January may seem an odd time to blog about a fiber festival I attended in October. But what I want to talk about is not the festival itself–a lovely, low-key alternative to Rhinebeck–but about what I did when I got back. I started knitting almost monogamously. I. know. What a concept!
It all started because I bought yarn in a major way at SAFF. I was inspired by so many projects and beautiful yarns and I threw caution to the wind. I did keep track of what I wanted to knit with the yarn I bought and bought and bought. I made a list on my phone. When I got home I made a list in the beautiful Laine knitting journal I bought from Miss Babs. ( Who doesn’t seem to carry it now, but a search for Laine knitting journal will get you to stores who do.) And I sat and thought a little. How could I justify adding so much yarn, no matter how beautiful, to my already sizable stash? The only answer I could come up with was to knit it. As much of it as I could. To make knitting a bigger part of my life. And I have.
I finished a Shift cowl, a Churchmouse Basic Stocking for my grandson, a Tiny Tassels shawl, a cowl modified from the Stovgaard hat pattern, and a Hayward sweater! Yes, a sweater. For me. And by finished, I mean completed all the steps in the Hayward pattern. It doesn’t quite fit properly and I will be consulting the knitting sages for help. But, it is a garment I could wear if I wanted to. Wahoo! Now, of these FOs, only the Shift was knit with yarn from SAFF. And there has been more stash enhancement since SAFF. And I refuse to feel guilty about that. Stash Enhancement will be dealt with in a future post. Or two.
For now I just want to revel in the finishing. Sitting down and knitting something from start to finish. With almost no distraction. It produces results, guys. FOs! And leads to happiness. Will this change last forever? Highly unlikely. Knitting is my hobby and I get to conduct it the way I want to. For now, I am knitting almost completely monogamously and finishing lots of things. In the future, I may shove WIPs in the corner and cast on like a person obsessed. And that’s just fine.
*Southeastern Appalachian Fiber Festival, held near Asheville, NC at the end of November. Details here.
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