Tuesday, October 09, 2018

All the beautiful wool


We had snow! A light coating, but for a few moments the air was packed with little white fuzzy balls, and the ground was coated. Soon my lake will be covered by ice. I will miss her and her chatter.




Just a few more centimeters to the hem of the black/gray sweater and then it is off the needles. Time to dream of the next knit.
A swatch
with crochet for Finnoula by Marie Wallin - because I saw this beautiful, yellow sweater by Kristy Glass. (I have the book and have wanted to make something out of it for quite some time…but I am struggling… don’t seem to get it right…)
Then … a swatch with 4mm needles… for Ingalls? or Tecumseh?

I am not sure which of the three is the next one. 

TextureTime first clue - done! After ripping and reknitting… doubting my skills, it is now in the bag waiting for the next part. The color combination is a mystery, as I don’t know how the final product will look; but I enjoy the surprise of a new shape, how the brioche stitches travel around the surface and the play of lovely yarns. I only regret knitting with haste, because there was no need to feel rushed, there was plenty of time to get the first clue done. I will take it slowly when the next clue comes.  

For some time, I restricted myself from buying more yarn…to realize that that decision was killing my enthusiasm towards knitting, suffocating my inspiration. I thought that because I was aging, there would not be enough time to go through the stash before the final stitch… Wool and yarn and fiber have kept me happy for my whole life and I could not figure out why I did not find the love anymore… and then it hit me. Because of not letting myself shop anymore, I stopped looking for wools, and little by little it bit away my eagerness to play with fiber.

As soon as I discovered that, I let go off my decision, and it was like a heavy weight was lift off my shoulders and needles. Ever since, I dream of wool, yarn, fabric and patterns… I don’t need to get it all, I just need to have the choice and not to feel guilty when I do get some. The anticipation of new wool adds to my happiness. Have you thought about this and how do you feel?

All the beautiful wool with you,
Lene


8 comments:

  1. Dearest Lene, I hear you. Since I turned 64 I started thinking about my unfinished quilt tops and sweaters and vowed to stop BUYING! But then I see your lovely combo of wool and mohair and I think that I need some .... to stop dreaming about the combinations is probably a very bad thing to do! One should let the inspiration take form always! We can always will our stash to someone younger who loves the fiber too.
    xox

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  2. I have been saying for a long time that I have more yarn than I can knit in my lifetime but now I have a granddaughter whose little knits eat up my bits of this and that. I might have created some space . . . .

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  3. To keep some moderation, I do this:

    1. Destash every once in a while. A friend in need, or a destash sale is very happy to get what no longer inspires me.
    2. Don’t bother looking at the sales. I will always be tempted to buy something when it is cheap, but it will not necessarily be something I love. Certain yarns excepted of course. This summer, I went to the Koigu sale and regret nothing.
    3. Full permission to buy what I want when I plan to use it right now.
    4. Full permission to buy sock yarns. Though I find that when I have plenty in the stash I am not as tempted and staying away from sales helps.
    5. Always buy at least one skein of souvenir yarn while on vacation.

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  4. I stopped feeling guilty about all the yarn, needles, and other accessories and notions that I have. Instead of thinking of these things as unused, I think of them as a collection. I am a collector of crafting supplies. Fabric, yarn, zippers, buttons, needles of all kinds, thread, containers of various shapes and sizes. So. very. much. And when I die, before having used it all, my family will pass it on to someone else, for whom it will be an inspiring treasure trove!! I'm glad you have let yourself have the option to buy again, because stifling your creativity would be a crime. As always, thank you for sharing your thoughts, your beautiful art and your breathtaking surroundings!

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  5. For me a good part of the joy of knitting is the hunting and purchasing of yarn. I love searching for just the right combo of colors and fibers for a project. I do tend to take this to the extreme as I have enough yarn for three lifetimes at this point. But i also have a new knitter I've taken under my wing and I love having her shop my stash for her next project.

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  6. Anonymous14:54

    Thank you, Lene for returning to your blog...YOU are an inspiration to this knitter.
    I'm not sure why there is so much worry/guilt around how much we have in our stash or making new purchases. I work in a yarn shop and can't begin to tell you how often a purchase is made with the accompanying words "I don't need this, I have so much already". We buy another pair of jeans, another pair of shoes, another black t-shirt, another cookbook, another magazine...so why do we have to feel so badly about buying more yarn? I've made yarn purchases that sent me home to finish something already on my needles...that's a good thing! Excitement and inspiration are crucial to what we do. Sometimes that is found in using something from our stash, sometimes from buying something new, sometimes seeing knitwear on someone else and most recently, for me, from unmaking an 8 year old sweater that never fit well. It's yarn, it's O.K. Really and truly, it's O.K.! Happy Knitting! Cheryl

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  7. This strikes a chord with me as I always feel guilty about my stash. I have founs myself giving away yarn that I no longer remember why I bought. I will not worry about my descendants. I have made them self reliant and they will know what to do with my stash!! I will be on to new adventures.

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  8. Your words make so much sense! I don't really "need" any more yarn at the moment, but on vacation last week I went to 4 different yarn shops and bought souvenir yarn at each and every one. I had planned and budgeted for it, so I had no worries and I had a lot of fun!

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