Why do we do projects we don't like? The year before last, I'd knitted 3 triangle shawls. I don't really like them because they're not flattering to my figure (like I really need anything to point to my butt) and I get bored with them way before they're as wide as they need to be. So basically, I don't do them.

So what did I cast on for 2 days ago? A triangle shawl. Damn that Emma. The movie's been playing on cable a lot recently and they're all wearing these shawls of various sizes and constructions. Feh. I've also been wearing one of my cashmere shawls ( Truly Tasha's Shawl) a lot at work, and I want one in a different color ... and not in garter stitch. So I'm knitting a very plain triangle shawl in some black Alpaca/Shetland that's been sitting around for a year or so. I had spun it for a sweater, but I don't think there'll be enough. It's simply stockingette - my lumpy bumpy spinning gives it interest. I may border it with yarn of a different color, depending on how big it is. Basically it's cast on 3, selvedge stitch, yarn over, knit (turn) selvedge stitch, yarn over, purl... ad infinitum, until I run out of yarn (I have a pound and a half). Will I have the patience to finish it, once each row starts taking more than 5 minutes to complete? Only time will tell.

Yes, I could have woven it, but I don't yet have the balls to cut up that much of my handspun, especailly when I'm not totally sure I want a shawl. At least I can rip this out again.

I think I'm having a rediscovery of simplicity. Generally when I used to start a project, I'd come up with a design concept, find some yarn to suit my purpose, look for a stitch pattern or draw one, gauge, etc... Now I just sort of cast on and let the chips fall where they may. Hmm, this could be a sock, or it could be a glove, or it could be a shrug ... we'll see. And I'm not feeling any interest in stitch patterns. Every now and then we all need the mindlessness of stockingette. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it - it's just my hands moving - like people who drum their fingers without noticing. Plus I'm having a "function over form" phase. I don't care what it looks like as long as it does what I need.

And sometimes, simple is best. I saw my plain-old boring cashmere scarf again last night. It's not perfect, but it's still the best thing I've ever woven. So I think it'll be a lot of plain weave and stockingette this season for me.

(It's going to be a long winter and I'm going to go through this every damn time I see it. Someone suggested I should just "borrow" it and not give it back. Not only would I not do that, but I think its owner is particularly fond of it, and not likely to let it out of sight. I can't believe I gave that away. I don't particularly regret it, I just don't believe it. Apparently, that was one hell of a crush.)

I hit the wall on Saturday at the garage. I couldn't spin any more. It didn't help that my thumb cracked (dry skin). I don't even have any grease wool to spin as therapy. So I've started knitting the gloves. I have a real problem making things for people who are larger to me. (Luckily, this doesn't come up very often.) I'm following the pattern, but the gloves look odd and they don't fit (me). I'm sure they're fine. The pattern I'm basing them on is one I've used dozens of times.

I'm also up to the part where I was planning to insert a small fair-isle section, for visual interest, but I still haven't charted anything out. (feh!) I'm trying to come up with an interesting design, that isn't too swishy. I guess, I'll just break out the graph paper and doodle. That seems to work best for me. Nothing I've seen in any of my books has really appealed to me. (I was debating on the Greek Key pattern, but it's too recognizably ethnic. It's Greek - y'know like on the diner coffee cups. LOL)

Naturally as I've been going along, I'm realizing I won't have enough yarn, so I guess it'll be back to the spindle.

I nearly freaked because I worked late last night and forgot to bring home some fiber. This mad spinner thing has me ensnared! I couldn't bear the thought of losing a whole hour of spinning time. But I rummaged through my stash and I had brought a couple of lengths of that fleece home, so I had enough to get me through my morning bus ride. (This sounds like one of those insipid {insert list name here} posts.) I've gotten used to spinning for an hour on the way in, filling up the spindle at lunch, plying it off on the way home, and skeining & setting twist when I get in. By the next morning it's dry and goes in the pile. 65 yards of 2-ply a day isn't bad - and I never have to make time to sit at my wheel; it's all done during my commute/lunch. At this rate I'll be done spinning for the gloves on Saturday (260 yards of black and 50 yards of grey should be more than enough), so I guess I should start thinking of a pattern.

So I've been a mad spinner lately. I plied off 101 yards of 2-ply qiviut Monday, I spun 50 yards of grey 2-ply Corrie yesterday, and I've got, I guess, about 65 yards of black 2-ply waiting to be plied on my spindle now. I want to make gloves (just have to figure out how much homespun I'll need ... having a pattern idea first might help). I figure at least 4 spindlefuls of black and one of grey. I can design the pattern when I'm closer to having that amount.

The qiviut came out really cool. It's very fine (the 101 yards probably weighs about .5 oz - my scale at home didn't register it, I'll have to bring it to work to weigh it.) and since the qiviut was combed & I spun worsted, the yarn is shiny. (It will bloom more with some abuse.) So I have 2 more bags of qiviut to comb and spin, but it's gotten pushed aside for this glove fetish.

I think I've finally gotten a picture of that cashmere scarf. It's a group picture, so you won't be able to see detail well, but it's better than nothing. Unfortunately I've still got about 20 pictures left on the roll, so it will be a while until I can develop it. (Bloody thing IS really nice - I can't believe I gave that away.)

I hate looking back on things and realizing I've spelled something wrong in Hungarian - or used the wrong ending because I haven't learned the right one yet. Bloody difficult language, that. And I'm terrible at dictation. I still don't hear all of the vowels properly, so I can't transcribe accurately.

What does this have to do with fiber? Nothing. I'm not doing anything fibery at the moment.

Jaj!

Okay - I'm going to try again. New camera, different brand, different film speed. I took pictures of my brother's plaid scarf over our new living room furniture. Let's see if these come out. I'm also meeting up with the recipient of the cashmere scarf to go riding on Sunday; hopefully I can get pictures then. It may be too warm for a scarf though - they're forecasting mid-60s! In the meantime, I'll send some others off to you guys for some volunteer digital transfer.

At the moment, I'm just working on getting my distaff in the mail on time. :-)