Of Dedication and Impulse

I finished the Wensleydale(see previous post for specs), and wound the last four ounces onto my own personal storage bobbins.  That's right, Spinners. Moth Heaven uses toilet paper rolls for storage bobbins.  They're not elegant nor technically advanced.  I wouldn't ply from them because there's no way to tension them on a lazy kate, but for letting the singles rest for a spell when the energy is slowly killed by time, they're cheap, available, and fit onto the center of my ball-winder like they were made for the purpose. Had I a skein-winder, I might alternatively wet block the singles by giving them a good soak and then hanging them slightly weighted to dry.  It would be faster, but I'm not in any particular hurry.

What, with this on the needles. I have finished the front neck shaping on the PS136 sweater, and have two rows more to knit before I face the mental hurdle of the i-cord shoulder bind-off, and then on to my very very first steek. There will be bourbon, but not until after I cut. I am intimidated, but I know you guys will support me in this.  I'm still scared, and knitting very slowly so as to not arrive there too soon.

Which is why, of course, I bought brand new yarn at the local Thursday.  I'm just temporarily filling a hole in my consumerist soul.  It could have been a gasoline chugging Turbo engine or blood diamond jewelry, so I congratulate myself on the comparative moral high ground such a shallow impulse has lead me to.  It is Japanese yarn, so I could flagellate myself with the gallons of petroleum that were spent to bring these glorious skeins to my door, especially since it is a  ::ahem:: single manufactured to look handspun.  It's even promoted in the knitting press and catalogs as actual "handspun" (who knows?), and yet I paid for something I might have made myself, especially since I have both silk and angora in the stash.  Just sitting there.  However, this colour of Kochoran (number 10: denim, lime, and sage) has haunted me, and I have always wanted to knit Earnshaw from Jane Ellison's Simply Noro book, even if it will make me look like a dumpling. But is was 30% off.  And the store is closing.  And I'm avoiding a steek.  And I wanted it.

So there.

Comments

[--Deb]

Sometimes, you've just got to do what you've got to do! And your handspun looks fab.

[stephanie]

The particular duty to assist a closing yarn shop to offset its losses trumps all other concerns with regard to consumerism and petroleum usage.

[Beth S.]

The store is closing?! Say it ain't so!... :-(

I would have thought steeks were old hat to you! I'm surprised to hear this is your first one... but also comforted, too, 'cause I haven't tried it yet either. ;-)

Nothing wrong with your storage system! It's ecologically responsible, you know. ;-)

[Anne]

This is probably a dumb question, but... How do you get the singles back onto the bobbins for plying?

[Suzanne V. (Yarnhog)]

Oh, geez. Steeks. I don't have the guts. I will be watching with trepidation and pulling for you every step of the way.

[Wanda]

The Wensleydale yarn looks lovely. I'd almost forgotten about the PS sweater. It is looking great. Can't believe you've never done a steek before, not that I have, but I assumed you'd done so.

[Romi]

Oooooooh! Your handspun is *gorgeous*!

[Michele]

You can do it! I may not be as prolific a knitter or as expert as all of you awesome knitters, but I've done some steeks and it's not bad at all :) Knitting doesn't want to ravel sideways. I actually even did one where you cut the arms and neckline ala Philosopher's Wool (www.philosopherswool.com)

Be sure to post photos :)

[Sharon]

Hey, that Wensleydale is to die for! Your spinning looks great. I recently found you in a search for the perfect argyle and I am now working on the Arrrrgyle sock! LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing such a cool graph. So, did you end up using two strands on either side of the skull for that diamond or did you just strand it across the back? Perhaps this wasn't the best idea for my very first argyle, but damn it! I couldn't resist it. ;0)

And, steeks are really not a big deal at all. Once you cut you will be shocked how well everything stays together. It is the anticipation that's the killer. ;0)

I am afraid I had to hit a 35% off sale yesterday......oh God! I even waited until the last hour hoping they would be all out of Kidsilk Haze...oh no! They had all the colors I lust after......they are now mine. Poor poor pocketbook.

[Melanie]

Out of interest, what steek management technique are you going to use? Sew? Crochet? Cut 'n hope? I ask because (once I redo the neck shaping) I, too, will be attempting My First Steek. Pattern calls for a sewn steek but I'm pondering doing a crochet one instead.

(I've been avoiding this by knitting socks and starting another simple top-down raglan. Isn't displacement activity grand?)

[Charity]

Nuff said! And what a lovely choice of indulgence! :0)

[Helen]

Ooooh, your first steek? You have my admiration. I'm too scared to even try anything that considers a steek.

You'll do fine. :)

[Tonia]

I know that you will do fine with the steeks, but I am a chicken. I always split for the arm holes so I can avoid the steeks.

Get yourself a niddy noddy. It is a cheap skein winder and you can get them in different sizes. That is what I use to wind my hand spun yarn into skeins. Or you can always use the hand/elbow technique.

[Shannah]

I always like to think that after I finish a project like, say, winding the last four ounces of something onto toilet paper rolls, I deserve a little something special like, say, Kochoran... so it's a celebratory thing, right? Worth wasting a little petroleum for? Hmmm...

(This from someone who once spent her last remaining dollar on a canvas for painting and then had to beg for food. But it was so IMPORTANT that I have canvas to paint on!)

[jen]

lovely WIPs!

[Risa]

I love your storage bobbins. I use the same thing. Apparently enough people do that someone along the way sold ends that you can put onto the toilet paper roll so that it would fit on a kate. i have a set but can't remember where the heck I bought them.