The wonderful Melissa takes delight in tormenting me. (I so look forward to the comment that's coming from that opening salvo.)
The wonderful Melissa has said on several occasions: "Why aren't you publishing your patterns?" or even more Mom-like: "I just don't unders
tand why you're not publishing your patterns?" Yes, she makes it into a question. Melissa is Jewish (insert stereotype here) and the guilt has plagued me. Because one of my patterns is published on Ravelry and has even sold and because there are others playing around in my head. I've taken a look at a photo and then decided just to cast on and knit what I think I see. "Who," says the person with 50 knitting books that she knows of, "needs a pattern?" Sometimes I do. I like patterns - they give me someone to blame. I don't have to take responsibility for a pattern if someone else makes it. I just have to follow it and admire my ability to read or fail at it and say someone
else doesn't know how to write a pattern.
SIGH. But the wonderful Melissa is playing over and over in my head because she was working on a cute bag and progressing very well and as I was watching her knit it my mind was saying how I would change this or that and make it something different and then when I went to church, Joyce had the cutest bag made out of leather and I thought 'I could 
knit something like that.' Oh that Melissa!
Do you know Hill Harper? He's on CSI:NY. He has a degree from Brown, a law and master's degree from Harvard is the author of several books along with being a lecturer and actor. He says you should follow your heart even if it takes you all over the place. (And let us admit the man is creamy! Wanna spread him on a cracker and eat him right up!)
His voice is nearly as loud as the wonderful Melissa's. He sets a great example of moving. You can't get anywhere without moving so if you think you're stuck start at your feet.
Of course, I will put the patterns on the long list of things to do because the truth, Melissa, is that I have thought
about publishing them I just haven't gotten to it and then I know from the example of Hill Harper that time is something we made up and something we have some control over and can accomplish whatever we set our minds to doing. I believe that. I sincerely do.
I appreciate Melissa being in my head because I appreciate Melissa being in my life. She's someone I love hanging out with even as she leads me on the path of breaking my stash resolution (you should have heard her last Friday!!) Stay in my head, Melissa, I could use the noise.
We edit this post to come to the aid of a knitter in need!
Valerie sent me a message on a post from March 2008. The post here. (No, she didn't send it back in 2008 - I'm not that slow. She sent it today.) And she would like to know how to get to the section in the middle - the horizontal part.
Well, Val, I can talk you through it! But let me say, you have to trust the pattern is telling you the truth in this case because it is - but I get why it's confusing. OK, let's go step by step (the rest of you can follow along by casting on about 20 stitches and you'll get the idea and Val, this might be something you want to do to practice:
You've completed the garter stitch vertical panel and you have 200 stitches on your needle.
- Put six more stitches on your needle using the cast on method. (Knit the stitch but instead of transferring the stitch to the right needle, place it back on the left needle. Do that six times.)
- You now have 206 (or 26 if you're doing the smaller version)
- Knit 5 stitches
- slip a stitch -purl wise
- knit a stitch
- pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch
- TURN YOUR WORK as if you have completed the entire row
- slip a stitch
- knit 4 stitches
- purl the last stitch
- TURN YOUR WORK as if you have completed the entire row
- slip a stitch
- knit 4 stitches
- slip a stitch
- knit a stitch
- pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch
- TURN YOUR WORK
- repeat 8-17
Essentially what you're doing is a bind off. With each turn, you're picking up one more stitch on the needle and with the passed stitch, you're decreasing. You are going to end up with one stitch on your needle and be in a position to pick up the stitches to go vertical for the last part of the scarf. It's a pretty cute technique! Practice it on the 20 stitches first and you will be able to see how it picks up and the horizontal section starts to form. You have to trust that it will all happen as written! Let me know if you need anything else.
Back to the regular post!
It is said that your really good lessons come from being wrong than from being right. After all, if you're right about everything you really have nothing to learn, do you? And since you cannot be right about everything (and if you think you are you've just proved the theory into fact) you learn that and whatever else you need to learn from the mistake. Hence, we have the Epais yarn:
You remember this yarn.
