Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Stitches

I went to knitting class today, and once again was happy to have gone. It's nice to be surrounded by relaxed women, and knitting - surprisingly - is so technical, at least at this learning stage, that it takes up all of my concentration and leaves little room for contemplating other stresses. Tonight, my performance was less than stellar. My stitches were tiny, tight, and twisted. A projection of sorts? Perhaps.

I picked out this yarn for my first project. It's a bulky, hand-dyed yarn made of 50% alpaca and 50% wool, made by "Blue Sky." (Color: 1020; Lot: 2618). Not knowing anything whatsoever about yarn, I have no idea if this is good yarn. As I'm writing this, I'm also thinking that I should have researched "Alpacas" and what they have to go through in order for this yarn to be produced. I have to use giant wooden knitting needles with this yarn which is kind of cool.

I have no idea if I'm going to be able to knit anything remotely attractive, but that's not really the point. The point is to practice and to occupy my mind. My plan for next week and the Thanksgiving break, assuming Cheaptickets comes through, is to hang out in Texas with my family and friends and relax. I thought starting a scarf might be therapeutic. If I'm up for it, I might try to figure out where I'm going to live until I quit my job, and what I want to do with my life come January. Big questions. But for now, I'm viewing the purchase of the yarn as a positive step in the right direction. That, along with arranging to be gone from work and out of the apartment all of next week. Baby steps to minimize stressors.

4 comments:

Tracy said...

I like thinking of you knitting a cozy scarf for yourself--one that will keep you warm in this cold season. You deserve a good gift like that. :)

I hope you can get a cheap ticket for Thanksgiving, and maybe we can meet up in The Lone Star State!

Buttercup said...

Tracy, That would be nice.

Anonymous said...

Baby steps are the best kind right now. :)

Anonymous said...

OMG! Blue Sky Alpaca! That's some good stuff! Not cheap. Hopefully they've told you this, but buy all the yarn for a project that you need at once. Especially with the hand-dyed yarns, dye lots can be hard to match.