It's been very frustrating.
I did a quick survey of my works in progress, which revealed that the majority of them are being knit on tiny little needles, hence even the smaller projects were taking some time to complete. Maybe, I thought, a shot of relatively instant gratification would jump start my imagination and get me back into the swing of things. A mistake rib scarf knit over 39 stitches on size 11 needles certainly fit the bill ...
WB has grown VERY attached to Young'un's pirate hat.
As in, it might as well be velcroed to her head.
He still thinks it's his hat, and says he's letting her borrow it,
but the rest of us know that he's lost this battle.
We'd buy another ....
but Young'un would still end up "loaning" it to his sister.
WB doesn't see why having only one head
means she should only have one hat
but my plan didn't work. It's a pretty scarf, but once I cast off I was right back where I started -- surrounded by wool, without an iota of interest in knitting any of it. Either the yarn wasn't what I hoped it would be, or the pattern was boring me, or the project as a whole required time and concentration that I didn't seem to have. In the time I would have otherwise spent knitting, I hung out on Facebook, where I tended my Farmville farm, played a whole bunch of Bejeweled Blitz, and brooded. How long it would take me to sell my stash, I wondered, and what hobby I would find to fill the void? These were important questions, as clearly my knitting get up and go had got up and went.
This last thought made me sad.
Then, on Halloween day I was out on a last minute errand to get pumpkins (my two weekends away had put the kibosh on our annual apple/pumpkin picking outing, and through one thing and another I'd left the gathering of pumpkins to the last minute, although the situation totally paid off, as I found a farmstand selling beautiful pumpkins for $1 each). My route took me past my LYS, and as I drove by I noticed that there was a spot in the otherwise crowded parking lot, right in front of the door. I took this for the sign it clearly was and pulled in. I knew I wouldn't buy anything (see: "knitting doldrums" and also "giant stash", above), but the ladies there are very nice, and adult company is always welcome, so in I went.
I walked through the door, waved hello to the Saturday morning knitting circle, and continued up the ramp, which is where inspiration finally, finally, FINALLY jumped up and hit me on the head, in the form of a newly arrived shipment of Classic Elite Fresco.
Fingering Weight. Content: wool AND alpaca AND angora.
Irresistible.
I bought a few skeins, then went straight home and cast on the Sheltand Lace Triangle from Wrap Style (Ravelery link). I've been wanting to get back to lace knitting for a while now, and when I saw a sample of this shawl at Bliss Yarns during my trip to Nashville it had occurred to me that this would be a good place to start. I'd tried casting on the week after I got home, using some Koigu from the stash, but although the yarn was practically tone-on-tone, it was still too variegated for the pattern, and I'd ripped it out in frustration after only a couple of repeats.
This new yarn, though ... this has been just the ticket. Sometimes I'm captivated by a pattern, sometimes it's the color changes in the yarn (there's a reason I've knit four of those Noro striped scarves, with plans for more). This time it's the feel of the yarn that has entranced me ... it's incredibly soft, yet the stitch definition is clear enough that the lace isn't being lost.
You'll have to trust me on that last bit (lace isn't anything until it's blocked), but I hope this picture will let you see the soft.
Pure tactile indulgence, that's what this is. Pure tactile indulgence.
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