A Change of Knit, Part 2

My no real plan project is done.

I'm calling it a shoulder throw -- too narrow to be just a throw and not fancy enough to be called a shawl.

I enjoyed playing with the new to me stitch patterns.  From three (or was it four?) sources, I choose stitch patterns that tickled my fancy.  Each stitch pattern had its own personality, from casual and classic to funky and fun.  I haven't decided which one I like best but know that some may turn up in future projects.

I think this project, more than any other I have done, is a reflection of life, of how we may not plan for a lot of things, but somehow manage to cobbled the various bits and pieces into a whole.  And if we are lucky, the whole is a pretty good thing.  May your life be so.

Surprise! You've won....

Sometimes the Universe surprises me.

I was surprised one Friday when I logged onto my Facebook page and saw that I had won a prize from my LYS (local yarn shop) B'ewe'tiful Knits.

The prize was copy of Interweave Knits Holiday gifts 2012 and a skein of Plymouth Yarn's Baby Alpaca Grande.  This was just enough to complete one pattern in the book.

Let me tell you that this yarn is so soft, so beautiful that I was loathe to work with it.  What if I messed it up?  It was so perfect as it was, nicely laid in its label.

But I resisted that urge and got my needles out.  I casted on and here's the result:

The most agreeable model in the world!

The buttons are from my Grammy M's button tin that I inherited.  I have no idea of where she got them but I know they cost less than a buck for all 500 buttons.

I like how the double buttons give the owls some personality.

Let me know what you think about the Owl Cowl.

A Change of Knit

I began my current knitting project with the idea of using knit and purl stitches and not much else.  No cables, no twisted stitches, no extra wraps.  Just plain old knit and purl.  A pretty vague plan, if you ask me.

Finding an old stitchionary at a church sale fueled my vague idea, then the purchase of yarn in some lovely fall colors and I was casting on.

It wasn't long until I found that this simple plan was vague and fraught with peril.

I found that there were no pattern corrects available for my old stitchionary.  I ripped out squares  changed needle size, and have been tempted to stuff the whole lot into a plastic shopping bag, tie it shut and toss it into the back of a little used closet in the basement.

The simple plan and the vagueness of wanted to choose my own stitches instead of following a ready made pattern set me up for failure.

As I considered what to do with this project I could not hep but think of how this was a metaphor for my life.

How often have I jumped into some new situation only to be enamored with the newness of it?  How often I have found that when the newness wore off that I was in the wrong place and had no idea of which way to go?

I should learn from my knitting that it is perfectly okay to unravel, rip out something that does not work for whatever reason and do something new with it.

So this blog it a bit that has been ripped out and worked into something new.  Writing has long been a passion for me, and knitting is, too.  

Violas!  This blog was born.

I would appreciate it if you would write a brief comment, or follow my blog.  If you have a blog of your own, especially if it's a bit crafty, let me know so I can link to yours.  Feel free to link to mine.