Saturday, December 15, 2007

Coming Over to the Dark Side...

I have long been ambivalent about knitters who work with really big needles, and really fat yarns, and boast about how they can crank out a scarf in an afternoon.

Somehow that has never seemed quite sporting to me.
I guess I considered that to be knitting for those with more money than dedication to the knitting arts.

Maybe it's a been a bit of envy on my part - I don't usually spend the money to buy the pricey yarns that knit up so quickly.
So, that may be a part of it, I don't know...

But to me, knitting has never been about "how quickly can I whip something up."

Knitting and instant gratification have always been two very different concepts to me.

Until yesterday...




An odd confluence of events brought me to this point...

I began yesterday, with a trip to Knitch to return some extra yarn.* I had told myself on the way into the store that I was going to return it for store credit on my account, and that I was going to leave the store without looking around at anything. I could always come back at a later date and browse...

Is it my fault that there was the most gorgeous yarn display on the table right by the exit door??? (Knitch, you're not playing fair!) I allowed myself to stop and admire for a few moments, then I steeled my resolve and left without it.

But it stuck in my head like a big shiny diamond.
So gorgeous...

Then a few short hours later, I learned that a good friend of mine was celebrating her 40th birthday.
(There seems to be a lot of that going around lately... A lot!)
I've known Hil since our college days - and to spare you all from doing the math, I'll just come out and admit that I met her 21 years ago.

After much deliberation - would she like it? would she not like it? - I put two and two together and decided to make her a scarf... Lucky for me I knew just the yarn to try to get it done by the party on Sunday night...

Sigh...


Gah! Isn't that just gorgeous??? It's Rowan Biggy Prints in the mermaid colorway, and it makes me drool just a little looking at it...
It's like porn, for knitters!

And it knits up faster than anything I have ever made...
Sitting down last night to watch A Christmas Story** I found that I was two-thirds of the way through the scarf before the movie ended!

WIP - Mermaid Scarf


Knitting at the speed of light...

I can see why this is so addictive...




*It was yarn that I had not needed for a project that I've been working on, and which I may show here at BFC, once I get it blocked.

Or I may not.

It's a scarf for Bubba's cousin, whose name I drew in the BubbaFamily Gift Exchange.
Said cousin *lurves* UT football to an almost embarrassing degree. He's one of those guys whose veins run deep Orange. Anyhoo...

I find that orange is a difficult color for most of us to wear, and the UT Orange is a spectacularly ugly shade which no one looks good in. (Now I'm cowering, 'cause if any UT fans are reading this, I'm in for an earful, I know...) When I realized that I had extra left over, I realized there was no way I was keeping it...

**I'll spare you from listening to me blather on about how much I love this movie. But it's a WHOLE LOT...
One of these days, I am totally going to visit here.

Even if I have to go by myself.

Which I probably will have to, since no one I know wants to go with me...

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

And just what in the world is so UGLY about UT orange? It is the most spectacular shade of any color! I will allow you just one guess as to who this is....with a hint, my guest bathroom. How about returning a persons e-mail every once in awhile! Hope all is well.

rohanknitter said...

Oooh, pretty pretty.
We must have been bitten by the same bug:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12564460@N00/2111979374/

I even had to buy the big needles to go with it!

Thimbleanna said...

I find this whole post very funny when viewed with the fortune in your blog banner LOL. You tried this big knitting and you liked it. It looks yummy!

Misty said...

it is so beautiful. I am such a surface knitter... I need to get an instructor once the new year hits...

Debbie D said...

Anything in Rowen is drop dead gorgeous. I know she will love the scarf.


I thought any UT fan had orange blood running through them.


If you do go to that house, please refrain from putting the tip of your tongue on the fence post.

MéLisa said...

I LOVE that mermaid scarf!!! & You are right UT orange is not a shade found in nature!

Christina said...

Wow, that's beautiful yarn! (And scarf!)

This is why I stay away from the yarn stores! After Christmas I'm going to check out Knitch, though. I've never been there. (And I'm in the ATL area.)

Chara Michele said...

Oh that scarf looks gorgeous! Hmm... maybe I need to buy yarn like that? I am the slowest knitter ever :)

Anonymous said...

Evil yarn shops putting the lucsious stuff by the door. And I'll go with you. How about if we meet up there? We haven't watched A Christmas Story yet this year. That may be tonight.

And I'm speed commenting - loved Scheckey's bag. Crack me up!

Rebecca said...

my problem with fat yarn is that it makes me look even fatter. i have one sweater, store-bought, that was likely knitted on 13 or 14 or so. fat yarn makes anyone appear 20 pounds heavier. that's why i avoid it.

ian would accompany you to that house. he's a major fan of ACS. somehow i managed to escape watching it with him for several years now. i think i hid the DVD so he's sort of out of luck.

but we always reference those Bumpass hounds.

flurogoddess said...

I scrolled through and saw the pic and thought, "Hmmmm that looks like the scarf I made for Mum in a super-hurry"

It was in a funky blue marl though, rather than the green and blue.