A Cast of Change

You know that moment when you sit down with a new ball of yarn, and you have your favorite needles in hand all ready to cast on for a new project? I LOVE that moment. Because in that moment this project, THIS project, is going to be the game changer. I will make no mistakes. I will forever be in love with this project. I will CHANGE LIVES with this project.

For five seconds.

And then I realize I have to cast on 96 stitches. And by the 23rd cast on stitch I'm all like "Peace out, bitches". Seriously? Seriously! It seems a ridiculous thing since there is SO much more to knitting than the cast on but it's one thing that super bums me out.

Ok, but for reals, this post was meant to be about my excitement over a new yarn I have started to use. And pretty much how it's changing my life.

So, two nights ago I sat down to cast on for a new project and for a second I was like "Ok, deep breath... 96 stitches. You can DO this". And by the 23rd stitch I wasn't all bummed out. I was so excited because the yarn was springy, and fun. It wasn't splitty but it wasn't so tightly twisted that it was a pain to work with.

And then it happened. I got to knit the first row after casting on and that it was it. I was a goner. The stitch definition was amazeballs. My stitches were even and crisp, despite my knitting in K2,P2 which normally looks disastrous. And when I got to round 7 of my ribbing I almost called my husband to come see how awesome the ribbing looked. Everything was even. Everything was sharp. But, guys who don't knit just don't get it so I didn't bother. But I totally took a picture of the glory.

Ok, now you wanna know who's responsible for all this magic, right? BOOM!

Ewe Ewe Yarns' Wooly Worsted in Saffron.

Look at that wooly little sheep - cheeky little thing sticking her tongue out, just asking to be knit up. Well I did. And I lurve it. 

OK, I realize this turned into a random un-paid for plug for Ewe Ewe Yarns but c'mon, when I get excited about a new yarn I just gotta crow! I guess it stems from a few years of using cheap yarns because I didn't know any better. I have a few in my bag that I will order over and over again but I'm still learning so much that so many times when I order yarn for a pattern in a magazine it's for the first time. So there's lots of excitement in my life, I guess. 

Anyway. Go. Buy it now. Love it. Fondle it. Knit it up! 

M. Out.

The First Yarn

There always has to be a first post, right? The dreaded first post. Will anyone read it? Will the two readers that DO stop by ("Hi Hubband and Heather") get my sense of humor? Will it even translate as humor or will this totally sound like the ravings of someone who shouldn't have access to free online resources that allow her to publish her rants without a filter?

At the risk of total failure, I'm going to put this out there and hope that it makes an impact on someone. Someone other than my husband. Or my Mum ('cuz you KNOW Dad isn't going to read a blog about knitting, amiright?!).

Seems like the right place to start would be with my first knitting project. Well. They were mitts. My first crochet project was a blanket. Who starts small, right? Crochet is really where it all began. I made a dish cloth and the above-mentioned blanket. Back in 2001. And I STILL HAVE THEM. Want proof? Here ya go! (yep... these are totally taken on the carpet in my living room since I don't have a light box or a fancy camera. One step at a time, right?)

Ok, so here's the dishcloth.

Believe it or not, this was NOT my first project.

This was.

Looks pretty good up close, right? Now look at the whole thing.

See that little whoop in the top left corner? That's not just me tugging on stuff. That was me forgetting how to count stitches. All in all, though, a fairly serviceable blanket given that I still have it and use it 12 years later. And the dogs love it, too. Hello, puppies! Mama loves you.

So once I was done with these two projects, I was primarily done with crochet. Don't get me wrong, it's a great art, and I have mad respect for folks who make crochet look amazing. I am simply not one of them. 

But knitting? Oh, dear, dear knitting. How I love thee. You make me happy when skies are grey. When they're clear. When it's 50F or when its 98F. I don't care. I'll knit any day. Anywhere. Except in the bath. I asked the Hubbs whether I should give it a go since it's either knitting or reading... and my reading is an e-reader so how safe is that, really?  You know what he said? He said "But then won't you be blocking it as you knit"? 

Gods but he's adorbs, right? I think my witty retort was "No, the water's hot so it'd be more like felting". Which, not so much true, right? To felt while in the bath I'd have to do all sorts of acrobatics to get the amount of agitation needed to felt. And that's something no one wants to think about. 

So! Moving on!

Here is my first knitting project. 

Nope. Not kidding. See the row of purls on the thumb? Yeah... didn't know how to tell which stitch to use on which side. But not too shabby, right?

And that's where it all began. I was self taught except for the cast on which was taught to me by a long-lost boyfriends's sister (gosh... where DOES that apostrophe go?). But that's about it. I then bought books and horrible cheap yarn which is still sitting in my stash. Waiting for the apocolypse so the cockroaches can start knitting up stuff for the Zombies. I dunno... that's where my head went, anyway. 

Whew... survived the first post. I hope you'll come back for more. 

Oh, wait, wanna know what you should come back for? Oh, ok. I suppose I can give you an idea: mostly uncensored rants about projects I'm working on, promotion of yarns I love, clarification of stuff I learn that will hopefully be useful to you aaaaaaaaand, probably lots of photos of my dogs with my yarn and perhaps an occasional shot of me with beer. 

Know what you won't get? Apologies. 'Cuz ain't nobody got time for that in knitting!