Couple of my 2014 knitting goals
Knit a shawl a month
Do you plan out your future knitting projects in advance? To
the point of having a project queue? I wish I was you. It takes me a while to
decide on my next project. Part of me, I think, enjoys the "hunting and
gathering" deliberation process, the
perfect pattern that will highlight the yarn I knit with.
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| What I have knitted so far in 2014 Photo and Hand Knitted by: Knitted Candy Diva, June 2014 |
Part of my 2014 goals is to knit 1 shawl per month as part of a Ravelry group, 12 Shawls Forever, which I am a member of. I started in March and so far I have knitted 5 shawls, the last one was also for me to participate in my first MMKAL(Madelinetosh May Knit-A-Long). For the 12 shawls, each has to be more than 274 yards, with 2 of the 12 shawl needing to be over 550 yards/each. So, I look for patterns that interest me by improving my knitting skills.
Use up my stash
One of my other 2014 goals is to use up my stash. So far, I
have been sticking to it. Of the 5 shawls I have knitted, I've used yarn that has
been in my stash for at least 2 years. I
can't show you how large my stash has become. I'm embarrassed and shocked at
the same time. Didn't realize the size until I recently was cleaning, putting the
last 8 months of purchases into Ziploc bags and then storing them in cloth
grocery size bags. These bags are
beginning to take up a corner of my bedroom besides the 5 plastic storage
containers I have in my closet. Even DH made a comment - he normally doesn't
notice, or says anything.
Then there was more
One of my knitting friends spent her Mother's Day weekend in
Reno, NV, specifically to go to Jimmy Beans Wool because they have one of the largest selections of Madelinetosh to choose from. She also normally goes to the Ben Franklin to
check out what yarn they have. Well, Ben Franklin closed and now it has become
a Tuesday Morning. She was sending our
knitting group Facebook private messages (PMs) as she was yarn shopping her way through Reno. On
Mother's Day Sunday, it become even more funny when she started including photos
and asking if we, our group, wanted to buy what we saw from her photos while she was at TM.
The Deal was going down
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| Sample of what DH and I were eating when my "yarn" dealer was rapidly PMing Photo: Knitted Candy Diva, Mother's Day 2014 |
Gotta love social media! My friend, the "yarn" dealer, was sending rapid PMs around lunch time. Well, before I knew it, I discreetly PM her my "ok"
while I was eating my Mother's Day dim sum with DH to buy 2 of the skeins because
I really like the color although I didn't need any more yarn. Funny, how we don't communicate by phone
anymore and it really felt like a "yarn" deal was going down, without
DH knowing what I was doing. ; - )
Yarn, yarn and what to knit next
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| The yarn deal that when down. 2 skeins: Araucania Yarns, Rinihue Hand-dyed 80/20 wool silk worsted weight. Photo: Knitted Candy Diva, June 2014 |
So, I have this yarn and I wanted find a pattern to match with it. I am in the middle of a botanical theme kick. First thing that came to mind was to knit Sylvia Bo Bilvia's The Elder Tree Shawl. In April, I knitted Budding Shawlette. Last month, it was Sea Leaves. For some reason, I really enjoy knitting leaves and have been searching for patterns that have them.
But then as I was cleaning up and storing my recent
purchases, I came across this.
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| California-raised alpaca Macedo's Mini Acre Alpaca Yarn 220 yards/each, hand-dyed alpaca worsted-weight Photo: Knitted Candy Diva, June 2014 |
How Golden are thee?
But then I saw Kourtney Robinson's His Golden Lair; I started to become
conflicted. I have 2 - worsted weight skeins,
total 400+ yards. What to do?! Since the Araunacia yarn is a fiery blend of reds,
oranges and magentas, it would make the Elder Tree leaves pop and scream "Autumn".
But I am also thinking this would be true if I used this yarn for His Golden
Lair. Besides the leaves, it has more texture - cables and lace. Also it would be a more challenging knit.
Oh Ashton!
Then I saw Dee O'Keefe's Ashton Shawlette. My hand-dyed, natural dye pastel
colored yarn is girly and would be a better match for this pattern because,
IMHO, Ashton is very feminine. It made sense to knit this first because it's
more summery looking than knitting His Golden Lair. I also polled and received confirmation from members
of Knitting, a closed Facebook group I am a member of, to get their feedback on
which to start first.
Ashton has been in my Raverly queue since it first came out.
One of the reasons I have it in my queue is because it has a great step-by-step
tutorial on how to read charts. I have to admit it -- I've never learned how to
read charts formally. Until now, I've purposely look for patterns that either
have written and charts or just written. Ashton is forcing me to learn how to read because
this pattern only has charts. I spent
part of a Saturday reading and writing out the charts.
So, Elder Tree Shawl is now back in my Ravelry library with no future plans to knit this pattern. And after completing Ashton I plan to knit His Golden Lair with the 2 skeins of Araucania.
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| The start of my Summery "Ashton Shawlette" Hand knitted & photo by Knitted Candy Diva |
So, Elder Tree Shawl is now back in my Ravelry library with no future plans to knit this pattern. And after completing Ashton I plan to knit His Golden Lair with the 2 skeins of Araucania.
Love to hear from you:
Do you plan your knitting projects in advance? How big is your stash and
is one of your 2014 goals to reduce it this year? And do you change your mind, thinking you are going to knit with a
particular yarn with a particular pattern, but then change at the last minute
and go in a different direction?
