Mary Oliver

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?"









Friday, January 15, 2010

Soliciting Suggestions

I'm having a knitting problem. I have so many patterns, books, and yarn that I can't decide what to knit. I really want to use what I have but I don't feel like I have a good enough understanding of yarn types. For example, I've found a couple of patterns I like but I'm not sure which yarns would make a good substitute for the yarn the pattern calls for. Remember the Purl scarf I started a few weeks ago? It's a pattern that encourages you to mix and match and yet I couldn't seem to come up with something I liked. I have a huge variety of yarn, but generally just one or two skeins of each type, so I'm limited somewhat to small projects. Suggestions are welcome.

I went to my gyn appointment today. I took the whole day off so I could get some other errands run too; I even scheduled my hair appointment. Highlights and everything. I had also planned to get my driver's license renewed but it turns out they were closed today, so I went to a matinee instead. Seeing a movie on a weekday felt really indulgent. I saw A Single Man, with Colin Firth. I was glad I saw it and Steve was even happier that he didn't have to go! It was a period piece, set in 1962, and beautifully filmed. Sad, but beautiful.

Speaking of Steve, he auditioned for a part in a production of Twelve Angry Men for a local theater group this week and he got a callback. He reads again tomorrow. Fingers crossed!


While browsing the internet, I saw this drawstring bag tutorial over here and it reminded me of the many different bags I used when my girls were little. All sizes and shapes. As a matter of fact, M2 sat down the other night with a bag she still uses that was her library bag when she was going to storytime; she was either two or three years old. She's almost twenty-one and it still brought pleasant memories for us both. I can't remember where I bought it, but I know it was either a yard sale or thrift store purchase. And she's still using it.



Another set of bags we have are a couple of very large drawstring bags using fabric I had used for a birthday party tablecloth. After the party, I decided to use the fabric and made either two or three bags, originally to store the girls' sleeping bags. They both took one when they went to college and still use them as laundry/storage bags. They stand about waist high and hold a lot of clothes. More good memories, as I still remember the birthday parties I used to give for them.

3 comments:

  1. I always appreciate designers recommending more than one yarn. Sometimes they design things with yarns that are discontinued.

    Spinning and plying have given me a better understanding, but I still have mistakes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think I really need to take the time to study what ply, wpi, and all the other designations mean. I know Interweave always gives a great guide in the back of the magazine, plus, maybe the Book of Yarn would be another good resource.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's hard to substitute yarns. I find that even when it matches the little picture in the mag, and when all the wpi, gauge, etc. seems equal, there's the pesky issue of what the fabric will turn out like. I know that happened with the FMC. The yarn I used worked very well except that it was a bit soft and drape-y.

    Knitting swatches helps me a lot but it ain't perfect.

    I liked your 'bag' story. I have lots of drawstring bags around like that, too - for the same purposes. Were they the 'olden-days' backpacks? My kids didn't have backpacks for elem. school.

    ReplyDelete