Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Another day, another lesson learned...


I've run out of the inspiration I need for a leaflet I'm working on, the weather is cold, cold, cold and grey and that ball of sari silk is like an ember glowing hot pinks, orange and gold. I wonder, I thought, if I could warm myself with it? So. What to do. Well, it's got some largish lumps and some very thin bits, but most of it is reasonably even (see the weasel-words? Am I capable of judging these things?). It has a gentle halo of loose fibres, it's probably not suitable for heavy use, has no elasticity. For no good reason at all I decided to try a simple lace pattern first. I found the silk surprisingly easy to knit, even the thinnest sections are coherent enough to cope well with my best loose-ish tension on 5.5mm needles. I finished a section of the pattern quickly enough – it's only seven rows. And realised just how foolish I've been. Even a simple lace pattern requires more regularity than this silk possesses. Duh. OK, what else to try? Something really simple. Not garter stitch, I don't like the way the purl blocks of the lace look really solid. I think a rib of some sort, perhaps with a YO or something to open it up a bit.

What currently intrigues me, though, is that I am starting to like the colours. I HATE PINK. I was a girl, so I had to have a pink bedroom. The spare bedroom was blue, I wanted it more than anything in the Known Universe for several years. When I was old enough to know my own mind and make it known (about 9) I demanded a PURPLE bedroom, much to my parents' dismay. I demanded it more loudly, and they agreed... but somehow nothing darker than the lilac undercoat ever appeared on the walls. I wuz robbed. But now, when I see the different shades of hot pink melding with orange and gold flowing down from the needles it's "Wow! What amazing colours!" instead of memories of girlie curtains. And I feel all the warmer for it. Dare I wear it? Perhaps it could be my folk festival scarf this year :-)

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