<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Nothing Knit or Crochet
Had a busy month and lots of my projects are large projects, however<\/li> - Project Bags
I had a whole raft of linen\/canvas shopping bags that for one reason or another I didn\u2019t want to use as shopping bags (sentimental, unique, wrong size, handles not long enough or too short,..) so I spent a happy afternoon with a needle and thread and seam ripper making very <\/strong>easy project bags.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"converted](\"https:\/\/www.tuesdayfortnite.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/20190707_122523-e1562523817293-576x1024.jpg\")
Convert Linen Shopping bag to project bag \u2013 remove handles, thread ribbon through top seam (I opened one side seam and hand stitched the loose ends) then add simple box folding to bottom to give a bag that will stand up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n WIPs (Works in Progress)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Works actively being worked on \u2013 (not hibernating or we\u2019d be here forever) including my PP (Purse Project or the project that is living in my handbag)<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n- Spiderweb Skirt<\/a>, Hook 5mm, Knit Picks Dishie in \u201cEggPlant\u201d
This is my \u2018desk\u2019 project so only gets worked on in my lunch hour at work. I\u2019m about 30% through and about to start the base of the skirt<\/li>- Tirrold Sweater<\/a> \u2013 came out of long <\/em>term hibernation to become my \u2018purse project\u2019<\/li>
- Spectra <\/a>\u2013 gets a few rows (1 \u2018panel\u2019) a week but frankly I\u2019m bored with this again<\/li>
- I worked a little more on my swatches but am now playing with different fibre content to get the best blocking for the modular shawl and doing a lot of \u2018thinking\u2019 about the project rather than actual working on it.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Every Day\u2019s a School Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What I\u2019m learning from my crafting this month..<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n- Perseverance<\/strong>
I seem to be very good at starting a project and then getting distracted by something else -resulting in lots of half complete items in my WiPs (also known as working on my PhD \u2013 Projects Half Done!). Making more of a concerted effort to finish things before moving on<\/li>- Techniques.<\/strong>
As the Spectra is only 40 stitches long and involves short row shaping I decided to uninvent (to quote the great Elizabeth Zimmerman) how to knit and purl backwards. To my great surprise, this is not the same as knitting left handed! It\u2019s actually very easy and fun to do, and made easier by an ability to \u2018read\u2019 your knitting so you can see how you can \u2018force\u2019 each stitch to be what you want it to be. Really enjoying the process \u2013 but there\u2019s a lot of very same-y stitches that just don\u2019t hold my attention for long.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nBits of Sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Stash reduction or enhancement<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nHaving a very reserved month \u2013 my only slip was a skein of a beautiful soft reddish brick color of a wool linen blend that might be perfect for my modular shawl design..
<\/p>\n\n\n\nMonth<\/td> Balls\/Skeins In<\/td> Balls\/Skeins Out<\/td> Net Balance<\/td><\/tr> June<\/td> 5<\/td> 2<\/td> -7<\/td><\/tr> July<\/td> 1<\/td> 0<\/td> -6<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n Oh Shiny\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The source of my startitis \u2013 for example planned projects , inspirations or ideas that have caught my eye or subjects or topics that have snagged my attention..<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere are two things I\u2019d like to talk about this month so I\u2019m going to actually post twice this month! My next post will be all about the \u2018dyeing for knitters\u2019 course I am completing this weekend and deserves a post all of it\u2019s own. That post will appear in a couple of weeks.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo this week I\u2019d like to do a book review \u2013
<\/p>\n\n\n\nA Stash of One\u2019s Own \u2013 an anthology edited by Clara Parkes
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51PgOev5iiL._SX350_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe blurb on the dust jacket says: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In tales from twenty-one knitters, Clara Parkes examines a subject that is irresistible to us all: the yarn stash.<\/em><\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnyone with a passion has a stash, whether it is a collection of books or enough yarn to exceed several life expectancies. With her trademark wry, witty approach, Parkes brings together fascinating stories from all facets of stash-keeping and knitting life\u2013from KonMari minimalist to joyous collector, designer to dyer, spinner to social worker, scholar to sheep farmer.<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhether the yarn stash is muse, memento, creative companion, career guide, or lifeline in tough times, these deeply engaging stories take a surprising and fascinating look at why we collect, what we cherish, and how we let go.<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nContributors include New York Times bestselling authors Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Debbie Stoller, Meg Swansen and Franklin Habit, Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner, Adrienne Martini, and a host of others.<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nI will be honest, I bought this on impulse in the KnitPicks sale \u2013 and I am very glad I did.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nEach unique take from 21 different points of view, written over a few pages each, on what is a stash and it\u2019s psychological meaning helped me clarify and identify my own ideas \u2013 from the relief my own stash doesn\u2019t match the nearly 12,000 skeins of one Ravelry member to the moments of stressed caused by the acknowledgement that somebody (who doesn\u2019t appreciate this stuff in the way I do) will have to deal with all my stash when I shuffle into the big yarn store in the sky.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nNew voices I hadn\u2019t read before came across eloquently about their own experiences and journeys with their stash (or lack of!) and old friends reassured me that I wasn\u2019t that<\/em>different to other crafters.