I'm getting the urge to dig through my yarn stash tonight. The only knitting I'm doing lately is a half hour on Amanda's scarf during my lunch break every day, and I'm getting the urge to work on something else as well. I could re-start the socks Amanda helped me to start months ago, or I could play with the cotton yarn I have and start knitting dishcloths out of it.
...Or I could just paw through it, allowing each ball and skein to slip through my fingers, and hold each one out for Amanda to admire as well. I could weigh the potential of each kind of yarn and re-consider the projects I'd considered for them in the first place.
So here I go! It's time to dive into my yarn stash!
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Notes on Tweed
Tweed.
Tonight's topic is tweed.
The scarf I finally finished knitting was made with tweed yarn, alternating with straight white yarn, as were the three scarves I knitted for my grandparents. I like how they turned out, and I think the different coloured specks add a lot of interest to the yarn above and beyond how the straight colour version would look. I bought some more tweed yarn as part of a Knit Picks order, and I'm looking forward to using it. The tweed bits are a little more subdued than in my scarf, but I still like the effect.
There are downsides to tweed though. Amanda warned me about the dangers of velcro near yarn, and that danger seems to be exacerbated with tweed. It's like the little bits of colour are made simply to be absorbed by the hook side of velcro.
My winter jacket, for instance, has velcro fasteners for the flap outside of the main zipper. If I wear my jacket unzipped along with my scarf, it takes approximately 2.3 steps before my scarf is stuck to every patch of velcro. I can pull the scarf away, but it leaves some coloured tweed bits behind.
It actually serves as an interesting metaphor for our lives. Occasionally we'll have someone or something intersect with our lives for a time. Even if we intentionally remove them/it for our lives, something usually remains. Some of that person's colour, so to speak.
So the next time my scarf sticks to my jacket's velcro, I think I'll stop for a minute before I pull the scarf away from it, and think about the bits of colour people have added to my life. My parents added all the shades of grey between the black and white I used to see. Tyler added a patch of yellow with green stripes to make me smile. Most importantly, Amanda added a large splash of the most beautiful shades of blue when I met her last year. More recently, that swatch has been banded with a ring of gold.
The colour scheme of my existence couldn't possibly make me happier. I love the my base shades and especially the bits of colour that everyone adds to my life. In short, I won't be re-painting anytime soon.
Tonight's topic is tweed.
The scarf I finally finished knitting was made with tweed yarn, alternating with straight white yarn, as were the three scarves I knitted for my grandparents. I like how they turned out, and I think the different coloured specks add a lot of interest to the yarn above and beyond how the straight colour version would look. I bought some more tweed yarn as part of a Knit Picks order, and I'm looking forward to using it. The tweed bits are a little more subdued than in my scarf, but I still like the effect.
There are downsides to tweed though. Amanda warned me about the dangers of velcro near yarn, and that danger seems to be exacerbated with tweed. It's like the little bits of colour are made simply to be absorbed by the hook side of velcro.
My winter jacket, for instance, has velcro fasteners for the flap outside of the main zipper. If I wear my jacket unzipped along with my scarf, it takes approximately 2.3 steps before my scarf is stuck to every patch of velcro. I can pull the scarf away, but it leaves some coloured tweed bits behind.
It actually serves as an interesting metaphor for our lives. Occasionally we'll have someone or something intersect with our lives for a time. Even if we intentionally remove them/it for our lives, something usually remains. Some of that person's colour, so to speak.
So the next time my scarf sticks to my jacket's velcro, I think I'll stop for a minute before I pull the scarf away from it, and think about the bits of colour people have added to my life. My parents added all the shades of grey between the black and white I used to see. Tyler added a patch of yellow with green stripes to make me smile. Most importantly, Amanda added a large splash of the most beautiful shades of blue when I met her last year. More recently, that swatch has been banded with a ring of gold.
The colour scheme of my existence couldn't possibly make me happier. I love the my base shades and especially the bits of colour that everyone adds to my life. In short, I won't be re-painting anytime soon.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Knitting and Slacking Off...
