Embarrassing stash
No, not drugs. This "stash" refers to fiber art supplies: yarn, unspun wool and other fibers, knitting needles, dyes, crochet hooks, and so forth. (We won't mention projects started and left incomplete, as there are several of those as well.)
Specific goal: knit a lightweight shawl from some handspun yarn I have made. First, find a suitable pattern. I knew I wanted a circular design with just a little bit of lacy patterning. Having seen one like that made by a friend several years back, I asked her about it. Her advice was just to search online. Most of what I found was far more complicated than I wanted, but eventually I located some simple advice for knitting shawls in the round that will work.
Now to make a sample swatch to make sure the yarn grist and needle size is appropriate for what I want. The yarn should be fine, but I'd better wash it first so it doesn't shrink when washed later. Still, I can use a bit of it to test the pattern. Looks like a size 6 or 7 needle will give a light enough textile.
Knitting in the round for small items starts with double pointed needles as a rule, and sure enough I found I have both sizes in double points. However, this shawl will end up, worked from the center out, as a circular piece about four feet in diameter or a bit more. That means once the center is started, there will come a time to switch to a circular needle (two knitting needles connected by a flexible cable) and later probably to an even longer circular needle. Off to look in the needle collection, which is embarrassingly large due to many inherited from other knitters as well as those I bought myself. I find the slip cases for two size 7 circular needles, one 16 inches long and one 32 inches long. I might need one longer still before the end (they go up to at least 60 inches) but this will do to start.
The problem? Both needle cases are empty. All right, they must be still entangled in some unfinished project, and sure enough, after looking through a couple of baskets of stuff, I did fine one of them with a moebius scarf or cowl nearly completed. The other is still AWOL. And... I should complete that scarf as it is also handspun yarn and would make a good gift for someone.
Between all the needles and crochet hooks I found, though, I see it is time to make some sort of inventory to track what I have and avoid buying things again. Proven by the fact that I found swivel hook pairs (crochet tools similar to the circular knitting needle but with hooks on each end) in sizes H, J, and K. That wouldn't be bad, except there were two each of H and J, and four of K. Most were new, still in the unopened wrappers. Worse, I know I have afghan hooks in sizes J, K, L, and M, none of which I found in this search.
Past time to get this stuff more organized. Sigh.
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Specific goal: knit a lightweight shawl from some handspun yarn I have made. First, find a suitable pattern. I knew I wanted a circular design with just a little bit of lacy patterning. Having seen one like that made by a friend several years back, I asked her about it. Her advice was just to search online. Most of what I found was far more complicated than I wanted, but eventually I located some simple advice for knitting shawls in the round that will work.
Now to make a sample swatch to make sure the yarn grist and needle size is appropriate for what I want. The yarn should be fine, but I'd better wash it first so it doesn't shrink when washed later. Still, I can use a bit of it to test the pattern. Looks like a size 6 or 7 needle will give a light enough textile.
Knitting in the round for small items starts with double pointed needles as a rule, and sure enough I found I have both sizes in double points. However, this shawl will end up, worked from the center out, as a circular piece about four feet in diameter or a bit more. That means once the center is started, there will come a time to switch to a circular needle (two knitting needles connected by a flexible cable) and later probably to an even longer circular needle. Off to look in the needle collection, which is embarrassingly large due to many inherited from other knitters as well as those I bought myself. I find the slip cases for two size 7 circular needles, one 16 inches long and one 32 inches long. I might need one longer still before the end (they go up to at least 60 inches) but this will do to start.
The problem? Both needle cases are empty. All right, they must be still entangled in some unfinished project, and sure enough, after looking through a couple of baskets of stuff, I did fine one of them with a moebius scarf or cowl nearly completed. The other is still AWOL. And... I should complete that scarf as it is also handspun yarn and would make a good gift for someone.
Between all the needles and crochet hooks I found, though, I see it is time to make some sort of inventory to track what I have and avoid buying things again. Proven by the fact that I found swivel hook pairs (crochet tools similar to the circular knitting needle but with hooks on each end) in sizes H, J, and K. That wouldn't be bad, except there were two each of H and J, and four of K. Most were new, still in the unopened wrappers. Worse, I know I have afghan hooks in sizes J, K, L, and M, none of which I found in this search.
Past time to get this stuff more organized. Sigh.
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