Swatching, swatching!

Anyone who knows my knitting style (how many are there I wonder), knows I hate swatching. I find it tedious and boring and avoid it when I can. I've made successful sweaters and accessories without swatches. The only time, in fact, when I underestimated my gauge was during a tutorial on sock making. SInce it was only a tutorial, I didn't really care. However, now that I've got a cool pattern for WW socks, and more importantly, am planning to branch out into designing, playing with swatches is going to be more important than ever. I'm starting out small, with cowls and scarves, and think my investment in Elizabeth Zimmerman and Barbara Walker is going to pay off, but I need to know if the lace patterns I'm making up on the fly will work. And I will not do that with a full size project. I'm thinking of designing a soft cowl with chroma worsted and that is a single ply yarn which is not very forgiving of frogging and tinking. Since I want to make at least two sizes available, I need to work out my gauge so i can predict what finished size I'll get. I may even enjoy it. Who knows. Wish me luck. :)

December halfway gone already?

And I've not completed a thing! Rather have frogged stuff. Oh me, oh my, where did the time fly?

Frosty, cake, wool and ginger ale

I love Christmas. Always have, as far as I can remember, since my first illustrated 'A Christmas Carol' - ladybird edition, i think. I love the snow, I love the food, I love the carols and I love the television specials. Peanuts, Grinch, Frosty, Kris Kringle, Rudolph, I've seen 'em all. Almost. And love to watch again and again every holiday season. I have to watch Alistair Sim play Scrooge every year too, --which reminds me to add it to my netflix queue.

I baked my very first Christmas cake this year, using fine champagne cognac instead of brandy. See above- isn't it a beaut?

Work progresses on my test knit shawl. Sadly, I've also decided to add some UFOs to my frog pond. i realise now that super bulky knits just do not look good on a plus sized frame.

Quilting traditions and global patchwork and a lot of rain

Everyone I know knows I knit and love to have several WIPs in hand. however, I must confess to a secret envy of they who can sew. Yes, I put it in an archaic and convoluted form but I long for a sewing machine of my own. I hated hand sewing as a child, so I find my new found love bewildering at times but there you are. Looking deep into what is and deconstructing fabric, stitches and cuts is so much fun. I suppose that is why I am so interested in machine quilting. Yet another way to showcase my quirky self of style. Way back when we were kids, my mum would send her old and worn saris to the tailor to have quilts made of them. They were pretty in a way- mine was of this deep blue silk with paisley/floral patterns on- but not unique except in the sense that no one else I knew had that same sari!

I wonder if you have seen the movie- "How to make an all American quilt". I saw it several years ago and the heirloom quilt, with all the various threads of the subplots neatly sewn in (haha, I put that rather neatly myself) was good to see.

so was the quilting exhibit at the Newark museum.

It seems that rain and I have an old affinity. Half of my stories start with too much rain or not enough of it. I love rain, the wet mist on my face, damp hair, the smell of the earth, squelching through mud with closed shoes on, watching it draw patterns on my window. I love Indian rain, that is, soft and warm and never freezing, never icy, welcome coolness after the summer heat. This cold, freezing rain we get there is too different for me to relate. Too icy for me to like. Too alien for me to embrace. On such days, I curl up with a nice cuppa tea and a good book or a nice warm knit. I cook hot soups and stews. I do not go out.

So it is mildly surprising that I trudged the wet and puddly way to the museum. Of course, I dare not have gone alone. I wouldn't have gone to Newark alone anyway, but the rain, ah, well, it kind of knocks the stuffing out of me sometimes. If it hadn't been for K and C, well, I'm glad we did go. Also, I am glad I was accompanied by accomplished and experienced sewers. I've seen the quilt C made and it is absofrigginglutely gorgeous. Me, I can't sew in a straight line. Maybe with quilting, that wouldn't even matter.

There is a ton of information available on the internet about quilting traditions, in America and elsewhere, and I will not tire out my fingers by repeating it here. sure, we all know that till fairly recently, women were not allowed much, if any, self expression- be it creativity or the freedom to voice their opinions. Where I come from, most still do not. Except in the world of hand crafts.

They do needle point, cross stitch, paint screens, paint pots, bake cookies, thread jewelry...and quilt. They sew their hopes into it. Their dreams. Their frustrations. Their joys. Their souls. Which is why the history of crafting is so interesting. It is also the history of woman kind, of their struggle to find their own identity, separate from the familial relations of wife, mother, daughter and sister. It is a chronicle of zany creativity, of forward thinking, of whimsy even. How may quilts were born of practical necessity and how many were wrapped away in linen and stored, treasured, only to be displayed on special occasions? Labors of love indeed.

In a world that is fast deriding hand made and home spun and history fades into nothingness when faced with the brisk lives we lead, it is a joy to look upon something of the past that has endured. Our patterns come from theirs, recycled by every generation. We the immigrants adding our own histories and experiences to a tradition that, like all good traditions, cheerfully adapts itself to its surroundings in order to survive. I think back at the awe inspiring quilt designed by a Chinese immigrant artist who noticed the stereotyping of her fellow immigrants as either laundry or restaurant workers, and transmuted it into a beautiful quilt. I see the beauty and the intricacy of the work. I also read in it a sense of frustration at the stereotyping and a sense of pride in her own heritage. Of course, there is also a sense of embracing both past and present. But that's my own opinion and the quilt that speaks to you may tell its own tale.

The picture above may speak differently to you. But the quilt, she did speak to me, and that alone was worth the wet and chilly day out.

Reality check

I am embarrassed to say this but last night, we could not find the camera's battery charger. I was cooking dinner at the time (mattar ke parathe, nothing says winter to me like peas!) and my hands were all floury, so did not help the hub turn the place upside down. I eventually remembered that it was next to the TV. He then muttered under his breath, 'there's wool everywhere, wherever I look'. Sheepish looks.

Now, he's generally a fairly liberal guy and he usually doesn't bother me about the housekeeping and whatever money I spend (he knows I keep a fairly strict budget) but I think I need to go on a yarn budget now. After all, with enough wool to knit my way through probably 2013, I should stop at some point, I guess :(

I worked out how much yarn I have by yardage, even if it has been assigned to a project. I lost count after this number because it was exhausting and flat out shocking. Here goes.....66.3 km. Probably only about 70% of that humongous stash! Really? I don't think any more- I'm SURE I have a problem. and yes, I did post about snagging some stuff at the knitpicks sale too :(

Reality check. How much money could I have saved from not buying so much yarn? I'm betting $500 is a too conservative estimate. Especially since I have stuff to save up for! So, starting today, I will not be purchasing any new yarn until my stash drops down substantially. How much more depends on the total number, like I said, I lost count after 66.3 km. So according to my knit meter I have worked 8.4 km this year. I am not liking the stats. Of course, it does not include crochet, but then am not a big crocheter, although my granny square has eaten up 6 balls of yarn so far. Sniff.

And to think I signed up for classes at the lion brand yarn studio in January. Will have to make do with yarn from my stash if possible.