Joyful Monotony

Something that tends to pop up in conversation when I speak to close non-knitter friends of mine is that they feel that knitting would be tremendously monotonous. And if I am truthful, I must concede that sometimes it really is. I consider myself a product knitter because the desire to have the finished object powers me through vaguely endless instructions like "continue knitting stockinette for _ more inches." Even after many years of knitting, I still don't have the kind of muscle memory to comfortably look up from my knitting for long stretches. It's always a mindful activity for me, never a mindless one.  I enjoy stranded knitting so much precisely because every row is a new adventure. Sure, you gain some familiarity with the palm pattern on Selbuvotter, but for the most part, fair isle makes mindful knitting a joy because of the row changes.

However, lately I have been enjoying the monotony of my Gradient cowl. Inch upon inch seems to be flying off my needles with me barely noticing. There are a number of reasons this could be so: the novelty of working with mohair yarn; the fun and intrigue of mixing the colors; the relaxing change of pace from the constant focus that the selbuvotter required. I think it's a mashup of those reasons and also a more Elizabeth Zimmerman-type reason.

I'm not a competative person. I don't enjoy team sports or competition. The only exercise I enjoy purely for itself is running, which I use as a competition against myself. I enjoy pushing myself for longer runs and faster miles. While rereading some parts of The Knitter's Almanac last month, I came across a similar technique EZ said she used in which she tracked her daily knitting progress with a stitch marker. She said she kept herself from boredom by seeing the amount of length she could add to her knitting each day. I'm not keeping close track, but I have been keeping a stitch marker on the side of my scarf to liven up the endless k1, p1 of seed stitch. It's been working like a charm.

Sunday Agenda

 

2 finished Dala Horse mittens, soaking

 

3 balls of KnitPicks Aloft in uncharacteristically soft, feminine colors (for me), wound and ready.

 

What's on your agenda today?

 

 

WIP Wednesday - Dala horse Selbuvotter

One of my favorite aspects of knitting is that it's global. So many cultures have their own lovely traditions that it's almost impossible not to get swept up in some other culture's technique, symbolism, or history. I find all knitting traditions really interesting, but Norway and Sweden are the two countries at the forefront of my knitting-inspired fascination. I've spent long hours dreaming of a tour of Scandanavia and hoepfully that dream will come true one day. My love of Dala horses predates my love of knitting, though. I seem to remember having a Dala horse ornament on our Christmas tree as a child, but whenever I bring it up, the look my mom gives me suggests that I am mistaken. Regardless, someone in my early life had one of those beautiful, laquered red figurines and I was entranced by it. Last summer I was hoping some detour would take us close to Minnesota's Dala horse roadside attractions, but sadly, they were too far out of the way.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that from the moment I laid eyes on the Dala-selbuvotter pattern I knew I would end up making them. I cast on last September after being bitten by the selbuvotter bug that normally comes around when the air starts getting crisp. The fact that stranded mittens would be wholly unnecessary for sea-level PNW living was unknown to me at that time.

The brown is Patons Kroy Sock in "Flax" & the red is KnitPicks Stroll in "Scarlet." I had some tension problems with the first mitten (the horse is puckered). It bothered me at first, but when I'm wearing them it's not as noticable as when they're laying flat. The cuff is the cuff chart from the Egyptian Mittens with some Latvian braids.

Also, an FO:

Dad Socks. Just yer average, plain ol' stockinette sock. I originally intended for these to be part of my dad's Christmas package, but the yarn took more time to arrive than I had anticipated. My dad has never known the joy of handknit wool socks, so I wanted to make him some. The yarn is KnitPicks Swish DK in "Lava Heather" on size 4 dpn's. Now I need to mail them!

What's on (& off) your needles today?

FO: Oscilloscope Shawl

I finished the Oscilloscope Shawl this morning over a cup of coffee and it is currently drying on my bed. I don't make many shawls, in fact, I've only finished one shawl prior to this one, the Age of Brass and Steam shawl, way back in 2011. So I have no blocking mats, wires, T-pins, or anything generally accepted that one should have to block lace. I'm just stretching it open on a blanket and hoping for the best.

I'm really happy with it! It's very large, which is great, because the Age of Brass and Steam isn't big enough to stay put around my neck, so I never wear it. One of the things that contributed to actually finishing it was that it was knit side-to-side rather than bottom-to-top. As an unapologetic Product Knitter, I love decreases. They mean that every row is shorter and the knitting goes faster and faster. That type of snowball-effect knitting is my favorite. The most crushing thing to my gentle, FO-loving spirit is to be stuck with the fewest stitches at the beginning, increasing endlessly. It takes knitting from being fun to a total slog for me. This summary of my psyche makes it sound like I don't particularly enjoy the knitting part of knitting, which isn't true. It's just that I like to get things done and I like to feel like I'm always making progress toward the end and bottom-up shawls don't feel that way to me. Thus, 4 years since I knit my one-and-only shawlette.

As previously mentioned, the yarn is KnitPicks Swish Worsted in Wonderland Heather, which I must admit, I poached from my lovely boyfriend who had bought it to make felted slippers for Christmas, not realizing that it's superwash. I love this color, which I had previously used to make a hat in Wool of the Andes a few years ago. I believe it's meant to mimic madelinetosh's Button Jar Blue. If I had the money to buy an large quantity of madelinetosh I might have a whole wardrobe in Button Jar Blue, I love it so.

I'm glad to kick off my 15 in 2015 with this project. I was feeling a bit bereft at the beginning of the year. I had started a hat which ended up having to be frogged. I knew as soon as I saw the 4 balls of Swish that it would make a great Oscilloscope shawl, but for some reason I was hunting for a different project. Nothing was really inspiring me at all. I thought my knitting mojo was in a funk due to all the Christmas knitting I had just finished. Then it just kind of struck me that what I really wanted to make was the shawl and denying myself from casting on was what was inhibiting my mojo. Honestly, I didn't think I'd finish it. I thought I would have to frog it, too, leaving me even more demoralized. As it stands though, I feel refreshed and ready to tackle some WIP projects I have lying around!

Reflections on 2014

Here we are, ten days into 2015! I've spent a lot of time privately reflecting on last year and what I want in this coming year. 2014 was full of changes for me. In April, I made a phone call after randomly searching Classified ads for my hometown newspaper while I should have been studying for my second-to-last Calculus test. Later that day, we made the 2 hour trip to pick up our new bundle of joy.

 

 

In May, I graduated college with my Bachelor of Science in Biology. In June, we travelled to the Outer Banks and Shennandoah National Park.

 

 

In July, I said goodbye to my job of six years. In August, we paired down our belongings and took to the road. We saw new places: North Dakota, Montana, new parts of Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and finally to our new home, Washington.



 

Sometimes I still can't believe it, even though we've been here for five months. I left my friends and family to move 2400 miles away where I had no job and nowhere to live. Around September, we found our apartment and I found a job. 2014 was a crazy ride.

 

 I've made a few (modest) resolutions for 2015:

1. Complete 15 knitted projects.

2. At least 2 of these sweaters.

3. Hike at least 100 miles.

4. Learn to can food.

5. Explore the Western US more

6. Get my passport and go to Canada!

 

I am currently working on the first of my 15 projects, an Oscilloscope Shawl. Unfortunately, while we were hiking last week, the kit lens to my Nikon got stuck on 55mm. I haven't had the heart to take it apart yet, so I haven't taken any pictures of the shawl, but it's in KnitPicks Swish Worsted in Wonderland Heather, a beautiful sky blue and white heather that I love.

 

 

I plan on working on it tonight while taking in some Broadchurch on Netflix. Here's to an exciting 2015!