Gift Knitting.....My Favorite....and Bad Yarn Venting

 The end of October.   At the end of October I usually think about those gift projects that I should have started....a couple of months ago.   A few I did start but blithely abandoned the projects for something.....more exciting.   No more time to procrastinate.

At least one hat is in the queue.  Instead of finding a pattern, I am going to figure out a pattern to go with the yarn I want to pull from my stash.   The intended gift knit will be done from a strand of Rowan Sock in grey tones and Knitpicks Aloft Super Kid Mohair in Carbon.   The goal is a 1 x 1 ribbed hat that is warm and easy to fold up and stuff in a pocket.

Swatching has to come first....and must be done.   Roxanne Richardson teaches a new to me method of swatching.....viewable on YouTube.  Tayler Earl on Wool, Needle, Hands showed this technique and referenced this video.  My first reaction was .....what????   Practice made...my swatch much better and I am a convert.

This morning I cast on and knit the swatch for the hat. Part of the goal was to decide whether to use the Carbon or Ash greys in the mohair.  The other goal was to doublecheck the fabric I thought I was getting to make the hat.   I started using Size 3's on the swatch and toward the top shifted to size 2's.   

My natural preferences lean towards the tighter knit but...the looser knit, I think, is a better match for the project.  I think I will do a test hat before this one.

My yarn vent.   For me, one of the joys of knitting is the tactile experience of the yarn.   I just gave away slightly more than I 10 gallon bag of Cascade Heritage Sock and Cascade Heritage 6 ply.   Others may enjoy this yarn.  I do not.  It split.  It split a lot.  The texture was okay...but....the rest.  Nyet.   I did three pairs of socks and decided life is too short to knit with yarn one hates.  Bye bye.

Where have I been?

 Retirement....getting used to it....is more of a challenge than I thought it would be.    When times are tough, the tough buy yarn.  My stash has expanded....and I am further from its' center.  Oh well.

Watching knitting blogs...and spending time on Instagram...has been tremendously inspiring.  Learning new things has been a joy...that moment when the new technique works.....

YouTube podcasts to see:

• A Lovely Yarn
• Wool, Needles, Hands
• Danish Musings
• Colorado Knitter
• Nerdy Knitter

The list above shows my current favorites.  I have learned a lot from watching podcasts.   Knitting ideas, resources, and techniques are the best take aways.   Being able to hear about what other people are doing is interesting as is seeing their work.   The wonders of our age!  Not kidding.....YouTube has been such a resource! 

What is also interesting for me, arising from part of my educational past, is how I evaluate the presentation quality of the podcast.   Some presenters -particularly Tayler Earl of Wool, Needles, Hands - are engaging and draw me in even when what is being presented is not something in which I am particularly interested.  Others.....some I turn off with a few minutes. Yet more I will watch an episode or two but realize that I dislike the program even to skip over any further offerings.   The first time I watched a particular podcast the presenter spent much of the time complaining about dog sitting.   Hoping it was an off day, I watched another episode.   Hmmm.    My first impression was not wrong.  Fortunately there are so many other choices.

Craftsy and Domestika are two course sites that feature many good classes....knitting and many other topics.   Before I retired, I bought classes on sale.  Now, I have the time to do the classes.  I am slowly working through my list.   Being able to play....and replay...sections of the videos has been great.  So many things to learn!

Now that I have time.....I can do this.   This is a great opportunity and I am grateful for the time and the space.