Give a Knitter a Fish...
*Warning: poorly applied puns ahead.
I have been foiled.
I have been knitting away on a project that I thought would easy. Simple. Quick. Instant gratitude, that what it was supposed to be. But no. Noooooo...
I thought I would make myself a nice, cushy cowl out of a couple of skeins of aran yarn that I got from the dye class I took a couple of years ago. The pinky one is my own hand dyed skein from that class, and the second is a freebie skein I took home that day. I thought I'd try out a new-to-me stitch: herringbone stitch. It sounded like a good idea: simple stitch that works best with large needles:
Thick aran yarn, size 15 needles, simple stitch. You'd think this thing would have flown off the needles. The truth is that this stitch is probably one of the most aggravatingly slow, soul-destroying stitches I've ever used. It's like knitting the whole darn thing twice. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, I don't know, but MAN I am not enjoying this.
The stitch is named after a fish. Fishy business, this whole thing. Har har.
I suppose the good thing about something so slow-going is that it gives me plenty of time to think about other stuff, especially to daydream about other projects. There have been two that have been twirling through my mind recently:
I think I've found an inspiration to help me make the sweater I saw on a recent work trip. I trawled through the internet for a couple of hours searching for "open back sweater" and came up with this on Pinterest:
So, as I knit each, slow, aggravating stitch, I think about whether or not I'll knit it in pieces, or in the round from the bottom up, or from the top down. I think about whether or not I'll knit it with wool, or with a cotton blend, and if my back will be cold with all those little holes. And I think about how I'll knit that leaf pattern, and if I've seen anything like that before. Every so often, I'll put my needles down and do some searching online, before I go back to my herringbone stitches and muse some more...
The other project I've been thinking about is this red crochet top I saw on Pinterest a few months ago (darn you Pinterest, I have STUFF TO DO!):
It comes from Apricotonline.co.uk (and is sold out, by the way), but ever since I saw it, I felt pretty sure I could make it myself using this yarn I've have in my stash for a while:
My problem is that I have never been really good with my crochet gauge, and I haven't a clue how I'd make sure that top would fit. I'm only half-and-half about how it is constructed, despite lots and lots of reading and searching... so the never-ending herringbone stitch makes for good musing time. And if anyone has a lead for me as to how I could make that thing, that would be AWESOME, because it's sort of driving me crazy.
Project ideas driving me crazy? Unheard of. Pshaw.
And so, I knit on, musing, thinking, dreaming... Here's to hoping this whole thing will be fruitful in one way or another.
Give a knitter a fish, and maybe they'll make a sweater. Heh.
I have been foiled.
I have been knitting away on a project that I thought would easy. Simple. Quick. Instant gratitude, that what it was supposed to be. But no. Noooooo...
I thought I would make myself a nice, cushy cowl out of a couple of skeins of aran yarn that I got from the dye class I took a couple of years ago. The pinky one is my own hand dyed skein from that class, and the second is a freebie skein I took home that day. I thought I'd try out a new-to-me stitch: herringbone stitch. It sounded like a good idea: simple stitch that works best with large needles:
Thick aran yarn, size 15 needles, simple stitch. You'd think this thing would have flown off the needles. The truth is that this stitch is probably one of the most aggravatingly slow, soul-destroying stitches I've ever used. It's like knitting the whole darn thing twice. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, I don't know, but MAN I am not enjoying this.
The stitch is named after a fish. Fishy business, this whole thing. Har har.
I suppose the good thing about something so slow-going is that it gives me plenty of time to think about other stuff, especially to daydream about other projects. There have been two that have been twirling through my mind recently:
I think I've found an inspiration to help me make the sweater I saw on a recent work trip. I trawled through the internet for a couple of hours searching for "open back sweater" and came up with this on Pinterest:
So, as I knit each, slow, aggravating stitch, I think about whether or not I'll knit it in pieces, or in the round from the bottom up, or from the top down. I think about whether or not I'll knit it with wool, or with a cotton blend, and if my back will be cold with all those little holes. And I think about how I'll knit that leaf pattern, and if I've seen anything like that before. Every so often, I'll put my needles down and do some searching online, before I go back to my herringbone stitches and muse some more...
The other project I've been thinking about is this red crochet top I saw on Pinterest a few months ago (darn you Pinterest, I have STUFF TO DO!):
It comes from Apricotonline.co.uk (and is sold out, by the way), but ever since I saw it, I felt pretty sure I could make it myself using this yarn I've have in my stash for a while:
My problem is that I have never been really good with my crochet gauge, and I haven't a clue how I'd make sure that top would fit. I'm only half-and-half about how it is constructed, despite lots and lots of reading and searching... so the never-ending herringbone stitch makes for good musing time. And if anyone has a lead for me as to how I could make that thing, that would be AWESOME, because it's sort of driving me crazy.
Project ideas driving me crazy? Unheard of. Pshaw.
And so, I knit on, musing, thinking, dreaming... Here's to hoping this whole thing will be fruitful in one way or another.
Give a knitter a fish, and maybe they'll make a sweater. Heh.
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