It was an exception to my yarn busting rule. It was the one yarn I was salivating to try and I was going to wait until it went on sale to purchase some and then the marvelous Vickie brought some to the yarn exchange and I had gobs of the stuff.
And I didn't think I liked it because it wasn't feeling right. But I was going to give it one more shot and put it into my favorite afghan pattern and challenge Yarndis, the fiber goddess to a duel of spirit. After all, this stuff is kinda pricey. It couldn't just sit around the house. Well, the lesson is one should never give up:
look at it. I mean, look at it - are you looking? It's beautiful!
It isn't quite done yet, these are the two panels that are done and the third one is almost done and there are two more (at least) after that. That stubby white part at the center bottom is where the yarn came out of it's weave so it's a natural distraction that adds character and you should feel this stuff - soft as butter (OK, you know what? Who has really touched butter like that?)
I also said I had enough to make the afghan out of Epais alone and that might not be true so I have included some of the green shaded Homespun and it fits in pretty darned nicely. I even like the color of the Camo which was so disappointing to me before and the marvelous Vickie's yarn is a great color splash. I hope to have it done by the sale next month. It's going to be the most expensive afghan I ever made and it will break my heart to see it go - but I do want it to go.
Do you see what happens when you keep putting one foot in front of the other? Sometimes you do take some steps backwards but eventually that forward motion gets you to some new and unexpected places.
Yes, it's crochet! Go ahead, oooh and awwww. I was watching episodes of Knit and Crochet Today and Needlearts Studio I have saved on my DVR and they made granny squares (and circles) look pretty easy.
Now, let me say the reason I gave up crochet, which I used to like better than knitting, was because I couldn't get the hang of a granny square. They used to befuddle me. I didn't get how come other folks were getting a square while I was getting a cup. For whatever reason, my brain couldn't understand the instructions and so I gave up crochet. That, and because my ends were always wonky which is still a problem. But with age comes wisdom and so I picked up the crochet hook and decided to give it another shot. Not surprising, the solution was quite simple.
In the first round, make the stitches in the circle and not in the weave.
That was the entire solution to the problem and I made a couple of sample squares that I pulled out and made again and then made these...and of course I purchased a book of crochet motifs. Because what I really need is an excuse to go out and fill in my crochet hook inventory with the missing hooks of the set.
What is really touching about getting this down is that my late mother-in-law loved crochet more than she love knitting. Part of what she left behind is her inventory of crochet hooks including a beautiful wooden one. Joe gave me those crochet hooks and now I can use them for more than just making a trim. She also left behind a huge bunch of small circle motifs and I can now make more of them and also connect them and make them into a blanket or more likely a table runner that we can take from house to house during our Nana Christmas celebration and a little bit of her will go on and when I go north, it can go to her eldest granddaughter and so on and so on. Not that I have anything against male grandchildren, I just kinda know how my M-I-L would think and I want to do what I am sure she would do.
I'm really grateful I tried it again. I don't care what anyone says, I don't think God is in the details, I think God is the detail and whatever and however we conceive Him to be, trust is always rewarded on a timetable we don't always understand. I need to trust more because look what happens.
tand why you're not publishing your patterns?" Yes, she makes it into a question. Melissa is Jewish (insert stereotype here) and the guilt has plagued me. Because one of my patterns is published on Ravelry and has even sold and because there are others playing around in my head. I've taken a look at a photo and then decided just to cast on and knit what I think I see. "Who," says the person with 50 knitting books that she knows of, "needs a pattern?" Sometimes I do. I like patterns - they give me someone to blame. I don't have to take responsibility for a pattern if someone else makes it. I just have to follow it and admire my ability to read or fail at it and say someone
else doesn't know how to write a pattern.
knit something like that.' Oh that Melissa!
about publishing them I just haven't gotten to it and then I know from the example of Hill Harper that time is something we made up and something we have some control over and can accomplish whatever we set our minds to doing. I believe that. I sincerely do.
