Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.

Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.

This was an interesting topic.  I had already made a list on paper some time ago of things I wanted to try that for whatever reason I had avoided in the past 37 years of knitting.  Some are more patterns but there are a few techniques.

I really want to try entrelac.  I have no real idea as to why I have never done it before but it really is starting to creep into my field of vision.  I'll probably start with a simple scarf (thanks to Jordan) but I saw a beret/tam that just screams for me to make it.

I also want to take a colorwork class.  I know how to work in colorwork but my tensions are all wrong and I cannot use both hands to hold the threads.  I think that once I take the class I will feel more comfortable with more projects.

I also want to make one of EZ's patterns.  I have had a few of them in my queue for an eternity.  The BSJ always looks so wonderful when I see them finished.  There is one at USS that I love and I pick it up every time I am there.

The biggie for me is learning to steek.  I am PETRIFIED of knitting a garment and then cutting it on purpose.  That seems as foreign as dropping a stitch on purpose (in the Clapotis) was.

So what about you?  What has eluded you?

Revisit a past F/O

Today's topic: Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of holes. Or maybe that jumper that you just didn’t like that much…

The project I will pay tribute to is the dress that I made when Megan turned two. I had purchased the Kids' Knits book when I was pregnant with her but never made any of the items. December was perfect to start a project for her. I had some Roly-Sport yarn that was so soft and the gauge was perfect.

This was the first time that I had ever attempted to modify a pattern. Historically, I am one of those knitters that makes no modifications, except for length, to a pattern, so this was a huge leap. Being incredibly anal...I pulled out the graph paper and worked up the stitches and the modifications. I also decided to make short sleeves so that Megan could wear it longer, since her birthday is Valentine's Day.

Where is the dress now? It is safe in a rubber made tough tote with other clothes that belong to Megan waiting for her first child to be born. I had once thought that she would be the first daughter to have babies, but Stephanie proved us all wrong. So, we wait for the time when Megan can lovingly take out her baby items and force her daughter to wear the stuff that I made for her.