Startitis…that deadly disease that strikes the beginning and experienced crafter alike. It seems like the beginning of each season brings a dangerous epidemic of Startitis the likes that only allergy sufferers understand well, except Startitis is as contagious as flu. Yes, like the flu Startitis can be dangerously infectious. One minute you’re fine and the next you find yourself visiting your yarn/sewing machine/craft instruments with an idea that you are going to do just this one thing, but oh! how lovely is that color and “I have this fantastic idea!” Then you find yourself in the nearest craft store/local yarn store/hobby store with a basket full of several projects and the delusion that you can finish all of them in a week. And no one is safe. Chances are high that if you run into a friend who has it you will develop the disease as well, and vice versa. Sadly, the infection can be transmitted via your electronics too. Many are the times I’ve heard someone talking on their cell about a particular project or showing it on their tablet to a friend and suddenly, anyone within listening/viewing distance becomes infected. And forget about social media. Craft pictures and videos showing the latest Startitis epidemic spreads faster than glitter thrown by unsupervised Kindergarten students.
Not that this happened to me recently, mind you. Nope, all I did was reorganize and clean out my craft closet. I’ve been doing a little spring cleaning and thought it’d be a good idea to declutter my messy craft materials. This involved finding cute little containers for all of my knitting tools, and then my son decided he didn’t need my old green trunk anymore and so he gave that back to me. This led to me going through the stash so I could put it back in the trunk because, guess what, it fits exactly under the first shelf in the closet as if it were meant to be. This, in turn, led to actually touching the yarn and exposing myself to the yarn fumes. Deadly. Next thing I know I’m “taking a break because I’ve been working so hard” and wouldn’t you know it my laptop just happened to be on the breakfast table and opened. Might as well have lunch and do a little net surfing…on Ravelry.
I realize now I should never have clicked on the “hot right now” patterns. Looking back that was my first mistake. The second was clicking on the next page and the next page and so on. Now I’m in deep. Not as deep as I could be, thankfully, but deep enough. And apparently, I will be doing a lot of knitting for my dog. DARN YOU DINOSAUR SWEATER! Fortunately the publication that pattern is in happens to be out of print. Unfortunately, I’m already deconstructing it in my head per the picture. Never a good sign.
Now, I am about 50 patterns in with new additions to my pattern library on Ravelry, and about 3-5 projects on the needles including, but not limited to, a dog sweater, a shawl, and yoga socks…
Have I mentioned I don’t do yoga? Also, it’s spring. I don’t think my dog is going to be happy when I finish this sweater and make him wear it for walks in the afternoon. The upside of that is we’ve had a freakish cold front come in this week with another coming tomorrow. Not that I’m going to have time to finish his sweater by tomorrow but I’m pretty sure my brain has shut down and isn’t listening to another word about it. It doesn’t believe in defeatism.
The big problem is that I’m in love with the shawl. It’s this one:
Wolkenkratzer is my new obsession. The name means “skyscraper” or “cloud scraper”. When we made eye contact on the pattern page I knew it was the one for me. And after looking at all the materials and realizing I wouldn’t have to order more yarn or go to the yarn store I knew it was meant to be. Having just gone through my stash I realized I already had not only the right weight yarn but the right weight almost in the exact colors (though not in the exact yarn brand) in the exact yardage! How many more signs does one need?
And now, Wolkenkratzer will be mine. Or, rather, it will belong to my sick friend in Georgia who needs a little Texas care package to cheer her up in time for her birthday next month. The dog sweater and yoga socks will just have to wait.
Notes about the pattern:
Yarn: I’m using Knit Picks Palette yarn in Whirlpool, Silver, and Jay: 2-50 gram balls each. You use 1 ball each of the Whirlpool and Silver and about 30% of Jay in the first half, then the rest of each in the second.
Needles: size 4/3.5 mm
Pattern: Wolkenkratzer. The pattern is free and is super easy to read and work. I’d say this is probably a perfect pattern for any beginner ready to move into lace/shawl work. Even though the shawl is worked in stripes there won’t be many ends to weave in because you carry the unused yarn up the shawl each time you switch yarns. It creates a neat twisted border which makes it look as if it matches the side border that is created by turning your work automatically. The pattern is quick and so easy to remember so you don’t really need to pay attention to the pattern sheet. The picture directly above these notes is how much I’ve accomplished in about an hour (off and on between kids and life) of work. It’s actually quite a lot of work if you remember that I’m using a fingering weight yarn as well as considering I began this last night. Plus, I’m not a fast knitter so I look at that as quite a bit accomplished.
Today I am not feeling well and plan to stay off my feet as much as possible (stupid PMS cramps) so this is going to stay close, if not attached directly to my hip. With any luck I’ll knock out a good chunk of this today, not that I need to hurry and finish it. But I think I want to make another one in green shades as a gift for someone else next month.
Hope your knitting is going well so far.
May your yarn never tangle and your needles stay full.
xo Jesi
Wicked Twists 