On Winter Knitting, and not following all the rules

We set a record low here today, and from what I can tell, it's cold all over the U.S. right now. So it seemed like a good time to talk about "Winter Knitting."

I am not sure, however, that "Winter Knitting" really exists.

Granted, that bag I made in July was a pretty warm wool and it might have been a better thing to knit in cooler weather, but it was part of a knit-a-long so July really was the right time to knit it.

I propose that knitting is knitting and that the only honest way to categorize knitting projects is by recipient or purpose: charity, holiday, gift, shop sample, class project, pattern for sale, something fun for me, etc.

If one must knit only wool in winter and only cotton in summer, this places unnecessary barriers to knitting enjoyment.  What if, for example, I had said no to knitting the swelteringly hot bag in July, just because it was wool and not winter?  I shudder to think.  I would have missed out on the fun of my first knit-a-long, the fun of connecting with an out-of-town friend, the fun of knitting with my daughter, the fun of my first felting project, and the literally hundreds of times that bag has been admired when I use it. 

If you want to knit with cotton or linen in winter, do it.  If you want to knit with wool in summer, do it.  If you want to knit something from a 10-year old knitting book instead of the very latest thing, do it. And here's the most important part:

You don't have to feel guilty if you aren't knitting what everyone else is knitting.

There's nothing wrong with knitting the "in" thing.  I finished my 4th Honey Cowl over Christmas break, for example (addicting knitting, plain and simple).  What I am staunchly against is the attitude that if you are not knitting the "in" thing at the "in" time, you are less of knitter.  There is nothing sadder than a knitter who quits because she's been told "all you knit is garter stitch scarves!" and really, all she wants to knit is garter stitch scarves, but she's been bullied by other knitters into thinking she can't cut it in the big leagues.  This makes me so mad! 

Whenever possible, knitting should be fun. 

For me, knitting is more fun when I am knitting what feels right at the moment, for any reason.  Today, with our projected high of 36 degrees, I will spend my leisure knitting time working on a cotton dishcloth and a pair of socks.  I could cast on a wool blanket/sweater/shawl/scarf/hat, and knit it because it would qualify as "winter knitting" or because it's what 972 people are knitting on Ravelry.  Instead, today I will be true to myself as a knitter and knit what I am motivated to knit, not what others might think I should knit.  I encourage you to do the same.

Polonius said it best:

"This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

(Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3)

Honey Cowl. Currently wearing, due to extreme cold!

Actual Knitting Has, In Fact, Been Happening!

Aside from my Cold Mountain lace journey, my current knitting has revolved around some top-secret pattern designing.  It may seem to the casual onlooker as though I'm only knitting occasionally, or even, gasp!, sporadically.  Rest assured that nothing could be further from the truth. Between the swatching and the re-swatching and the adjusting and the swatching again and the finally knitting the thing, well, I've been doing a lot of knitting.

When completed patterns are ready, I promise you'll be the first to know!  In the meantime, here is a small sample of what's been on my needles here at KnitOasis HQ:

Cold Mountain Journey: This month's lace knitting

Showing someone your lace project before it's finished and blocked is a little like showing someone your bread dough before it's baked.  It's gooey and sticky and chewy and a big ole blob of not-quite-something-good. 

Nevertheless, I will show you the progress on my Cold Mountain stole, since I am doing it as part of a Knit-A-Long and that's what it's all about--showing how it's going, even if it looks lumpy and disheveled and like something no one in their right mind would ever want to wear.  I am also overlooking the fact that I am not "caught up" to where I should be if I had managed to knit 15 rows every week so far.  I am, in fact, a little bit behind on the count...

It's getting longer! Note the cowardice displayed in the use of TWO lifelines!

I love all the flecks of color in this KnitPicks Shadow lace weight yarn.

I have to say I am starting to enjoy this project more.  I hesitate to go so far as to say I've got the hang of it, but things that didn't make sense before, make better sense now. (Isn't that a lot like life?  The more you learn about something or someone, the more sense it or he or she makes.)

The length of time of this KAL seemed a little daunting at first, but I am SO glad that I don't have to rush through this.  I have so many other projects in the works right now that I have to schedule "shawl days" and "charity project days" and "new design work days," just to cover all my bases.  It's a good thing I love to knit!

An adventure in felting

I recently took part in a back-to-school education expo.  This being the second year of my participation, I felt better prepared to create a display that would be bright but not too bright, colorful but not overwhelming, and above all to clearly communicate the message I wished to convey:

Y'all come let me teach you to knit!

In my efforts to stream line the display, one of the things that I dropped everything to make (with only a few days to spare--living on the edge here, people) was a felted bowl.  This was my first attempt at knitting a felted bowl, but having felted a bag a few years ago and being currently in the state of euphoria brought about by kicking "behind" on that lace shawl KAL, I thought, I can SO do this.  And I did.  Naturally, I used some scraps of leftover yarn from the bag (I knew it would felt!) and having found a simple-looking pattern on Ravelry, I busted it out.  The result was that I now think that everyone I know NEEDS a knitted, felted bowl. Also, I wish I'd tried it sooner. 

If you've never felted before, let me encourage you to try this project.  It was a quick knit (my son wanted to confiscate it as a hat in its pre-felting stage), didn't use much yarn and the resulting felted coolness of it will make you think you're a Felting Rock Star.