The Yarn Path

I have been out since noon today and haven't had time for much in the way of knitting, though I was able to stop in the midst of my travels and find some yarns for gifts. In one store, I encountered a small, late middle-aged man trying to decipher his wife's instructions which had been scribbled on a piece of paper. He had several balls of eyelash yarn in his carry-basket and we chatted for a bit. He was clearly out of his depth (as Terry Pratchett puts it: "...so out of his depth the fish had lights on their noses") and a bit fearful of what would happen to him if he brought home the wrong thing. I couldn't decipher his wife's notes either so I wished him luck and got out of his way. The poor guy was in a no-win situation.

I can't imagine sending someone else out to pick yarn for me. What I like and might wind up wanting is so dependent on visual and tactile impressions (my visual and tactile impressions) that I don't think I would trust anyone else to choose for me. And if this person didn't knit themselves, I'd be terrified of what they might actually bring home...

He: Hiya Honey, I got the yarn you wanted!
She: Did you? Great! Let's see it.
He: They had lots of great colors! (hands her the bag of yarn)
She: (dumping out ball after ball of something black and hairy with lime green shooting through it, several hanks of mud colored ribbon and an assortment of what looks like packing twine in a snit of camouflage colors) AAARRGH!!!!!!


I wouldn't risk it, myself.





This is the only sweater I've made so far - it's the tiny Aran from Melanie Falick's Knitting For Baby. I was browsing through a catalog and ran across the blurb for this book. Now, I don't have kids - don't want any either and I am generally not susceptible to cute babies. However... The blurb was accompanied by the book's photo of the year-old little Asian boy who modeled this sweater. He was just beautiful, completely happy with himself and the world, sitting there in this sweater and a pair of jeans with his bare feet hanging out and a sweet, goofy grin on his face. I was completely suckered. The sweater is a gift for my doctor and his wife who had their first child, a little girl, on October 13th.





This was a gift for a very dear friend and it was my first knitted shawl. You can find the pattern here and I highly recommend it. It was designed by Rosemary Hoffer for the Knit List in 1996. The left hand side of the picture is the shawl (sans the final, colossal tassels I later added at the points) draped over my recliner. The right-hand side of the image is a close-up of the stitch pattern. In the photos I have seen of this shawl, it has been blocked out flat. However, once I'd gotten far enough into the project to see the pattern emerging I decided I really liked the un-blocked, embossed nature of the bells. So I left them that way. I did a simple crocheted shell edging around because this wasn't going to be fringed and finally added the tassels on the morning of my friend's birthday. The pattern is clear and easy enough for a rough beginner (which I was when I started it) to follow without difficulty. This was made with Lion Brand "Imagine" in cerise and took 6 balls to complete on a US 9 circular needle (used for its length, not for knitting in the round).





Kinda gaudy, hunh? This is a WIP, the aforementioned Endless Cable Shawl. It's being worked in Lion Brand "Homespun" in Modern (a royal blue/teal/black mix). I had wanted to try this yarn out and I also wanted a BIG warm winter shawl - seemed like the two could go together. It's simple garter stitch because this yarn is so heavily textured that I thought any other stitch pattern would get lost in it. Despite this (either incurable optimism or stupidity) I decided I wanted a big, honkin' cable in it so I started one running up the center. It doesn't show well in the photo, but it does show up just fine in person. I'm now considering adding more cables. I'm not quite through the first skein of yarn here and I bought 8 skeins of this stuff. When it's finished, this thing should be able to double as a sofa cover! Anyway, the pattern is simple - cast three stitches onto a US size 10 circular needle - a long one. K3. Next row, K1, YO, knit to end. Repeat last row ad infinitum. Stick the cable(s) wherever you like or do something else (or nothing else) as suits you. Those are my beloved ebony circulars that Fluffy is encroaching on and yes, that's Goldie's tail peeking out from under Fluffy's tummy like a hairy snake!


Enough. I've got new yarn. I'm gonna go play now!

You know, this blog thing is sort of fun! I thought I'd post these images so you could see some of my work (not that it's anything extraordinary) and to show off the furry family members - there seem to be a lot of knitting blogs featuring cats!





