My LYS is not a LYS

That’s right, my LYS is my local bookstore. But I was so happy when I visited recently and saw some gorgeous Sublime yarn on the two almost empty yarn shelves.

I grabbed 4 skeins in the color "Girlie" immediately with no pattern in mind but I knew that I just had to have this yarn in my favorite color. I love working with this yarn, the knitted fabric is turning out to be really soft and at the same time there is clear stitch definition. All I can say right now is - yum!

I have been trying to work with a vague pattern in mind for a tank and some scribbled out instructions and so far, I am loving how this is working up but I don’t know how it will turn out. I guess I will just keep knitting and eventually find out…

What’s in a swatch?

The skipping of checking gauge is NOT an option according to the knitting police and I am a firm believer of this rule. It is the essential ingredient towards the completion of a finished object that looks right in dimension, texture and finishing.

A swatch made up of stitch and row counts usually never come out as mentioned in the ball band for me. This is frustrating because I end up having to make two or sometimes even three swatches to come up with the accurate needle size to begin my knitting and I am so tempted to just finish the swatch and skip washing and blocking it.

But what with the knitting police watching over my shoulder and knowing in the back of my mind that if not washed and blocked, this garment will probably be better as a dishrag rather than the intended finished object, I swatch, re-swatch and sometimes swatch again and in the end, it pays off!!!

I think that I really like working with thinner yarns at a finer gauge, because the texture or the pattern really stands out with this yarn as opposed to thicker yarns. Also, I think that I prefer finer yarns because of the hot and humid climate we live in which makes knitting with heavy yarns a laborious task and gives me sweaty palms.

Pass the ice tea wudja?

Making...Creating...

The joy experienced when I make things with my hands has always been with me since I was a little girl. The whole creative process is so intriguing and I still feel this way even though I am older now and thrust with the responsibilities of life.

I think about this so often when I am alone and my hands are going through the repeated motions of working with yarn and needles. The answer is always the same...I love the whole process the picking and choosing of a project, getting the yarn to work right in the swatch, working on the project and making entries in my journal about my progress and then finally putting all the pieces together.

I stand back and look at this garment, or this toy, or this whimsy and think with joy, “I made this” and my heart fills up with a feeling of blue skies and daisies and blades of green grass and snowflakes and velvety sand. The finished object goes into the closet surrounded by sweet smelling sachets of lavender and rose to be treasured, and to be brought out and rubbed against my face just to remember how I felt when I was making.