Sweet dreams are made of this… — The Eurythmics
**If you want to listen, click the text above**
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try a yarn just fights you every stitch of the way. This is the story of such a yarn…I spun this really gorgeous, buttery soft fiber. I worked hard at consistency… and it is beautifully consistent. I paid attention when plying so that my twist would be the same throughout the skein… a better than usual achievement! And I had dreams to knit this yarn into a sweater because I had spun more.than.enough to knit a sweater.
But the thing I absolutely hate is yarn pooling… handspun striping, I don’t mind… but this yarn was pooling at every gauge I tried… in other words… it was not going to work by itself in a sweater. Sigh.
Some months ago (and by some I mean more than a year ago) I drew up a sketch of Pressed Flowers as a rectangle rather than a triangle that I would not wear as often. I even swatched a bit… but my colors did not inspire me. Meanwhile, a brilliant knitter knit one rather quickly. But even with that inspiration, I procrastinated long enough to forget all about it.
Until I had a dream one night a couple of weeks ago. I had vision of Handspun Yarn dancing in my head… holding hands with the yarn from this failed sweater and I sat bolt upright in bed! Okay…I did not actually sit upright, but I did grab my iPad and open a note and write down what I dreamed about for fear I would forget come morning!
Last week I began the swatching process again with that handspun yarn and the failed sweater yarn.
And my dream? A nightmare.
They both would be GREAT in a Pressed Flowers wrap… just not together. So I frogged the swatch and thought about what that handspun yarn needed to shine. And wouldn’t you know… the yarn I had originally planned to use as the “background” yarn was PERFECT for the handspun yarn. I knit another swatch, measured my gauge, did some knitter maths, and cast on while the excitement was high!
And I am so in love! Deeply… profoundly… just knit one more repeat… okay, I promise to stop after this next repeat love! Kirsten Kapur knit 1/3 of her wrap in the close patterning before switching over to the wider apart pattern…but my plan is a bit different. I want each end to have a border… one side a little deeper than the other. And so I knit… happily… gleefully… the knitting that dreams are made of!
…who am I to disagree. — The Eurythmics
Details: My gauge in pattern: Stitches 21 = 4″ and I wanted the wrap to be about 20″ wide so I cast on 107 stitches. I used the German twisted cast on (because it gives a nice edge to garter stitch) and then knit three rows. And then began the mosaic patterning… getting started took a bit of attention! I made some mistakes and had to do some negative knitting (thanks Jane for this AWESOME term!) to get back on track, but soon the patterning becomes intuitive… just one step up from mindless knitting. And ZERO pooling is happening! Woo!
How about a bit of my reading this week…I continue to be immersed in Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Susanna Clarke is a master story-teller! I really love her writing style – which is a good thing because this is a LONG listen… 32+ hours! I am roughly 12 hours in with miles to go and I think I will be sad for this book to end!
At night I am *almost done* (I will be done by the time you read this post!) with Mouth to Mouth. This book… goodness. It is making me think about so many things! It is curious, a book with few redeeming characters, and yet I can’t stop reading it! I want it done though because I have The Marriage Portrait waiting in the wings!
I also picked up a fun stack of books from the library this week. Stay tuned tomorrow when I share a poem from Carter Revard… it is fitting I share something from an Osage poet for Native American Heritage Month! I hope you will enjoy my selection!
That is all I have for today… The next repeat is calling! What about you? Are you dreaming about knitting!?
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Oh I really wish I could dream about knitting, would be so wonderful! Love how your project is going now.
that knitting is so very pretty and delicate! I dream knitting solutions frequently and maybe that is why sleep is elusive!!
I am in love with how your handspun is knitting up! I’m so glad you found a project that works with that beautiful yarn.
I don’t often dream about knitting (or at least not that I remember), but a handful of times I’ve been trying to figure out how to do something and then dream a solution. I guess my brain continues to work on the problem even when I’m asleep!
What a great story to introduce a great project! I like your idea of a rectangular wrap and look forward to seeing your progress. Those flowers make me happy just seeing you and Kym knit them! I’m also looking forward to reading your poem tomorrow. (I’m not dreaming about knitting but would like to!)
That’s going to be perfection, Kat! So glad you kept dreaming and scheming! 🙂 (Also, I’ve had Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell on my to-read-someday list for years and years. I think I even have it in my Audible library. . . I’m glad to hear you like it.) 🙂
A great song! And, a beautiful wrap. I love the idea of making Pressed Flowers into a rectangular wrap (I’ve been dreaming of a rectangular shawl!). Your handspun is gorgeous and I do love the way this is coming together. I started Marriage Portrait last night!!
Your Pressed Flowers is beautiful. You know what “they” say…Third time’s the charm! 🙂
Ah, The Eurythmics!!! Recent inductees to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame (on my bucket list)!
I love how your wrap is turning out!! I have everything Pressed Flowers on my to-knit list… hopefully I’ll get to one of them someday! That rectangle mod is wonderful!
I’m so glad you persevered to get the right combo of yarn and pattern!
Who is the author of Mouth to Mouth? I went to look it up on Goodreads and there are no fewer than 8 books with that title. And what great books you have to look forward to!
Your flowers look so pretty! I like the idea of a rectangular wrap and look forward to see how yours turns out!
I wish I would dream about knitting. The reality of that dream is beautiful. I bet that is a very fun knit. I look forward to reading the poem you have selected.
I can feel your knitting excitement through the screen! Kat – your project is gorgeous. I’m so glad it’s finally coming together for you.
And I’m happy to hear that you’re still loving JS&MN – it’s such a fun world to lose yourself in. I imagine that the audio is excellent!