I, however, cannot claim to be among their number. While I love buying yarn for a specific project, I don't like to buy yarn too far ahead of when I will actually be knitting it. Browsing through the aisles of my l.y.s., touching the skeins, combining colors, and calculating the cost of enough of a certain brand to make a sweater, are all activities I can engage in with no expenditure of cash or commitment. If I change my mind about what color I'd like to use, if I decide I'd prefer something in a different thickness, or if I happen to win the Irish Sweepstakes and can suddenly afford to knit exclusively with cashmere, I will have no encumbrances holding me back from my true destiny. The universe is full of surprises, and I prefer to allow for all possibilities.
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Did My Second Ugly Sweater Teach Me Anything?
The Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits provided the pattern for my next sweater, although this time I had no objection to its name: "Trick or Treat." Refusing to take to heart the lessons my second ugly sweater tried so hard to teach me about using thick yarn, I used even thicker yarn and bigger needles for this project--size 11, with a gauge of 3 sts=1". Further disregarding even the pleasant lessons, the things I did right, I unaccountably chose black for the color. Not "Midnight Serenade" or "Raven's Feather" or "Ladybug Spots." Just black.
I felt that the set-in sleeves were one of the most successful aspects of my baroque sweater, and I was glad I could repeat this design feature on my next project. It would be knit in stockinette stitch, with 4x4 ribbing at the edges. Reading through the finishing instructions, I saw that they expected me to use a circular needle again for the neckband, but since there was a crewneck instead of a v-neck, it would be much easier this time for me to knit it on straights.
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W.I.P.
I gave myself a stern lecture about not allowing the quest for perfection to get in the way of excellence and learning something new, and started picking up the neckband stitches for my rose sweater. I'm stopping frequently to check for holes and to make sure it's even, but I'm almost at the back, which of course will be a breeze. Then I'll need to plan the positioning of the cable pattern, which I'm hoping will not be as tricky as I fear. If necessary, I'll work on my auxiliary knitting (a reversible cable scarf) for a while in order to build up my confidence.
Purls of Wisdom
From Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting: "The low stasher is a knitter who genuinely feels no need to stockpile wool in vast quantities...Many low stashers...find having a small or nonexistent stash spiritually lightening. Should you encounter a true low stasher, admire her greatly. You may never meet another one."Tomorrow:
- My third ugly sweater: So thick! So quick!
- W.I.P.: Will I have finished picking up the neckband stitches?
