All well, more or less.
I've got the Dunfallandy pieces
assembled on the floor, roughly pinned together. All I need is a bit
of daylight at midday in order to photograph them – this morning
doesn't promise much. Much of the fun derives from the fact that
cables flow from one piece to another, over and under. You need to be
able to see that.
I've finished the sixth triangle, and
made a good start on the seventh. Nicely on target.
I have been reflecting on the way I
enjoy knitting more when the designer is a knitter, too. This
reflection can't be pressed too far – even the most computer-bound
and entrepreneurial – good heavens! that got straight past the
spell-check! – of designers must knit sometimes. And even the most
knitterly of them will need help knitting samples sometimes.
Still: Kate Davies, Kaffe, Meg, EZ (ca
va sans dire), our own Mary Lou, people who really knit
– these are the designers I knit the most often. And Dr de Roulet,
who designed the Dunfallandy blankie, has been working, I gather, for
years on the problem of the horizontal cable. I share her excitement
a little bit each time I knit that row.
Gosia
and I flung ourselves into stash-reduction yesterday. There are now
two black plastic bin bags near the front door, ready to begin their
journey to Stirling and the women's prison there. Even if every
single inmate knits, it will take them a while to get through that
lot.
I've still got a whole bin-ful of Koigu. That's sacrosanct.
But
there's also still more to give away. I hope I'll have time to look at it
before Gosia comes again next week. I must be sure I still have the
Fair Isle colours I bought at Jamieson & Smith, the day I was
actually there; and the yarn for KD's Northmavine hap, similarly; and
the madtosh Burnt Chillis and the leftovers from Archie's sweater,
for my planned half-brioche cosy sweater; and the Arne & Carlos
sock yarn; and two balls of Chinese mink
that James and Cathy gave me.
If any
lifetime remains after that, I can go back to lace. All the yarns
named, except the mink, are pretty easily replaceable, I notice.
I
would really recommend this exercise. But you probably have a much
more structured and useful stash than mine had become.
Non-knit
My INR
score was low on Monday (=blood too thick). Clearly I need more
cider.
Cider! And some kale, maybe. Thanks for the kind words, but rest assured my stash is probably less structured than yours, which is what led me to donate three large plastic garbage bags of it!
ReplyDelete"entrepreneurial – good heavens! that got straight past the spell-check!" I hope that brightened your morning as much as it would have brightened mine. All best!
ReplyDeleteNo Kale....dark leafy greens slow the clotting down (low numbers, *thick* blood...) If the number is too low, you can from clots. When they are low, eat cranberries or drink cranberry juice. I have been on 'rat poison' for 15 years....
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the Dun... blanket. Leslie in NJ
Ha! My stash is far from ordered. There are a few clumps of nice yarn in sufficient quantity to make something bigger than a scarf or baby item. And there is lot of nice sock yarn. But the rest is an unholy mixture of odds and ends, some leftovers and some charity shop mystery yarns bought over the years. I was shopping in my stash yesterday - with a view to some Christmas knitting. The first hat is coming along nicely ...
ReplyDeleteHa! I hope you enjoy some tasty cider!
ReplyDeleteOrdered stash? I always thought that was an oxymoron :)
ReplyDeleteMine is 3 huge bins of stuff, and two plastic chests (mostly sock and some lace). The closest I've come to organizing was managing to put a good chunk of it into Ravelry earlier this year.
I know many designers manage to create patterns without knitting them, but goodness knows how. I can more or less come up with a pattern, but knitting it always seems to be a great idea as I'll have missed some detail, or not considered that the ribbing should flow into the design, that sort of thing. I think of it as proofreading, but it certainly slows me down (and may be something I have to give up as I continue to try to work on the book as there's a ton of patterns I want to include and I suspect I'd be the rest of my life knitting them).