Then when the wee girl fell in love with this yarn, I ordered some more ....and it arrived in a completely different colour range (no blue, which was the really nice part of it). I soldiered on with great gusto.... headlong into The Great Crochet Fiasco. (I won't dwell on that).
I bit the bullet and pulled out the knitting needles, deciding that the Acacia was the way to go with this yarn. I mean, I made the Olearia cardigan - surely I can make a simple top using the same stitches....?
Ahem.... apparently not. In the last three weeks, I've done (and undone) the first twelve rows seven times. SEVEN TIMES!!!
It appears that I've developed a talent for short rows where no short rows should be, a penchant for purl where there ought to be knit and knit where there ought to be purl, and a tendancy to lose my place with the whole increase-row and non-increase row thing.I'm beginning to consider crocheting the whole shebang into facecloths.
Or.....perhaps adopting a more zen approach to knitting might be in order (at least for the first 13 rows). Maybe I need to slow down and focus on the moment, stitch by stitch...
Case in point - my morning routine, pictured below......
Pictured: Knitting... with wake-up coffee, computer (emailing the office, answering emails, checking in on blogs, doing banking...) and blue yoga mat (that's more about inspiration than perspiration, these days) rolled out on the floor beside me.Not Pictured: Making a packed lunch and getting a kid ready for school. ABC Kids blaring. Grumpy-in-the-morning bloke wandering about with coffee. Kitten wanting attention, food and a clean litter-tray. General disorganisation.
***
I think I've got the whole "doing relaxing things" a little bit wrong, somehow... There's a time and a place, right....? Or should I just go on, blaming the yarn..?
23 comments:
I have found with cursed projects such as this, that I put it aside for a little while and stop *trying* to do it. Then soon enough I'm drawn to it naturally and just let it happen at it's own pace and everything works out in the end.
Oh, and you could be stretching the whole "women can multi-task" thing a little too far ;)
Hmm, maybe you should say that you are adapting a pattern & making it your own! Just don't stress about it, rest, relax & breath!
I think that might be the reason why I've only ever attempted a scarf!
I think counting and changing stitches requires total concentration and peace and quiet.
Im thinking that the atmosphere may be hampering the progress. You need to find a peaceful nook somewhere like behind the garden shed where noone can find you and Im sure it would just happen just like that flowing from the fingers like concert pianist at her piano..... Wools great and I know the whole pull apart start again routine that was me learning to crochet a lesson in endurance.
Pfff pfff pfff pfff.
Just don't try again with a wee one present. Just in case there's a need to throw a fullblown tanty and stomping/kicking to be doing. How about we do a swap? Next weekend I knit the first twelve rows for you and in exchange you provide a non-scary explanation of the theory of a Full Bust Adjustment? Although I can't see how anything concerning a FBA could be anything other than terrifying...
Wot Tania said.
See, the yarn knows that it has psyched you out lol. Make the darn stuff into a dishcloth and see how it likes that! Or a little amigurumi zombie or voodoo doll might seem appropriate...
Yep, time and place. If I'm coming to grips with a new pattern I'll leave it till the end of the day when the children are asleep, the telly is talking to itself and hubby has his head buried in the computer (oh and kitty is outside...). If I still can't get a handle on it then that pattern wasn't meant to be!
You could post it over to me and I could have a go at starting it off for you, although Tania's offer would probably be easier!
Blame the yarn...as I tell my boyfriend--It may not be your fault but I'm blaming you.
ps. That only works for a little while.
Blame the Yarn !!! Or the person who wrote the pattern. Have you considered that there may be a printing error ? I hate when that happens. I'm a bit of a spelling geek and spot mistakes all over the place. Had a lovely lunch out today but got totally distracted by the "chesse" board, the garlic bread with chesse and the option of chesse dip with the nachos.
I agree with those who tell you that the mood has to be right. But really who cares when your knitting bag is so drop dead gorgeous. The longer you have the project, the longer it can stand and be admired.
Keep blaming the yarn. ;o)
I must admit that I too found your knitting bag more than a bit distracting. Love that Amy Butler fabric. Care to share a better look at what I'm assuming is one of your gorgeous bag designs? Pretty please.
Hi just found your blog - and as a morning knitter, even though not a morning person, I can certainly understand. In my experience, I think the yarn is trying to tell you it does not want to be what you want it to be. I've had this happen more than once - I'll try a different yarn with the pattern and have no trouble. I'll let the offending yarn sit and pout for a while and eventually it tells me what it wants to be. Hope you and it find your communal zen....
Marie
Maybe just unravel it and make seomthing else with it. Its pretty yarn how about some knitted headbands, girls slove bright colors and hair accecories! I found a pattern called poems easy headband in a book 101 designer one skein wonders and I love it, very easy project and so far i have made 4 of them with rainbow yarn lol
I must say that I hate when the yarn has to be reworked so many times to get the pattern right. I have a girlfriend that when this happens she claims the yarn does not want to be what I wanted it to be and makes some other project with the yarn and starts her pattern with new and different yarn and all works out well for her. Maybe your yarn just doesn't want to be what you want it to be :)
O.M.G! I hear you sister! I'm in the middle of not one but three such fiasco projects ... a cowl, a shawl and a dog sweater (the latter is my own design and I still can't get it right!) I'm thinking I'll just slog through it and get 'er done. And hope I learn something along the way!
I loved rainbow yarn when I was a kid and then I sort of thought it was gauche. Now I love it again.
I have that exact same yarn, even bought two large skeins of it. Now that you mention short rows, that might be an interesting way to go with it.
I am using my rainbow yarn to make a blanket. Instead of a small stitch, I am using a trebel stitch. It keeps the rainbow theme alive. :)
If you need another project for that rainbow colored yarn, try this one:
http://www.leethal.net/patterns/cassady.html
It's a fun technique and looks great with multicolored yarn!
I also feel the need to digress from the topic at hand to a more pressing matter: that project bag!! It's beautiful!
I also tend to think of my yarn as having a mind of it's own. It does help when you feel drawn to the project though. If I'm not excited about something, it will take me forever to finish it. Good luck with this one!
I would use rainbow yarn to make fingerless mitts!
Use it for entrelac projects. If you have two different color combinations, you can use one on the first row, the second color yarn for the second row, back to the first for the third, etc. and it could turn out very well - scarf or whatever you have enough yarn for.
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