Amanda and I are indulging ourselves tonight. We're lying in bed looking up neat yarn online. She's been plugging away at a new project, and I've been trying to figure out how to knit with two colours. I had an idea, and made a pattern myself. Amanda was impressed when she saw my list of knit and purl instructions for 30 rows of this project, and I was impressed when I used Excel to draw out what the pattern would look like afterward.
I liked the result.
Now I just need to teach myself how to knit it!
I liked the result.
Now I just need to teach myself how to knit it!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Kissing Couple Vacation Day 4
After a fantastic morning and early afternoon with Tyler of the Pouting Couple of Kamloops, we've returned to Williams Lake before heading back to Tumbler Ridge tomorrow. We did some shopping, bought some yarn, and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with him and Irina (before she had to work)!
What else did we do? What we do best!
This photo was taken while riding down an escalator in the Bay.
We followed it up with a photo while we were looking for shirts.
Tyler was recruited as a third-party cameraman (thanks!) for this photo of us near his and Irina's new apartment:
We took some more photos later on that I'll hopefully be posting tomorrow night. Until then!
What else did we do? What we do best!
This photo was taken while riding down an escalator in the Bay.
We followed it up with a photo while we were looking for shirts.
Tyler was recruited as a third-party cameraman (thanks!) for this photo of us near his and Irina's new apartment:
We took some more photos later on that I'll hopefully be posting tomorrow night. Until then!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Yarn Tales
Amanda thought it wasn't long enough, and I countered by saying that everything would be okay if I made the tassels at the end of the scarf long enough. Eventually reason (Amanda) prevailed, and I'm planning on adding at least another foot of length to the scarf.
So when we stepped outside, I grabbed Amanda for this photo. Looking at the photo now, I think it's funny that we were just at the right angle to have the signs for Edo and Opa (cut off somewhat) visible to either side of our heads. Having never eaten at either of them, the photo was not planned that way.
Anyway, I'd better wrap this up for the night. I've still got one more photo Amanda and I took together last weekend, and I'll probably be posting it tomorrow night.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Yarn Winding
Amanda and I talked about knitting for a little bit tonight. She's noticed (and she's right) that I seem to be more interested in picking out and buying yarn than actually knitting it. Sure, I plan to eventually use the yarn that I've purchased, but I'm not getting through it very quickly.
The yarn I bought in Edmonton a few weeks back? Untouched.
Yarn from our stop in Prince George on the way back from Christmas? Played with briefly, but still in skeins and balls.
The yarn I ordered from Knit Picks? Some of it has been tested, but no progress has been made towards the ideas I originally purchased it for.
I've always loved Lego, I really enjoy Minecraft, and I've been borderline obsessed with Warioware D.I.Y. since I bought it this weekend. In short, I like planning and making things. So why is it any different with knitting?
...Tangled thoughts.
The yarn I bought in Edmonton a few weeks back? Untouched.
Yarn from our stop in Prince George on the way back from Christmas? Played with briefly, but still in skeins and balls.
The yarn I ordered from Knit Picks? Some of it has been tested, but no progress has been made towards the ideas I originally purchased it for.
I've always loved Lego, I really enjoy Minecraft, and I've been borderline obsessed with Warioware D.I.Y. since I bought it this weekend. In short, I like planning and making things. So why is it any different with knitting?
...Tangled thoughts.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Addictions...
I blame Amanda.
Before I met her, I did not knit. I had tried once, bought yarn and needles at random, got tired of it quickly, and didn't try again until years later.
When I met Amanda, I found out that she enjoyed knitting. Once I started staying over at her apartment on weekends when I drove to Grande Prairie, I got to watch her knit. I was enthralled. There were times I sat and just watched her fingers move with small, precise movements while working on a pair of socks or another project.
Then she taught me to knit. I bought a pair of needles and some neat yarn, and started working on a scarf. She taught me to cast on, how to knit regular stitches, and off I went, gradually working through a skein of yarn, starting a second, and gradually getting the hang of things.
Later on I added a few more skeins and a second pair of needles (mostly purchased at Michael's), but they were just to experiment with. I wanted to be able to continue to work on my scarf while playing around with other ideas.
