Spring Colours

Well, I was feeling that I may want to try to knit something other than hats.

That's when I found two balls of Opal yarn, shown off with a swatch knitted up in the shop. Oh, I really loved the way it made patterns all by itself!

But I got the impression that the self-patterning only worked on small-scale garments - socks, a kiddie's jumper. 'Why didn't they make a "big" version of it?' I asked myself, followed by 'How could I make use of it anyway?'

So, I thought I could make use of it by incorporating it into a jumper as a feature panel or stripe.

I got some solid colour wool that matched colours that were in the Opal - purple, dark green, light green, and a pale beigey-cream. The purple will be the main ground colour.

The colours remind me of spring or autumn crocuses, so I will call it Crocus.


It may be ready by Spring - the end of Spring, perhaps?

I don't have a pattern, specifically. It's going to be A Big Adventure.

Retail Therapy

We shopped.

My younger son (JJ, age 23 – not to be confused with J, the cat) came with me, as I had offered to knit him a beanie, and he was to choose the wool. We got a skein of Katia Nepal in blue/mustard/cream shades, and then I couldn’t resist some Katia Sherpa in cranberry with flecks for a hat for myself. Katia is a Spanish product; those are pure wool.

The Sherpa is still not a suitable yarn for the Bakers Boy hat – remember, the one that started this all off?

JJ was amazed at the range of wool available. He got all inspired by the colours, the textures, the possibilities, so we invested in some learn-to-knit kits and books for him, and another skein of Nepal, this time in reds/oranges/browns.

That was not the end of the treasures snaffled. There was some chenille-type yarn which I couldn’t resist. Did I mention I’m a sucker for texture? Soft, so soft …

I’ve started JJ off on some spare yarn, one with a more conventional texture. I’m not a suitable teacher – I knit funny. More on that later …

Just Like Riding a Bicycle ...

They say it's just like riding a bicycle. You'll remember how to do it. Fine. But it presumes you know how to ride a bicycle in the first place!

I have done something extraordinary - for me, anyway.

I have taken up knittting.

I do try lots of different hobbies and crafts. This is one I tried in the early 80s, but didn't do very well.

I can remember having to do a stitch sampler at school - first year high school. I was utterly hopeless at it. My only available mentor was my mum, who couldn't really help me learn.
She had her own unique style of knitting, as she's a left-hander, and of German background, so it's a sort of "continental" style.

She did help, though. I remember she ended up knitting most of the sampler for me! My teacher never commented on the radically different stitch style or the marked improvement in quality. I vowed I would never pick up sticks again.

Well, what happened now? I was lazing around after the mid-winter bonfire at the Collingwood Childrens Farm, and browsed through our local magazine style paper. There was a knitting pattern in it - for a Bakers Boy hat. I really liked the look of it, and I thought "how hard could that be?" It couldn't be any harder than writing a computer program, or doing 3D animation (which is what I'm doing at college at the moment)

So, off to the store to buy wool.