Monogamy and the Polycrafter

Let me start by saying that knitting, spinning, quilting and the other things I do make it harder to remain monogamous than it has been for me to remain monogamous in the main relationship in my life. That's probably a good thing. Most things I've read and heard lately stress the term "monogamous". Everywhere I turn, some asks, "Am I a monogamous knitter?" Well, since I don't have every set of needles occupied with yarn, yeah, I am a monogamous knitter. I finish one knitting project before I start another. No, I'm not crazy - I'm cheap. While I have all kinds of knitting needles in lots of sizes, it seems that whenever I stray from the one project, it encompasses buying another set of the same size, I'm already using. This really didn't hit home until I did a needle inventory and realized how many circular size 2 needles I have. Given the cost of needles these days, I'd rather spend my money on yarn or fleece.

While a lot writers, bloggers and podcasts emphasize "monogamy", I think the magic weasel word is "polycrafter". By no means do I have just one project going, so I'm not strictly monogamous. I have one project per art/craft! So, right now I'm knitting a pair of socks (Sugar Maple pattern from 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes in Kaffe Fassett sock yarn by Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line); spinning Sally Sue (yes, she was sheared first); long-arm quilting Tesselating Cats, designed by Jinny Beyer; and piecing another quilt. Again, I rationalize with weasel words and differentiate between long-arm quilting and piecing a quilt as separate arts/crafts. I don't think monogamy is supposed to involve this much rationalizing or the use of weasel words. So the magic word is polycrafter, not monogamy.

February Lady Sweater

I recently signed up for a KAL (knit-a-long) on ravelry. I've always avoided knit-a-longs because I tend to get competitive and get mine done first! I don't know if I did this time or not, but it didn't take me very long to make this sweater. It's an enlarged version of a baby sweater designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman for the Knitter's Almanac (it's for February, hence the name). I used a merino, alpaca, cashmere blend I bought on sale at a yarn shop about 50 miles from here. It's nice and warm, which is a real plus because it snowing outside my window right now!

Lace Scarf

I just finished this lace scarf using the yarn I won at the North Country Fiber Fair about a month ago. I also won a pattern, but I really wanted to use my own pattern "Reversible Lace Scarf" and see how it worked with lace yarn. This is a lace-weight merino used double-stranded. It's a combination of pinks, browns and little yellow. Despite all the holes, it's will be warm, soft and snuggly - not at all itchy.

Two New Friends

Here are two of my new friends. They have many of the qualities for which I strive: They're attractive, lightweight, hardworking and well-balanced. The spindle with the folk art is from Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber who use the name "mainewoods0418" on eBay. The other is a walnut hand spindle from Aubeline's Spindidley who use the name "spindidley" on eBay. I have other hand spindles, but these two are my new favorites. Incidentally, as much as I'd like to, I can't take credit for the fiber - that too is from Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber.

I had a horrible experience on eBay this spring and so I haven't used it much since. Now, when I do, I am very cautious about the people and shops I do business with. The sources for my two new friends really went "above and beyond" to restore my faith in eBay. For example, the post office delivered the walnut spindle in a water soaked package into my post office box - at least I hope it was water. Anyway, the finish appeared ruined. This spindle is so well-balanced, even though Spindidley offered a refund or a replacement, I really wanted this spindle and just wanted to know how to make the finish look as great as it did when it left their hands. They were happy to comply and now it looks great!

I'm really looking to start making my own spindles at some point and I only hope I can do as well as these.

Velvet Curtain Cabled Gauntlets

This is my version of Kirsten Hipsky's Velvet Curtain Cabled Gauntlets. I used yarn I spun from dyed pencil roving. I am still intrigued by the dyeing process that was used in the roving, combining green and turquoise in various amounts throughout. I also came up with a much different gauge because I tend to spin on the fine side. So, instead of the 30 stitch cast on, I used 56 stitches and then increased to 60 after a 1/1 rib. Even with the finer gauge these knit up quickly. Since my office/studio is on the northwest side of the house on the lower level, it gets cold. I wear fingerless gloves in the wintertime to keep my hands warm, even while typing, sewing, spinning or knitting.

Frost Warning

The weather report this morning included a frost warning for tonight. Given how cool our summer was here, some of my glads are just now starting to bloom, while many of my black-eyed Susans are almost finished. I went out first thing and photographed my favorites, just in case we run out of sheets to cover everything up this evening.

Last fall I bought a multi-pack of different kinds and colors of glads. There must have been 100 bulbs because I was starting to consider digging up the back lawn to accomodate all of bulbs. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to (after all he went through to put in the lawn, I'm not sure what my spouse would have done had I dug it up!) I have them sorted (sorta) by color and these in the photograph are on the pink mound that is shared with a pine tree and a cedar tree. Whenever I see glads I think of my maternal grandmother, who had rows of glads in her garden - there were always plenty for bouquets.

Since I am a black-eyed Susan, I'm more than a little partial to those flowers. This year I have three different kinds in the garden. The one I have photographed below was a gift from one of our neighbors who didn't have room for it in her garden and she was afraid it wouldn't survive the winter in its pot. I am always ready to provide a home for black-eyed Susans and promised to give these a good home.