I knit for all kinds of reasons (just like you, probably.) Sometimes it’s because I have to – we need a class sample or I have bought a new yarn for the store that needs a model, even if I don’t particularly want to knit that model. Sometimes it’s because of the way I feel – I’m nervous about something so I need to do something to calm myself, or I’m scared about something new I’m trying so I need to do something I’m confident about, or I’m at loose ends and I need something challenging to do. Sometimes it’s even because I need something for my “wardrobe” (yes, it deserves quotation marks) – a little black sweater, a neutral cardigan with convenient pockets, a hide-those-five-extra-pounds vest.
And sometimes I knit because I want to make something pretty.
It doesn’t matter if I’m going to wear it with everything, if it goes with jeans, if it’s my color. A pattern will catch my eye, and even though I really can’t justify making it, I just want to. For me, that’s when knitting becomes pure pleasure. It’s about the fibers, about the colors, about the techniques. That’s when I fall in love with knitting all over again, and after all these years.
So I made Typha:
It’s a pretty cowl designed by Kirsten Kapur. I made it in lace weight yarn, Cima from Shibui, a lovely blend of alpaca and wool, in colors that were a little unexpected but played pleasantly together. It’s light, it drapes, and it was fun to make. That’s all it needs to be.
Another, even prettier, thing arrived at the shop this week. Karen’s Waiting for Rain shawl is absolutely lovely in Manos’ Fino, a wool and silk fingering-weight that we just love:
It’s a beautiful design, with short-row lace insertions periodically accenting soothing garter stitch, with a nice wrappy size and fabric. A pretty thing that needs no further justification to exist!
Don’t let the words “short row” and “lace” intimidate you. Karen is teaching this shawl this summer and she’ll get you through the tough bits!
And then you’ll have this pretty thing, too!
