Conspiracy Theory

Disco C here again with another riveting tale of knitting trials and triumphs. Remember that last post? The one about all that adventuresome learning and excitement of new and challenging goals? F*#@ that post.

Somewhere, in a smoke-filled, dimly-lit conference room, the Lace Czars converge around a slick, rectangular tangle covered with a fantastic lace table-cover. The are examining a pattern, squinting through the smoke and spectacles. "Surely no one will try this pattern without experience." One says, frowning. "No, surely not. No one would dare be so brazen as to attempt an Estonian lace shawl for their first shawl!" Laughter erupts at the very idea. Chortling hur hur hur's fill the room and a stamp comes down upon the pattern: APPROVED FOR CIRCULATION.

Alas, these mysterious shadowy figures had no idea what they were unleashing upon the world or that a simple lace-novice such as myself might innocently stumble upon this pattern and, in my naivete, attempt to posses and conquer it. What no one realized was that this pattern would instead attempt to conquer me. And, in the transition chart, row 9, I had thought it had done just that. But, thanks to the tireless efforts of my compatriot Marie, it would not be that day. Oh, no indeed. Hours of labor later (and with a new lifeline installed) I would go on, I would persevere, I would triumph. The thing about knitting is that you have to accept that there will be mistakes, and even the most seasoned veterans will tell you that it is nearly impossible to complete a project without having to fix at least a couple errors along the way. What separates the truly skilled from the amateurs is not perfect technique or flawless execution, but instead it is the acceptance of making mistakes and the will to overcome them. In many ways being able to fix mistakes is the true mark of an expert, rather than the lack of mistakes in general.

So, while I still strongly advocate knitting from the heart and taking on the world, the moral of my tale and the Quorum of Knitting Czars is to use lifelines whenever you are facing overwhelming odds. They don't call them "lifelines" for nothing.

Until next time, my fellow adventurers!

-Disco C (catch my knitting adventures on my Ravelry page!)

Kiss a llama on the llama?

FOs on parade!

Well... a long blog silence will be filled up with photos! I finished a lot of knitting recently, so I think I'll have to post more than once.



Remember my Veronique cowl? That thing was finished with haste.

Pattern: Veronique Cowl (ravelry link) on Etsy
Needles: 16" Addi Turbos, size 4
Yarn: 2 oz of my handspun, 2-ply merino-tencel from Tactile, light fingering weight

Then there's another handspun project.

Pattern: Butterfly Moebius (rav) from The Knitter's Book of Yarn
Needles: 32" Addi Turbos, size 8
Yarn: 4 oz of my handspun, 2-ply BFL from A Verb for Keeping Warm, about DK weight

Both companies are represented in fiber at LLK!

A bunch of Christmas hats...


And a bunch more to come!

Fearless Knits

Welcome to my friend and guest blogger Cailin!


Knitting, like any craft, takes hard work and perseverance to truly master. I began my exploration of the knitting world last Thanksgiving when I asked my mother to teach me the basics on a lark. Now a little more than one year later I'm taking on Estonian lace for the first time with gleeful enthusiasm. I completely deny all accusations of witchcraft and/or wizardry in achieving this rather modest development and give all the credit to the philosophy of fearlessness.

When applied to my knitting craft, fearlessness is the act of plunging head first into projects of seemingly daunting complexity and difficulty, with tons of new elements to learn such as seam-sewing, cabling, lace, circular knitting and button holes. Each new project is an adventure with new obstacles to overcome, as opposed to exploring the more comfortable regions of garter and stockinette stitch (not that there's anything wrong with that). In each project, there is something to discover and challenge and in that way I've developed a wide range of skills instead of specializing with only a few. Lace items are particularly good for this as they provide a wide variety of challenges and end results so one is unlikely to get bored with it.

Fearless knitting is not without its price, however. My first lace project was about as pleasant as pulling a mule uphill in the mud. I frogged it no less than 8 times. Hours of work ended in bitter frustration and sailor-like vocabulary. I had picked a particularly difficult 16 row lace pattern with different stitches for each row for both the right and wrong sides. For the first few days, this project was a nightmare of frustration. I learned many things though with this first pattern, specifically how lace is supposed to behave and appear during the knitting process and just what yarn overs are. Oh, and of course I also learned the value of life-lines.

Basically, there is a certain excitement in choosing a project that seems intimidating, even impossible at your skill level. Even more appealing still is the sense of accomplishment and triumph in completing something you would not have imagined you could do, and then counting up all the things you learned over the course of the experience. This, my friends, is the true value of fearless knitting. Well that, and being able to show it off of course. So, next time you're thinking of what to knit, try poking around and find something you've never done before, something that uses a different technique, style, material or pattern than you're used to. Something that you'd love to do "if only you knew how". Then dive in, and recruit your local knitting shop or knitter friends to help you along the way, you'll find they're more than likely to be thrilled to help you in your adventure from "if only I knew" to Fearless Knitter Extraordinaire.

-Disco C (catch my knitting adventures on my Ravelry page!)