted to my yarn and gauge and it think it's going to be just gorgeous and just for me :)
And I even like the process, too!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)