Knitty

One of the things that I haven't done much of over the last year is knit. I like to knit; but I took no enjoyment from it for a while, so I put it down and stopped doing it when the depression started to sneak up on me. I'd look at my yarn stash, sigh, and close the bin without taking any joy from the colors or textures in the box, or without thinking about the possibilities of projects as yet uncompleted.

I picked it up a few weeks ago, and pawed through the box, marveling at the yarn I've managed to accumulate in just a few short years of knitting. I learned how to knit in my late 20s, because I thought it would be soothing. (And it is; when it isn't frustrating the hell out of you.) My S-I-L gave me two and a half skeins of Fun Fur that were left over from a project of my niece's, which joined bits and pieces left over from projects of my own, and yarns I bought on sale with no plan in mind. I decided I could handle making a scarf made with the FF, something that wasn't a pattern per se, just stitches cast on, knitted until the scarf was long enough, and then cast off. Simple.

I made the scarf over two evenings, in about 6 hours, knitting slowly and carefully. It turned out beautifully, fuzzy, warm, and I've gotten compliments on it from friends and strangers alike. I kept it for myself, the first thing I've ever kept for myself of all the things I've knitted over the years, and I'm glad I did.

Encouraged by how well that turned out, I decided that I ought to use up the yarn in my yarn box, finding projects for the bits and bobs left over, and using the other things I bought with no plan in mind. I've forbidden myself to buy any more yarn until the majority of what I've already bought is used up.

I've also tried a few things that were a little more difficult, stretching my skill set a little bit. I made a hat. Red, which is my current favorite color.




There's a few flaws; but each time I make something I've never made before, there's a learning curve. As soon as I finished it, I cast another hat onto the same needles; I sense an obsession in the making.