Then the Christmas season began. I knew all of my grandparents would be at my parent's house for Christmas with us, and I wanted to give them each something that showed I loved them all but wouldn't cause hurt feelings.
In one of Amanda's knitting books, I saw a basic ribbed scarf that I liked. She helped me pick out some yarn, some appropriately sized needles, and I went to work. I started the first around November 20th and finished the third one on the evening of December 23rd. They were very well received.
I also visited Knit Picks for the first time, to order some needles for Amanda for Christmas. But that was all I ordered. I didn't order yarn or anything else for myself.
At that point, I was in fairly decent shape. My yarn stash (such as it was) was limited to about 12 skeins of yarn. There were leftovers from the scarves I made for my grandparents (which, as you've seen, I've been turning into a neat scarf for myself), the yarn for the original scarf I was making, and a few different skeins to play around with.
But then yarn and knitting got their insidious hooks into me courtesy of a yarn store in Prince George and Amanda.
While driving home from Christmas, we stopped in Prince George, and looked up local yarn stores. It turned out there was one above a neat bookstore downtown. So we went up to check out the store. I found a few types of yarn I liked, and was going to get a single skein. Amanda picked up a little more, but then offered to pay for mine, even if I grabbed two more skeins. So I ended up with some neat blue-green silky yarn and a chunky brown-yellow-green-purple yarn.
I think that marked the start of the addiction. Since then, we've visited yarn stores in Grande Prairie and Edmonton and spent a lot of time on Knit Picks and Blue Moon ogling various colourways.
When I was in Toronto, I walked nearly an hour and a half (round trip) to visit a yarn store Amanda had heard about and to bring back some yarn for her, and a skein of sock yarn for myself to try.
In the past few months, I've made two orders from Knit Picks for myself. I ordered yarn from Blue Moon for Amanda's birthday, but also purchased a skein for myself. When we went to Edmonton over the long weekend, I was just as happy to visit yarn stores as Amanda was. I bought a few skeins of yarn, and when I was rummaging through my stash last night (since expanded to fill two big bags plus a bag for the project I'm working on) stumbled across them and thought "Wow these are cool! I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but boy are they neat!"
I've become addicted. Not to the knitting itself quite yet. I'm still enjoying working on my scarf, but as you've probably noticed, I don't work on it very often or for very long when I do. I think I'm addicted to buying yarn and thinking about the potential it has.
I spent a bunch of time on Knit Picks last night. I already have enough yarn to drown myself in, but I was looking at their sale yarn, and new colours in yarn to make dishclothes from, and yarn I could use to make stuff for people's Christmas gifts with...
...I think I have a problem. :-)
Before I met her, I did not knit. I had tried once, bought yarn and needles at random, got tired of it quickly, and didn't try again until years later.
When I met Amanda, I found out that she enjoyed knitting. Once I started staying over at her apartment on weekends when I drove to Grande Prairie, I got to watch her knit. I was enthralled. There were times I sat and just watched her fingers move with small, precise movements while working on a pair of socks or another project.
Then she taught me to knit. I bought a pair of needles and some neat yarn, and started working on a scarf. She taught me to cast on, how to knit regular stitches, and off I went, gradually working through a skein of yarn, starting a second, and gradually getting the hang of things.
Later on I added a few more skeins and a second pair of needles (mostly purchased at Michael's), but they were just to experiment with. I wanted to be able to continue to work on my scarf while playing around with other ideas.
Then the Christmas season began. I knew all of my grandparents would be at my parent's house for Christmas with us, and I wanted to give them each something that showed I loved them all but wouldn't cause hurt feelings.
In one of Amanda's knitting books, I saw a basic ribbed scarf that I liked. She helped me pick out some yarn, some appropriately sized needles, and I went to work. I started the first around November 20th and finished the third one on the evening of December 23rd. They were very well received.
I also visited Knit Picks for the first time, to order some needles for Amanda for Christmas. But that was all I ordered. I didn't order yarn or anything else for myself.
