Attitude Adjustment
Listening to the counsel of good friends is often a wise course of action.
One piece of advice in particular proved the salve for this fractured soul:
Well, I did.
Earlier this month the Yarn Barn of San Antonio announced it was closing its doors.
I discovered the Yarn Barn years before I began knitting seriously, back when needlepoint and cross-stitch consumed me. Long before we moved to Texas in 1998, the previous owner and I had become good friends over our mutual passion for out-of-date, rare, and antique books on Berlin work and charted needlepoint.
In any event, they are in the last stages of closing the shop. I had resisted going over there because I hated to see them close, but Tuesday found me with an empty lunch hour. So, I zipped over. I had thought I would be fighting for a parking place, but I was the only one in there with the store clerk. The shelves were mostly bare, but I managed to find 15 skeins of Noro Retro in a deep blue, almost purple saturated shade. They were 50% off.
Despite its silk content, Noro Retro is still a rustic type, single ply yarn. An aran weight, it knits up more like Manos del Uruguay than the softer Malabrigo Worsted Merino; however, I was looking for something a little tougher (read: something that would not pill quite as much as the Malabrigo) for an outerwear sweater/jacket.
I had this pattern in mind:
Pattern: Everything Nice Hoodie
It calls for 1620 yards.
15 skeins of the Noro Retro is 1650 yards!
Oh, yeah!
Two evenings later, I have pockets and oversized buttons with loads of personality!
One piece of advice in particular proved the salve for this fractured soul:
Do not be surprised that a full schedule finds your brain taking time off. Give it a small break and keep swatching. Things will calm down in time.Take a breather and find something to get your attention, she continued.
Well, I did.
Earlier this month the Yarn Barn of San Antonio announced it was closing its doors.
I discovered the Yarn Barn years before I began knitting seriously, back when needlepoint and cross-stitch consumed me. Long before we moved to Texas in 1998, the previous owner and I had become good friends over our mutual passion for out-of-date, rare, and antique books on Berlin work and charted needlepoint.
In any event, they are in the last stages of closing the shop. I had resisted going over there because I hated to see them close, but Tuesday found me with an empty lunch hour. So, I zipped over. I had thought I would be fighting for a parking place, but I was the only one in there with the store clerk. The shelves were mostly bare, but I managed to find 15 skeins of Noro Retro in a deep blue, almost purple saturated shade. They were 50% off.
Despite its silk content, Noro Retro is still a rustic type, single ply yarn. An aran weight, it knits up more like Manos del Uruguay than the softer Malabrigo Worsted Merino; however, I was looking for something a little tougher (read: something that would not pill quite as much as the Malabrigo) for an outerwear sweater/jacket.
I had this pattern in mind:
Pattern: Everything Nice Hoodie
It calls for 1620 yards.
15 skeins of the Noro Retro is 1650 yards!
Oh, yeah!
Two evenings later, I have pockets and oversized buttons with loads of personality!
Yes, I have a long list of designs that need any or all of the following: proofing, knitting, editing, writing, knitting, and test-knitting.
However, my brain was just not cooperating.
I needed something mindless to occupy my hands, something with which I could see actual progress.
The upside?
One design with which I was having difficulty visualizing exactly how it was going to be constructed worked itself out in my head as I endlessly knit in stockinette. When I put pen to paper and made the calculations, I was spot on. This morning I did a mini-mock up to test the theory. It worked!
People ask me all the time if I knit other people's patterns.
Yes!
Absolutely and enthusiastically.
They give me a break.
Everyone once in a while, I actually do enjoy having someone else do the driving.
With each stitch of my mindless stockinette, my mood and disposition improve.
Thank God I have reached the point in my life where I have finally begun to listen to those who love me.
Happy Stitching!
Comments
It's about half way done!
Food for the soul!
; )