29 July 2006

Let's Twist Again...

Despite the scorching weather, I've been working on a bit of cool weather yumminess... Trellis.

As with any project on or off my needles, there are mucho mucho mistakes, but eh, it's a baby sweater "learner" project for cabling. I've done the Irish Hiking Scarf but wanted more practice reading cable charts and there are several babies coming into my world soon so I figured, perfect combo of learning a technique and checking off a shower gift.

I tried working on my cabling without a needle techniqe and it was soundly declared a disaster. For one, I'm working with acrylic (yeah, I know, but I'm stash diving for this one...) and it doesn't "stick" to itself very well.* So when you pop those little babies off the needle to do the switcharoo, they want to just jump all over the place. Not good. Then there's the thinking.... "So, do I bring this around this way or this way? What order should these be in?" It seems oh so simple, but for this little brain, simple was too much to handle. I found that I was enjoying the knitting much more with the assurance of that cable needle and in the long run, it was much faster to stick it in and take it out every little bit than to try to process the stitch switcharoo. Part of me felt like I was "supposed to" do it the "cool" way, but then the friendly voices in my head reminded me of my "bad ass knitter" status and if I want to be a tool and use a tool, then I darn well will. Does anyone else have that feeling? That you're supposed to do things using some hot shot shortcut, even though you're down with taking the long way?

Maybe I need more work at this "bad ass" frame of mind...

Anyway, I definitely think cabling has earned some cool points in my knitting book. I decided to sign up for the Central Park Hoodie Knitalong starting in September. I've got some Cascade 220 lingering in the stash, intended for a Rogue sweater but I think I'll get more wear out of a hoodie and it'll be nice to be knitting something with others rather than years behind. And then there's the Curvalicious Cardi to do... and the Mystery Stole to finish... and more babies coming...

Maybe the tool that I really need is the ability to say no to new knitting projects!

*For some reason, knitting with this stuff (Wool-Ease) in this heat has been really sticky. Isn't it supposed to be real wool that's a pain in the summer? This junk is sticking to my metal needles and to my hands... very icky. Just another lesson in the "why not to use crappy yarn" handbook.

1 comment:

Lone Knitter said...

Leslie, congrats on the forthcoming publication! It's so nice to have that material proof, not that you needed it, that you're a real scholar/writer person and that this whole Ph.D. thing can result in something real that can be read and enjoyed by real people.

And I LOVE biscuits and gravy, too! Sausage gravy! It's goes perfectly with hashbrowns (and yes, I hate to say it: grits!), and I mean real hashbrowns, not these "home fries" that all these restaurants around me seem to think are hashbrowns.