At that point, I was in fairly decent shape. My yarn stash (such as it was) was limited to about 12 skeins of yarn. There were leftovers from the scarves I made for my grandparents (which, as you've seen, I've been turning into a neat scarf for myself), the yarn for the original scarf I was making, and a few different skeins to play around with.
But then yarn and knitting got their insidious hooks into me courtesy of a yarn store in Prince George and Amanda.
While driving home from Christmas, we stopped in Prince George, and looked up local yarn stores. It turned out there was one above a neat bookstore downtown. So we went up to check out the store. I found a few types of yarn I liked, and was going to get a single skein. Amanda picked up a little more, but then offered to pay for mine, even if I grabbed two more skeins. So I ended up with some neat blue-green silky yarn and a chunky brown-yellow-green-purple yarn.
I think that marked the start of the addiction. Since then, we've visited yarn stores in Grande Prairie and Edmonton and spent a lot of time on Knit Picks and Blue Moon ogling various colourways.
When I was in Toronto, I walked nearly an hour and a half (round trip) to visit a yarn store Amanda had heard about and to bring back some yarn for her, and a skein of sock yarn for myself to try.
In the past few months, I've made two orders from Knit Picks for myself. I ordered yarn from Blue Moon for Amanda's birthday, but also purchased a skein for myself. When we went to Edmonton over the long weekend, I was just as happy to visit yarn stores as Amanda was. I bought a few skeins of yarn, and when I was rummaging through my stash last night (since expanded to fill two big bags plus a bag for the project I'm working on) stumbled across them and thought "Wow these are cool! I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but boy are they neat!"
I've become addicted. Not to the knitting itself quite yet. I'm still enjoying working on my scarf, but as you've probably noticed, I don't work on it very often or for very long when I do. I think I'm addicted to buying yarn and thinking about the potential it has.
I spent a bunch of time on Knit Picks last night. I already have enough yarn to drown myself in, but I was looking at their sale yarn, and new colours in yarn to make dishclothes from, and yarn I could use to make stuff for people's Christmas gifts with...
...I think I have a problem. :-)
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
We Missed Out
Amanda drove and I navigated as we made our way down to the store. When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw the bright pink sign on the right side of the photo. The store was closing, and was having a big sale to clear out the remaining stock. We waffled between being excited (cheap yarn, yay!) and disappointed (one fewer yarn store to visit during subsequent trips to Edmonton).
When we entered the store, we settled on disappointment. There wasn't really that much left on the shelves, and the majority of it was yarn that really didn't appeal to Amanda or me.
That said, it's probably for the best. Amanda had already bought some yarn at the first yarn store we stopped at, and we both bought a few skiens at the final yarn store we visited just before checking into our hotel. Somehow I think we left Edmonton with enough yarn even without buying anything at this particular shop.
...even if Amanda disagrees. ;-)
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Edmonton Bound
By the time most of you read this post, Amanda and I will be on our way to Edmonton. We've been thinking about it for a few weeks, and decided that it'd be a good way to spend our long weekend together!
So we'll be driving out early Saturday morning and leaving Edmonton late Sunday afternoon. What's on the agenda?
1) Shopping
So we'll be driving out early Saturday morning and leaving Edmonton late Sunday afternoon. What's on the agenda?
1) Shopping
- There are a few neat yarn stores we'd like to check out among other things.
- I've recently read about the Strathcona County Library in Sherwood Park, and I'd like to take a look around it!
- What would a trip out of Grande Prairie be without photos of the Kissing Couple on the road? I've got a few photo ideas I'd love to try, but I don't know that we'll have the time or be in the right place to attempt them. Needless to say, there *will* be photos of us finding time to kiss in Edmonton.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Progress, or lack thereof...
My knitting isn't progressing very fast. When I was under the gun before Christmas, I churned out three bulky ribbed scarves in a little over a month. The scarf I'm working on now is made from the same yarn, done in the same style (though slightly wider), and I started just after Christmas.
...I'm not even halfway done.
The scarf is looking great, and I'm really excited about what the final product will be! ...I'm just not as motivated as I should be to put my nose to the grindstone and plug away at it.
