Monday, May 01, 2006

what was i thinking?


merino aran
Originally uploaded by Needleworks, Inc..
A very wise person once told me that you should never buy an article of clothing (dress, skirt, pants, whatever) unless you already have the shoes to wear with it. It is a well documented fact of my life, that many cute outfits have hung in my closet for up to a year with the tags still attached for lack of the perfect pair of shoes to complete them.

I now cling to this little bit of advice unequivocally. Everytime I try on a dress, I think, "Do I have shoes to wear with this?" It's true. And if I don't, I put it back.

Why then, do I not apply this same bit of logic to yarn? When I see Debbie Bliss Merino Aran on sale for $4 a ball, do I not stop myself and think, "Do I have a pattern I can use this for?" No. I do not.

Instead I buy a copy of Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns thinking I can just come up with a pattern myself. Easier said than done, my friends. Easier said than done.

What will my yarn become? It must be striped because these are the colors that I bought. Will it be a cardigan? Do I really want a striped cardigan? I'm thinking something seamless and top down with no seams, but I just don't know. The Ann Budd patterns have almost no shaping so I'd have to figure that out, too. Is this yarn destined to sit in my closet for years without ever being knit?

At least I don't have to buy shoes to match it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's great advice to live by... how many times have I bought something only to realize I don't have the footwear to match! Of course, there comes those times when you find something that is so perfect, you just have to go BUY new shoes to match! I'm sure you'll find something for that merino...