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nI highly recommend this light read as a reassurance that no matter what style or type of stasher you are (no yarn at all to thousands in a special room) there\u2019s more than just you in the world. Stash, and yarn stash in particular, are far from essential to a crafter\u2019s life \u2013 but if you like to have a few \u2018comfort balls\u2019 around then grand. If you prefer to only have yarn in the house that is being used for your current project and you\u2019ll buy what appeals for your next project then that\u2019s just dandy too.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nI read this over a couple of days (I am a fast reader and have a long commute when I don\u2019t cycle to work), but because of the essay style and short \u2018chapters\u2019 it would be easy to read this one essay at a time and then take a couple of days to process the ideas presented \u2013 I fully intend to re-read most of the essays again at a more considered pace. However the book had an immediate impact on me both physically and in my mental approach to my \u2018craft collection\u2019.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nMost of you will have worked out I have a stash. I hadn\u2019t considered that all the accoutrements also counted as stash \u2013 my needles, hooks, threads, little pin looms, books, patterns, project bags\u2026 and I was inspired to finally get my yarn stash (most of, I think I\u2019m missing 3 balls) onto Ravelry. It took just under 9 hours but I got there! I once worked out that if I gave up my day job and took up knitting 8 hours a day I had 3 solid years of work without buying another ball. I\u2019ve got faster since then \u2013 but I think I still have a safe 18 months to go at without worrying overly.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nDo have I stash I will never use? Absolutely. Those \u2018souvenir\u2019 balls and those \u2018it\u2019s just too pretty\u2026\u2019 Have I bought stash for a specific project and then gone off the idea? Indeed, and those balls and skeins sit and wait patiently, without judgement, while I decide what it was the universe actually wanted them to be. Could I give away the stash I have fallen out of love with? Probably. But I\u2019m not quite there yet \u2013 my stash diving showed there is very little I am not in love with, and that which is \u2018unloved\u2019 is my oddments that I use for swatching ideas.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nHaving examined my buying habits, it appears I am a combination stasher. Most of my purchases seem to be bought for the \u2018potential\u2019 of what that skien all could be. Often I have a project type in mind, and several purchases are for specific projects that I had carried in my head for several years before committing (even if I haven\u2019t started the project yet!). But I also \u2018adopt\u2019 yarn. Those skeins that just need to be looked after and come home with me. Now, sure, in the long run this is cheaper than adopting, say, kittens who need shots and feeding and stuff \u2013 but it has resulted in a goodly percentage of my stash that has no purpose other than for me to occasionally get them out and \u2018squee\u2019 over them. Finally there is the Exotic Fibres Collection \u2013 those skeins bought for no other purpose than for me to be able to say \u201cI have yarn made of\u2026\u201d (banana, 100% milk, possum, seaweed\u2026)
<\/p>\n\n\n\nI tend towards the hyper detailed in my mind, so the fact I am in love with possibility of my yarn, with the potential captured in the fibres rather than the actual concrete results has surprised me. My stash is not there to soothe the panic of \u201cI must cast on x at 3am..\u201d or \u201cin the event of the zombies, I can at least hole up and not need yarn for a couple of years\u201d (though there is definitely an element of that). My stash is a comfort blanket of latency. A smorgasbord of dormant possibility. That jewel like ruby 4ply silk could be a vest, or a beaded evening bag or an elegant lace insouciant scarf. That dove grey mist of cobweb weight mohair with the pale lilac core could be a snood, or lace cuffs or a frothy collar. That petrol sheen bulky acrylic would shine as a simple long sleeved shrug, or maybe a hat and gloves \u2013 or slippers\u2026
<\/p>\n\n\n\nI enjoy my finished projects, I love picking a shawl to match an outfit or presenting new parents with a blanket they can use, or showing I care with a well thought gift. But I really get a kick out of selecting the perfect yarn for the perfect project, paired with the perfect tools. I don\u2019t need my needles to match my yarn colour (like one of my yarnie friends) but I will select my stitch markers to match my mood and project \u2013 often with a little private in-joke that makes me smile when I see it.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nCould I live without my stash? Sure (she\u2019s says while she doesn\u2019t have to test it). I\u2019m in the enviable position of having enough disposable income that I could create a new stash over time. Would I miss some of the irreplaceable items in my stash? \u2013 yes, absolutely! But more the books and vintage tools than the yarns themselves \u2013 and the universe is always providing new \u2018irreplaceable\u2019 things for us collectors of beautiful moments and trinkets. My relationship has sifted subtly as a result of reading \u2018A stash of one\u2019s own\u2019 It\u2019s gone from being a reserve yarn shop to being acknowledged as a representation of the potential I am capable of. That each skien has a place and means something (even if that something is \u2018don\u2019t buy this yarn ever again\u2019). It was a nice surprise to discover that part of me still believes that I can be anything I want to be, and my stash is my metaphysical representation of that.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat does you stash mean to you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FOs (Finished Objects) What\u2019s been finished since my last post Nothing Knit or CrochetHad a busy month and lots of my projects are large projects, however Project BagsI had a whole raft of linen\/canvas shopping bags that for one reason … Continue reading
- Techniques.<\/strong>
- Tirrold Sweater<\/a> \u2013 came out of long <\/em>term hibernation to become my \u2018purse project\u2019<\/li>
- Spiderweb Skirt<\/a>, Hook 5mm, Knit Picks Dishie in \u201cEggPlant\u201d