Vision to adventure. Off the beaten path we go.
Take one silk and wool yarn with stretch and add another self-patterning skein and let’s knit to see what happens.
See that spotted brown toy cow? As a child, paint made it match my view of what real cows looked like; more realistic than the herd of a mostly all-the-same toy cows collection. A similar thing happened when knitting a front panel for a child-size V-neck vest – the all-over cable pattern just was, well, boring. Not the yarn, but the sameness. Not quite the texture and boldness of what was envisioned. There sat a skein of blue-jean self-patterned sock yarn. Same weight. Same stretch. What would happen if both were knit together? Pay dirt.
“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.â€
― Laura Ingalls Wilder
Forget me not.
Remember to go forward sometimes means stopping. Or taking a few steps back. The original vest was frogged back to squiggly worms of yarn. I needed to knit and that called for something without thought – not mindless – just straight down and dirty knitting. Rows and rows and rows. How about from the bottom up in one piece without shoulder seams? Yup, that worked.
Tonal yarn knit from the ribbing onward. Joy, no snarls. All amid a journey of cleaning and finding a paper bag stashed away that contained my long-forgotten collection of much-loved and enjoyed toy farm animals that include draft horses, thoroughbreds, cows and calfs, sturdy pigs and a herd of nubby sheep. They all needed scrubbing and so joined the canning jars that will be used for storage (cool and dark) of yarn. The garden is bursting with blooms.
Knitting gives such joy between the planting, thinning, nipping and transplanting. Washing, hanging out things on the clothesline.
Taking the time to listen for what’s next.