As part of the on-going cataloging of The Yarn Stash, I’m finding all sorts of little and big abandoned projects. Some, like the brick stitch vest/cardigan, are worth saving. Some, like the blue and teal striped sweater (Horizontal stripeswhatwasITHINKING!!!!) are not. And some, like the adult version of the Baby Surprise Jacket, are just exercises in insanity, as I apparently cast on one big enough to fit this guy:
Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock!
At 6′5″, he’d be just about right to fit that ABSJ that I cast on — but would he actually WEAR it?!?! (Nuthin’ but love for Dwayne — he’s one of the very few professional wrestlers who seems like he’s actually got some brains and personality. )
So there was much of the ripping out today of failure and ineptitude, which is kind of refreshing. It’s mindless — pull the yarn until it’s all unknitted and then wind it up — and whilst your hands are busy, you can think about what you’re going to do with that yarn in the future. The great things about knitting are many, but here are two of them:
1. You’re ALWAYS a better knitter than you used to be. Knitting is cumulative, sorta like radiation or Green Stamps. Every project teaches you, and every thing you learn, you’ll eventually use somewhere — although I am still working on actually DOING an entrelac project before I die. But seriously — I would now never do some of the things that I wound up un-doing this afternoon. The stripey sweater had multiple ends and strands from a misguided attempt of about 7 years ago to blend two different dye lots. Ish. I now have lots of little balls of yarn that I will knit into some other garment, preferably one that will actually look good on me.
2. Yarn is almost infinitely recyclable. Hence, the rippiness of this afternoon. I now have some nice wool yarn that I can turn into something else, and the shameful travesty of the stripey sweater is erased from my mind. I’ll be ripping out the ABSJ tomorrow, which will give me yet MORE Bartlett yarn in my stash!
I can only attribute some of these failures to the fact that I used to be a complete idiot about what I THOUGHT would look good on me, and the harsh, cold reality of my less-than-svelte middleaged body. We delude ourselves on so many different things, and with knitting, you really have to be honest about your figure. I remember, about 13 years ago, a member of the knitting guild that I used to belong to made a sweater out of some crazy expensive yarn and was wearing it around. It was beautifully made, and finished, but she was, as my dad used to say, “about two axehandles across”, and the sweater clung to her rump and did not flatter her in the very least. (We did the best to muffle our snickers, but not too much — she was a member who was not well-liked…)
So ya gots to be honest about these things. I wouldn’t make some of the sweaters that I see in Interweave or VK for the simple reason that they are designed for young bodies. Sad but true. I’m pretty comfortable with my sedate, boxy sweaters, as they will stand the test of time. I’m certainly not going to make one of these:
- PLEASE, just MAKE my belly look BIGGER!!
as the cable would just enhance EXACTLY what I don’t WANT enhanced! No, I’m just sticking to my good old stuff. After all, my current role model is Miss Marple – and to make all of the fabulous knitted goods and sweaters that I see in that series.
Well, this damn yarn won’t catalog itself. Up and at ‘em, although it is time to go downstairs and do cooking voodoo with hamburger. Pasta. Yeah, Pasta. Done. BTW, up to 265 yarns in the stash, not counting the trade/swap/sell tab. I see the light at the end of the tunnel….
