Someone once said to me, “How do you concentrate on one thing with so much yarn around you in the Skipton studio?”
I don’t!
I am always thinking of the next thing to knit or crochet. I love knitting in the winter… then I started writing that sentence and realised I also love knitting in the autumn. Those sunny crisp mornings are just asking for hand knits. Then there are the gloomy grey skies of winter – they definitely call for hand knits too. And now it’s coming into spring and I’m thinking how great a hand knit is for those days where it’s chilly and warm all in one day. The days where you feel like you are never wearing the right coat… or you don’t take one and then suddenly wish you had!
A woolly hand knit is perfect for those days because it regulates your temperature. It keeps you warm when it gets chilly and cool when it gets a little warmer.
Then I thought – summer is when I crochet. But actually… I still knit in the summer too! Crochet is probably my go-to in the warmer months, and I think with the blue skies we had this week my head is starting to think about those warmer days.
Right now my head is buzzing with so many ideas that once again I have a bottleneck and don’t know where to start. Which means I need to calm my head and let the solution come to me. That first new design will flick through my mind and present itself when it is ready.
And the best way for that to happen? Cast on something and knit. So this week I cast on a re-knit: the Tra Mittens pattern in Donegal Twists DK. After finishing sewing up the Max Tank Top pattern last week, I just wanted to knit with this yarn again. It’s such a beautiful yarn to work with.
The Tra Mittens are knitted on dpns, and I do love dpns. I don’t love casting on with them though! Those first few rounds need a deep breath and the acceptance that they will be a little tricky. But once I’m past those first five rounds I love the rhythm of them.
It seems to me that we are forever inventing things to make life easier, but sometimes a few tricky moments make the easier moments taste sweeter. It’s a bit like the car. We invented the car so we don’t have to walk everywhere with heavy bags… but then we drive to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales to go for a walk!
The feeling of that walk – even if we didn’t want to start it – makes us feel fantastic when we finish it. Knitting can be like that too. We might hesitate to start those first rounds on dpns, but when we finish the hat, socks, or mittens – like the Tra Mittens – it feels wonderful.
Another thing people popping into the Skipton studio don’t see is all the admin that needs doing. That also deserves the comment: “How do you concentrate on one thing with so much admin around you?”
That admin list might be as long as my knitting ideas list! But this week I did manage to tick one thing off that list: adding a new yarn to the Purl &Jane family. A gorgeous extra fine merino that is machine washable and beautifully soft. An understated fibre that quietly sits on the shelf, patiently waiting for knitters and crocheters to find it and release its magnificence on their needles. Below is a selection of some of the shades, take a look at all of them here: Extrafine Merino DK.
And while my head is still buzzing with ideas… I think the next step is simple.
Cast on something else and keep knitting.