There’s a certain set of people who want you to buy their shit emblazoned with the slogan ‘I knit so I don’t kill people’. Perhaps you’ve seen it on tote bags and buttons, mugs and t-shirts. I am absolutely against it. It’s the kind of hyperbole that is just idiotic. I’ve never killed anyone and I’m not going to start just because someone took my knitting away.
That said, in these turbulent times, I do look to my knitting for a bit of therapy. I enjoy the process, the repetition, the quiet state of calm my mind slips into as my hands take over and fabric just appears.
Not just any knitting will do though. It’s got to be the right knitting. For me, comfort knitting is simple stitches. Garter stitch is good. Stockinette works too.
Of course, not any stockinette will do. As a reformed process knitter, I look to the final product to be useful and attractive too. With my latest cast on, I’ve truly hit the comfort knitting jackpot. (Just in time for the world to go to hell.)
It starts with the yarn. Caterpillar Green Yarns (former name)/Gauge Dye Works (current name) Self Striping yarn in in the Concrete and Tulips colorway.
It’s a self striping yarn where the stripes are not the same length. They call this ‘shawl stripes’ because it’s dyed so you’ve got short stripes at the beginning of the skein. As your project progresses the stripes get progressively longer. The end result is a striped shawl with evenly spaced stripes throughout. It seems complicated because it takes a lot of words to describe. The pictures really say it all.
I’m absolutely loving this. It’s so amazing. Those stripes are perfect and yet they are also one continuous piece of yarn! This project will have exactly 2 ends to weave. The icing on my comfort knitting cake.
And of course, it’s highly portable. All the best knitting is.
The real news here: I am knitting exactly the same thing as everyone else who’s used this yarn. The stripes work with any top down shawl pattern. You could even work bottom up, if you wanted. For me though, I chose the most common pattern, The Hydrogen Shawl.
It’s the pattern written for this yarn by the dyer. I’ve got two more skeins, in different colors. I’ll definitely try more adventurous designs with those but for now, it’s a lovely, soft (it’s an MCN!), soothing escape from reality.
aaahhhhhhhhh.
Just looking at it and thinking about my next chance to pick it up releases a nice warm dose of endorphins!
Mission Accomplished!
Happy Hump Day!