Part of the problem is that since I started working on this scarf, I've obtained all sorts of neat yarn. Amanda bought me some at a yarn store in Prince George on our way back north after Christmas, and I've since ordered some from Knitpicks. I've got about a dozen things I'd like to be working on, and instead of just starting on them and indulging my craving I think "Nah, I should probably continue working on my scarf if I do any knitting."
...but then I don't do any. I may need Amanda to give me a pep talk (or a marine corps drill sargeant "motivational speech") to get me moving on my scarf again. With any luck, it'll be done by next winter.
...I'm not even halfway done.
The scarf is looking great, and I'm really excited about what the final product will be! ...I'm just not as motivated as I should be to put my nose to the grindstone and plug away at it.
Part of the problem is that since I started working on this scarf, I've obtained all sorts of neat yarn. Amanda bought me some at a yarn store in Prince George on our way back north after Christmas, and I've since ordered some from Knitpicks. I've got about a dozen things I'd like to be working on, and instead of just starting on them and indulging my craving I think "Nah, I should probably continue working on my scarf if I do any knitting."
...but then I don't do any. I may need Amanda to give me a pep talk (or a marine corps drill sargeant "motivational speech") to get me moving on my scarf again. With any luck, it'll be done by next winter.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Thoughts on gift-giving
In less than a month, it'll be Amanda's birthday. I've made it through Christmas and Valentine's Day in good shape, and she seems to have liked everything I got her. Her birthday worries me a little bit though.
I've had lots of ideas, but I wonder what they say about me.
Amanda's a knitter, so neat yarn or knitting needles would seem like an obvious choice. But I got her needles for Christmas, some yarn from a store in Toronto in February, and a skein of sock yarn this weekend, so I've gone that route before. I really don't want to make Amanda think that all I've learned about her in the past eight months is that she enjoys knitting.
I could get Amanda a game for her 3DS. She bought it a few weeks back, and is enjoying playing around with it. I have some idea of the kinds of games she enjoys, but I don't want to get her something that's too similar to what she already plays (which could be boring and show that I pigeonhole her likes too narrowly) or too far away (which could be uninteresting and show that I don't pay attention to the kind of games she plays).
She could use a new frying pan, but I like giving gifts that are generally more fun than functional. Besides, it could be taken as a hint that she needs to cook more often for me.
I also thought of making something for Amanda, but I kind of doubt I'll do that. My knitting skills, while improving, are still a far cry from hers, and it could be taken as a "look how talented I am" moment.
Now, I've thought about all of these things, and I've reached one conclusion.
I'm an idiot.
Amanda will like whatever I give her, as long as I put some thought into it and give it to her out of love, rather than a general obligation to do so. I don't think for a minute that she'd use my gift to her as a litmus test of my view of her.
...and that's why I love her! <3
I've had lots of ideas, but I wonder what they say about me.
Amanda's a knitter, so neat yarn or knitting needles would seem like an obvious choice. But I got her needles for Christmas, some yarn from a store in Toronto in February, and a skein of sock yarn this weekend, so I've gone that route before. I really don't want to make Amanda think that all I've learned about her in the past eight months is that she enjoys knitting.
I could get Amanda a game for her 3DS. She bought it a few weeks back, and is enjoying playing around with it. I have some idea of the kinds of games she enjoys, but I don't want to get her something that's too similar to what she already plays (which could be boring and show that I pigeonhole her likes too narrowly) or too far away (which could be uninteresting and show that I don't pay attention to the kind of games she plays).
She could use a new frying pan, but I like giving gifts that are generally more fun than functional. Besides, it could be taken as a hint that she needs to cook more often for me.
I also thought of making something for Amanda, but I kind of doubt I'll do that. My knitting skills, while improving, are still a far cry from hers, and it could be taken as a "look how talented I am" moment.
Now, I've thought about all of these things, and I've reached one conclusion.
I'm an idiot.
Amanda will like whatever I give her, as long as I put some thought into it and give it to her out of love, rather than a general obligation to do so. I don't think for a minute that she'd use my gift to her as a litmus test of my view of her.
...and that's why I love her! <3
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