Challenge

-
Like most of us, I have a mound of Christmas knitting in front of me. I just finished the last dishcloth of my list- and I felt my brain go numb from the miles of garter stitch that I had just completed. It's been awhile since I've challenged myself with my knitting. I think the last project I did that really challenged me to push myself further was the Autism Scarf I made for my aunt last year.

So, despite all the Christmas project (which is thankfully coming along nicely), I cast on a project that, not only is it for me, but it challenges me as a knitter.

Pomegranate.



I've only ever knit one doily pattern successfully,  and that was a much smaller, much less complicated one- only a few inches in diameter, using sport weight yarn. Pomegranate allegedly comes to about 6.5 feet, and uses thread weight and size ones.

This might take me awhile, but it'll be worth it. Knitting itself is an act of love, pouring ourselves into every stitch, but one that takes this much concentration and time and effort... I consider myself a process knitter, but the end result, especially one this complicated, makes it worth it.

I'm sure before I'm done- LONG before I'm done, I'll have frogged it several times (I've already frogged it once), consumed a lot of alcohol and chocolate and have sworn very loudly and quite often.

And I'll chronicle every moment of it of it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Casting On

-
Image
Well, I was wrong. I wasn't able to post anything until now. I was going to write a review of a book I recently finished, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, but time got away from me. So instead, I'll save that review for when I finish the sequel. The 2012 Summer Olympics have begun, and oddly, I have not been able to tear myself away from the TV. I'm not sure I'm able to follow what's happening, but I've been watching. I was able to finish a project I had under deadline, which is blocking now, so I cast on the first project planned for the Ravellenic Games- the Noro Bias Scarf . I'm using Studio June Sock Luck- colorway Black Opal. When I first saw the yarn, I was compelled to buy it because they were "my" colors- black, purple and gray. Now I see how short the color repeats are, which may or may not lend itself to the properties of the scarf. I don't know. We'll see. I've got another couple posts in the works. They&
Read more

The Right Yarn

-
I remember, several years ago, sitting in the basement of my favorite LYS grumbling because I had just messed up the project on my needles... again. I remember throwing the mess of yarn and needles into my bag, trying (and I'm sure failing) to reassure another knitter there that I was sure all my issues with that pattern were user error. That was several years ago, and every time I browsed through my queue on Ravelry, I'd come across this beautiful pattern, I'd sigh, and I'd move on. Last Saturday though, some yarn and needles jumped into my hand, and before I knew it, the shawl was just falling off the needles, growing with every row. I'm not sure what it was. My skills as a knitter haven't improved much since then (in fact, I'm pretty sure it's been years since I've knit any real lace. It's been all hats and cowls and toys while I was spiraling down the craft fair scene.) Maybe it's just timing. Maybe the stars aligned. Maybe I
Read more

Monkeying Around

-
Image
I know two little girls who are going to find surprises in the mail at some point soon... I have two cousins (actually, I have more than two cousins, but for the sake of this post, I have two cousins), Michelle and Jen. Each have one daughter. I knit each daughter a sock monkey in their favorite color. The pink one is going to Texas, while the purple one is staying here in New Hampshire. I just have to get their addresses from my aunt (their grandmother) and these two babies will be on their way!
Read more