KNITSTER

While I am still working on the shrug of no pattern with the chunky yarn, I started to realize that I do need to have more than one project going at a time. I did start a pair of mittens for my son at one point, but he’s forgotten about them, and winter is pretty much over, so I’m not too worried about it. I might just frog what I’ve done, or just put it on some stitch markers until fall rolls around later. In the meantime, since the shrug bores me after a little while, I was trying to think of what else I could do. I could make something else for my son, but what? Hmm…gotta think about that, and consult with him at the same time. I’m trying to also make sure that in consulting him, I can make something that he’ll like and want to wear, and if I can use up a good portion of my stash, that would be even better. (I really need to thin it out!). I was thinking about whom else I could knit something up for, other than myself. (Oh yeah, I just remembered a poncho pattern I wanted to do for myself that I could pull out…I still have the “Suede” yarn for it…). My parents were over today, and it occurred to me that one of the first gift knits I made was a purple poncho for my mother, which was a very simple pattern, but I know she wears often in the fall. I made baby stuff for my one sister, a hat and knucks for my brother for Christmas, my other sister knows how to knit herself, and if I made something for her, I’d rather make it for her birthday which isn’t until November anyway. So that leaves my dad! His birthday is around mid-May. Since he has a late spring birthday, I didn’t want to make anything too heavy for the warmer weather, or something that he couldn’t use until the fall. So, after having JC help choose the yarn (getting a guy’s opinion on colors, etc.), I think I’m going to make a casual pullover vest for my dad. That way, he can wear it over shirts in the spring or fall when he teaches. JC chose a yarn that I originally had chosen for him, which is a dark sage (very pretty dark green) color. I have a TON of that yarn, and it would be a very good stash buster, and knowing my dad, he’d appreciate the effort. I’m going to guesstimate his size, although I’m sure I could ask my mom. I think even though Dad is starting to shrink, he wears about the same size as JC or me, or a tad bigger, so I can easily make the adjustment based on that. Or, I could just ask my mother.

I think that soon, I also want to start taking out my spinning toys again. I’ve been looking at roving and spindles online again. I haven’t touched my stuff for awhile now, but I think it’s time. Funny how I keep looking at spinning wheels, and still having bothered to just be happy with having a drop spindle and mastering that. I also find myself looking at small weaving looms too. Not that I have any clue (or at least just a minimal clue) of what I’d be doing with that.

You know, my earliest memories of spinning and weaving go back to grade school. I’m not sure how old I was– I want to say 2nd grade maybe. I remember us being taken to the William Trent House, which is the home of the founder of Trenton, New Jersey (my birthplace!) and one of those places that talks about colonial life, yada yada. I remember them showing us and explaining to us about how yarn and thread was made with the spinning wheel, and they might have shown us a drop spindle at that time, and I remember the humongous loom (or at least to a 7 year old, it was humongous) where they showed how it worked with the pedals and running the bobbin shuttle from one side to the other side, and doing the pedal shift in between running the shuttle through the loom. It’s still burned in my head, and that’s probably why all these years later, the idea of knitting and spinning and weaving, etc. seemed appealling. It captured my attention all those years ago at some level, and it still remains something that I’m interested in to some degree. Maybe someday, when I hit the lottery or something like that, then I can invest in something beautiful on both accounts - getting both a REAL wheel and loom, even if they are “minis” (think like Ashford Kiwi size, or a tabletop loom). Well, hopefully at the MDSW, I’ll get a chance to see the real things, which would be awesome.

In the meantime, I think I’ll stick with what I have, and get started on vest for my Daddy. Now, the questions will be…keep it simple in a stockinette stich pattern, or go for something else? Hmmm….

Posted on April 1st, 2007 by Dani
Filed under: Patterns, Projects, Spinning