Yarn 3, Jen 0

I had a long weekend this weekend and I thought I would take the time to start on some of my "selfish knitting." The knitting gods kicked me in the butt. I guess my slipper knitting and cowl knitting had gone off relatively well over the last couple of months, and it was time for the knitting universe to knock some humility back into me. Here is the story of the most unsuccessful knitting weekend ever, and its happy conclusion.

First, I thought I would use this beautiful Knitpicks Comfy yarn in a beautiful chocolate color that I got to make a sweater out of. After knitting a couple of swatches, I began to think that maybe this wasn't the right yarn for the pattern I had in mind. So I thought, no worries, I will make this beautiful Debbie Bliss vest that I found on Rav. The color would be perfect for these beautiful vining designs. That's a beautiful picture of it to the left. As you can see, I think it is really beautiful. It would have been so pretty if it had worked. After casting on 140-some-odd stitches and knitting in stockinette stitch for 4 inches, I got to the good part! I was so excited! I knit my first row...and the pattern was wrong. I counted my stitches again. I counted the stitches in the pattern again. The pattern was definitely wrong. Not one to give up easily (or to recognize clear defeat when it is screaming in my face) I knitted another row. Nope, pattern is still wrong. Yarn 1, Jen 0.

Ok, so I was down, but not out. While I was knitting those 4 inches for that vest I realized that the yarn was actually much sturdier than I originally thought. Maybe, I said to myself, maybe I could make that beautiful Pearl sweater pattern that I have been coveting for so long. I got all excited about knitting again! I forgot my (very recent) defeat at the hands of Debbie Bliss! I cast on 170-some-odd stitches. At least I didn't have to knit 4 inches to find out the pattern was wrong. Yarn 2, Jen 0.

Now, I have to admit- I haven't double checked the pattern on this one, so it is quite possible that the mistake was entirely mine. But two beat-downs in one day? It was too much. I had to take a break, so Sam and Wicket and I joined Natalie and Abby for a hike at Pilot Mountain. Got some fresh air, hiked around, thawed out a little bit....a good time was had by all.

But the good times were had only for a little while, and then it was back to my battle with the yarn. The fresh air and majestic heights had reinvigorated me. I was ready to take on another project. So I decided to work on this men's scarf that I am making for my brother, AJ. He likes blue, which is perfect because it is such a good color on him. So I tried the Eco-Ways (i think Bernat) Bamboo and soy blend (on sale!!) in a gorgeous cobalt color. I'll make this short- great project, wrong yarn. Yarn 3, Jen 0.


I returned to AC Moore to give them back their blue yarn. Feeling despondent, I looked around for more blue yarn. I couldn't find anything that looked just right. Chris was with me and, sensing my lack of enthusiasm, he grabbed a beautiful gray alpaca blend and said "This is the one I want for my scarf." I had talked about making him a scarf for a while, but had never actually gotten around to it because he is so particular about his clothes and I didn't want to invest a week of my life in making something he wouldn't wear. But here he was, telling me he wanted a scarf, and PICKING OUT HIS OWN YARN. Could it be? I looked at the yarn. I felt the softness of the alpaca and thought it would be great for a scarf. I started to get excited about the whole process allover again, but I was reserving the true excitement until I had a project that worked in my hands. I said, "I don't know if it will work." Chris, always insightful after hearing me whine all weekend about knitting gone bad, says, "You knitters need a hobby with more certainty." So true. He is so right.

Now, at this point in the story I should stop and tell you that this post should be called Yarn 4, Jen 0, because the beautiful men's scarf didn't work in Chris' chosen yarn either. But I don't care anymore. The only way to beat the knitting gods is to keep knitting, even when it seems like nothing is going to work. And, as Chris says, " I just want a scarf." So forget that beautiful pattern until I find the right yarn, and Chris is getting a simple, masculine, ribbed scarf. Who knows? Maybe I will even throw a cable in there. It's the beginning of my comeback.

I promised you a happy ending. Has anyone (besides my mom, who I made explain the pattern to me) seen the Noro striped scarf? It was super-popular a couple of years ago on Rav, but that was a) before I knew about Rav and b) during my first year of law school, when I had, for allCintents and purposes, dropped off the face of the Earth. I am back now. This is such a pretty scarf, and if you want to see all the amazing variations on the pattern that clever people have devised, check it out here. Now, that amazing variegation is achieved by using not one, but two variegated yarns in a simple 1x1 rib. Nothing could be easier. But Noro Silk Garden is unbelievably expensive, so I went searching for options and found Patons SWS. The SWS is thicker than Noro, but very beautiful and well, about 1/3 of the price. I decided to start with a scarf for my father in law, who looks great in blacks and greys. I am using a variegated grey, white, and black yarn and a solid dark grey. I think is will be amazing. I will let you know. Send me good vibes- I really need to chalk up some good knitting kharma.



Also this weekend, I started doing something very very very exciting....I started planning my garden! This is a little bit of self-flagellation, since it is JANUARY and I can't do **anything** in the garden until **at least** the first week of MARCH. But it was so beautiful out this weekend that I thought that I would at least look at the garden book and see what I wanted to do. We learned so much last year from our first garden, which was pretty successful, especially in the tomato and squash department. But this year we are going for variety because if all you plant is tomatoes then around July to start to make new friends just so you can give away tomatoes! So variety is the name of the game. And a continuous harvest. That is the other name of the game. So far, here are the big new superstars that I am planning to grow: Eggplant! Corn! Pumpkins! Cantaloupe! Butternut squash! Winter squash! As well as our oldies but goodies: tomatoes! Lettuce! Spinach! Chard! Green Beans! Yum! So anyone who feels like turning soil and playing with compost come March, you just say the word and I will put you to work and feed you a good dinner!

And one last thing, before I have to go to Immigration Law. Alice was here to visit this weekend and we had a great time! She went to Angelina's Teas with me to check out the amazing selection. I got this incredible Chamomile Vanilla bedtime tea because Chris does not like plain chamomile, and because I really do like vanilla. It is delicious. Alice went all out and tried three teas- maple blueberry, ginger rooibos, and a third one I can't remember now. She also had a cup of chocolate chai tea that smelled like heaven in a cup. This place is so much fun.

Ok, no more wasting time. Thanks for reading all about my knitting disasters and being interested in my silly life.