The Satisfaction of Creation

January 18th, 2007

I have two things to write about today, and they both involve original designs that I’ve recently completed (no pictures, the camera batteries need charging and I can’t find the charger).

1) I finally decided to sew together my knitting needle holder as inspired by a post at the SPIN | KNIT blog. It looked like it would be oh-so easy to make, so I immediately started planning and cutting out the pieces. Then I didn’t touch it for months. What prevented me from actually sewing it together? It’s dumb, but I procrastinated because I didn’t feel like having to deal with ironing out and sewing the top of the two long strips to be used for pockets. Do we ever procrastinate for good reasons?

Anyway, last night I got the motivation to start some actual sewing, and that motivation carried me straight to the finish. The result is that I have a great yard long piece of fabric that has two levels of pockets, 26 pockets for each level for a total of 52 to store knitting needles and roll up into a nice cylinder for better storing. I’m loving it, and every time I look at it or unroll it I feel this great sense of accomplishment.

The most awesome part about it is that I couldn’t have made it any better. That’s not to say that it’s the best needle storage in the world, nor is that to say I’m the greatest sewer/designer in the world. I had a plan, implemented that plan, and it worked out almost exactly how I planned it. I love it! I realize now that I should have sewn on two straps in the process so that I can tie it secure when it’s rolled up. Something that’s easy to add after the fact, and I will certainly not forget it if I ever make more.

Pictures to come later of course!

2) For some reason last night I had an urge to cast on for some mittens. I had this pair of mittens growing up that were these really simple stretchy black ones. The cool part about them was that they were made out of that same thin material that you can get a lot of cheap gloves in too. I don’t know why I loved them, but I did so my mittens are an inspiration from that pair.

I just have to finish the thumb on the first mitten, weave in the ends, and it will be complete. The second mitten will be nearly identical, and so far I’m loving it. The pattern was fairly easy to construct, and I’m really proud of myself. I certainly used my experience knitting the “Vintage Beaded Gloves” from Handknit Holidays well. This is another case of the end product being very nearly exactly what I had planned. It’s so satisfying, and almost makes me forget the travesty that was the hat I wrote about in a previous post.

Alright, so I probably shouldn’t use the word travesty; that’s a bit of an exaggeration. It’s turned out to be something I can actually use, but I’ll save the details for a later post.

The mitten was made from an alpaca yarn, and man that stuff sheds. I love the grey natural color, and I love the softness of the yarn. However, knitting with it for lengthy periods makes my nose itch.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 18th, 2007 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Knitting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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