The Arosa sleeve that I thought was too big? I didn't just think it was too big. It's too damn big. The other sleeve's cap shaping is going to be too square. Therefore, Arosa has gone underground for a couple of days/weeks/months/years until I can come to grips with reknitting that sleeve, and reshaping the other sleeve cap so that it's more round. It should have been so simple. I just can't look at in anymore. I can't.
Unfortunately, this has also temporarily soured me on Kristabella, which still only needs sleeves and a little neckline detail. This means that I'm stepping away from both of my works-in-progress. Desperately grumpy, I turned to Accountant Boy last night and bleated, "I'm not a craftswoman! I SUCK!" He suggested that I take a break for a few days, but that will never do. I need a new project. Further, I need a project unlike my current projects. No seaming, no sleeves, try on as you go, that kind of thing. I have the perfect thing in mind.
A couple of months ago, while planning for the camping trip we're going to take this weekend, I was browsing the Sierra Trading Post website. I needed a sleeping bag, and maybe a deeply discounted workout top. Quite by accident, I happened upon a long, flowing skirt with velvet applique. I did not need this skirt. I justified its purchase by saying that it pushed me over the free shipping limit, and that it would probably be too small for me. It's one of the dumbest financial things I do - buying more than I'd planned so that the shipping will be free. "Ah, I'll probably end up sending it back, anyway..."
Turns out that it isn't too small. I love it. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to wear with it. What's a girl to do? This girl took that skirt in hand, marched off to her second-closest yarn store and bought some perfectly matched, fairly expensive yarn with which to make a companion top for her bargain skirt. Yes, if I use all six cones of it, my little top will cost a whopping $96 plus tax, bringing the total of my 'bargain' outfit to about $147. And all I needed was a sleeping bag.
I'm going camping for the first time in my life this weekend, and I'm taking my six little cones of Anny Blatt Victoria with me for the car ride. It's going to turn into Coachella. Let me be more clear. It's going to turn into a wearable, appropriately sized Coachella. Or my cries of rage and anguish will be heard around the globe.
Ooh! I have exciting news and I haven't shared it yet. I have a Boyd Ultimate Sweater Machine! I traded one of my swifts and some yarn for it, in an excellent exchange with Megera from the Knittyboard. This is especially exciting because, given my recent woes, I've been muttering to myself, "Maybe I should just knit big-ass rectangles and stitch them together. Maybe that's all I'm capable of doing anymore. Knitted sack with arm and neck holes. Damned knitting..." Now I can knit all of the big-ass rectangles I want! I'm looking forward to using it. It's making me think about my hobby in a whole new way. Do I knit because I enjoy knitting, or because I want the finished product? If I attain some level of proficiency with the USM, will I ever knit a stockinette sweater by hand again?
hmm, that's a good question. my mom had (has--maybe) a knitting machine but she hardly ever used it.
ReplyDeletei don't think i could bring myself to use it. it feels too much like "cheating." i know that is silly but i think when i knit i want to have my hands on as much of the process as possible, and a machine would take away from that.
of course, if i had a knitting machine it wouldn't take me years to make a blanket. hmmm...
I absolutely love that skirt. I have a weakness for velvet, but that's velvet in a beautiful dark, rich color. And the yarn matches perfectly!
ReplyDeleteI don't know a single thing about knitting machines. I do, however, believe that all of us sometimes knit because it's fun, and sometimes we knit because we're in love with the end product. Even a hardcore process knitter like myself occasionally sees a garment that's the ultimate must have.