Elegy for an abandoned project
Posted on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 3:15 amCategory: Secret of the Stole
So sad! I was knitting away on my stole and suddenly had this epiphany. I realized that knitting with laceweight yarn is not fun for me—mostly because I can hardly see the yarn. Also, the yarn is so thin that projects take quite a while to complete.
And I’m not really a delicate-type person. I wouldn’t wear a laceweight stole. I’m always chilly and I live in the Rockies; I need a little (no, a lot) more wool than laceweight will provide.
So I decided that it would be a huge relief to let the stole project go. Maybe I’ll make that lovely pattern again someday in DK weight, but not now. I pulled the stole off the needles, salvaged the beads, and tossed the used yarn in the trash.
I put the cookie sheet I’d been using for the very wide chart into the dishwasher, folded the chart, rerolled the magnetic strip, and put it all away.
Other knitters shine with laceweight and revel in its delicacy and beauty. (I also love its beauty.) I will leave the yarn for them and stick to DK and heavier, where I can actually see the yarn and feel it under my fingers.
Still, I learned how pretty lace is when it’s opened up and how exciting to see the pattern take shape in the stitches. I learned to read from a chart—a big chart, in fact. I learned how to slip beads onto knitting. And what a rush it was when I connected the two points!
From here on out, I will appreciate other knitters’ lacework and marvel at their determination and keen eyesight and gorgeous handiwork.
Onward…to my socks and the MDK Baby Kimono I just started. >sigh<
November 15th, 2007 09:03
No, not sad at all. You have learned so much and you still have the ability to determine what you want to do and what you do not. That is a wonderful confidence to have. Don’t ever lose that.
Believe it or not, identifying what is actually best for us is one of the most difficult things we do every day. Going along with the crowd is much easier.
Kudos to you and I am looking forward to seeing many new, beautiful knitted projects on your site soon.