Process

Knitters often talk about being either a process knitter or a product knitter, and I think most knitters are a mixture of the two. The only true process knitter I ever witnessed was when I was on a church council. One member knit a garter stitch scarf in a multi-colored yarn every meeting. When she got to the end of the ball of yarn, she would rip the scarf, winding the yarn back into a ball, and then she’d cast on and do the same scarf over.

I have to enjoy the process to enjoy the product, and each type of project has points where I really feel I’ve made progress. In knitting a top-down sweater, getting past the division of the sleeves from the body always boosts my mood. There are so many dang stitches on the needle before that point, and it seems like I’ve been knitting forever what must be a very small part of the sweater. But here knitting Vodka Lemonade, since the collar is already done, I’d guess the sleeve-body division is a good third of the knitting. Excuse the wonky “styling” of the collar. Becoming a photo stylist should not become a career goal of mine.

Next point is getting to start the lace motif that runs up the front edges and down the center back. I still have a little over 3 inches of mostly stockinette to get to that point, so I think my Netflix streaming queue is going to come in handy.

I’ve already started to think about what sweater I want to knit next. This is not an easy task. I really want to use the purple Venezia worsted (70% wool/30% silk) because I’ve had it a long time. But I can’t decide on a pattern (plus Vodka Lemonade is rather purply). Perhaps the Windsor cardi by Amy Christoffers? It calls for dk, but at 20 spi, so I think the Venezia might work (the spi the yarn label suggests).

I really want to knit up the pink (Quince and Co. Lark in Rosa Rugosa), which was a Christmas gift last year from my parents, but the pattern I’m leaning toward, Vignette by Amy Herzog has perhaps a little too much stockinette (the entire back) to follow a mostly stockinette sweater.

Knitting up the green (Wool of the Andes in Fern) would provide a color missing in my wardrobe. But I can’t decide between Acer cardi by Amy Christoffers or Crane Creek by Sandi Rosner (I already have both patterns).

Decisions! Decisions!

When I was getting out those three yarns to photograph, I found this:

That’s Blue Moon Fiber Arts BFL sport in Thraven. It’s really pretty (but I’ve had it the shortest amount of time, so I feel like I would be cheating the older yarn to knit it next). I think it might work for Pomme de Pin cardi by Amy Christoffers (I think it’s safe to say I’m due to knit a cardigan by Amy Christoffers in the very near future).

Please feel free to throw in your two cents about my anguished process!