This is my Monks Bag, adapted from this pattern. I reduced the size considerably because I wanted a bag - not a suitcase and I used a button closure instead of i-cord ties. It's made out of Lily Sugar and Cream cotton in Potpurri Ombre with Teal for the trim. I love how it came out and am considering making another, slightly larger one in darker colors for winter. This is a good example of a stitch pattern I'm ambivalent about. I love the look of seed stitch - and there's plenty of it in this pattern. But it's !@#$%^&* tedious to do! I suppose you can't have the lovely, nubbly texture without the work...





This is a simple scarf that I made for Myria. It consists of a strand each of Lion Brand Imagine (mohair/arcylic blend) in Pink and Rave (polyester eyelash), color 483002 - sort of an icy, pale mauve. One ball of the mohair and two balls of the eyelash made a scarf about 4 1/2" wide and about 6 feet long. I cast 15 stitches onto US 10 needles and knit every row until I was out of Rave. It didn't take long and looks pretty impressive for such a basically simple item.





This is my big fella, variously known as Fluffy, Fluffers, Monster, etc. He actually answers to the first and last names. He is a sweet, affectionate, beautiful cat who believes, in his heart of hearts, that his place is in my lap - laptop or knitting not withstanding! This one would rather have you rub the spot between his shoulder blades than feed him. He's bright and funny and I can't imagine my home without him. He's about 9 years old and he has lived with us from the moment he was born - in fact I watched him being born and then wept all over him because the kitten just before had never drawn breath and I was so glad Fluffy survived.





Goldie is Fluffy's son (yes - they have both made the move to "consultant" status) and is about 8 years old. He's a far more typical cat than his father, trying to catch squirrels through the kitchen window, stealing baby's breath out of any flower arangement (and knocking the vase over half the time) or chewing on the geraniums in the front room window. He tends to be somewhat needy and this is sometimes frustrating - but he's a good cat - even bigger than his dad. He also has an almost inaudible purr. If you're holding him you can feel the purr; it's not that it lacks oomph! You just can't hear it. This is totally unlike his father who's purr has been mistaken for a passing train...

O-kay - here are the basics. My name is Robbyn. I'm 49 and live a bit north of Boston with my best friend, Myria, our two cats, Fluffy and Goldie and a small aquarium of fish, snails - even a frog. I was a PC specialist until cancer persuaded me into early retirement. It was then, thanks to a Valentina Devine coat design, that the knitting bug bit me.

I have never recovered!

Knitting is a perfect occupation for me as it allows me to do something both useful and creative and it's not so easy as to be boring. In fact there are aspects to this that strike me as insanely difficult! Fair Isle? Shudder! Life's too short :) But I've never met a stitch pattern I didn't like - though there are some I have reservations about! I love cables and am beginning to look into lacework (with much fear and trembling, I must admit). Currently I am working on a shawl in Lionbrand Homespun (tentatively named The Endless Cable Shawl - ECS), a cable panel for an afghan for my father (EAA - Endless Aran Afghan - notice a pattern here?) and have just ordered the yarn for this sweater. It's Tahki New Tweed in Natural. I'll post a picture (I'll try to post a picture) when the yarn gets here.

I've used and love circular needles but have been consistently buffaloed by DPNs until last week when I successfully completed my first circular mitten. It doesn't have ladders, the tension is smooth and consistent and, after the first few rows (ribbing, feh...) it fell into a regular and not-too-difficult rhythm. There are gaps at the base of the thumb, but I'll figure out how to deal with that. I think I can do this! And I can stop using the DPNs as super-duper toothpicks! Dunno about socks yet, but they're certainly a possibility now!

I hope this blog will be both a knitting journal for me and an aid to actually finishing the many things I start. Oh I do actually complete a project once in a while, but for everything I actually see through to the end, I probably start another dozen projects. The blog will probably also serve as a running commentary on various things that I'm interested in or that attract my attention.

The blog name comes from a couple of associated interests of mine. One of them is the sort of woven/knot-type designs that the Celts and the Vikings were so fond of - the single line that wraps around it self, over and under and around creating a beautiful element. It seems to me that knitting is like that - a single line that gets manipulated in myriad ways to create something beautiful. It is also, to me, a reflection of life which I see similarly. No surprise that I tend to be a process knitter, is it?

I'm new to blogging - the doing, not the concept, so bear with me as I stumble through general appearance boogers over the next few days. I'm going to actually try and post pictures tomorrow - won't that be fun? It could be absolutely hysterical!

Anyway, my best and most profound welcome to you all. I hope you enjoy the blog!