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My favorite skein of yarn
Tonight as I was showing my friends from Atlanta some of my yarn work and bead work, they wanted me to begin blogging about my experiences in learning how to knit, how to mix colors and what things look right to me - well, that's my interpretation of what they were saying. They also called me an artist and said they would help "hawk" my wares and suggested I apply for a "store" on etsy.com.

Now, I get really excited about yarn and beads and silver and jewelry in general - having a lot of it helps. They pointed out that I couldn't keep replenishing my inventory if I kept giving it away. But, I have so much fun doing it. And, I love mixing colors.

Right now, I want to make myself a shawl to wear around the house when my shoulders get cold without putting on my flannel shirt (a signature piece of my wardrobe). I've tried several different yarns - mixes of soft wools and mohairs, wool and rayon worsted and bulky weights, different size needles and I'm still searching for the easy way to a beautiful shawl for me. I just don't like the look of straight knitting - can't ever remember garter from - oh whatever the other one is. So, I thought I'd go for knit one row, purl one row. Someone help me remember what that is called. Anyway, it gives you a right side and a wrong side (and I like the look of both of them). I also like the twisted stitch where you wrap the yarn around both needles once and one needle the second time. Gives an elongated twisted stitch that is elegant and easy to do. But, I'm not sure how that would work in a shawl.

I bought some gorgeous nylon short fur in a multi gray/blue/rust. I tried mixing it with a wool/rayon (Berrocco Softwist) in the cranberry color, in the navy color, and finally settled on an Encore Worsted in blue/gray. I knitted about eight inches from the tip and looked at it. The spacing of the colors in the multi gave it a blotched look as if someone had tried to daub paint on the yarn and made a big mess. So that was not the way to go.

Then I tried a size 13 needle with a good red Softwist and a beautiful mohair. ugh. Didn't like the way the thing looked in straight knit. So, now I'm taking that out - and have you ever tried undoing mohair knitted with something else. Bleah. Sticks to itself, to your sleeves, to your fingers (dry this time of year), and to the other yarn. So, I gently pull them apart and roll as I go - remembering years of embroidery thread and how badly it twists and kinks. Do a short bit at a time. Pull the mohair apart with tweezers if you can't catch it since your fingernails all break off at this time of year with the dryness.

You'd think with the humidity and the rain we've had the last few days that my skin and nails would begin to look human again. Naaah. Just peeled another nail and snagged a thumbnail down to the edge. This does not bode well for working with furry fibers. And, when I try to pull the stuff off my fingers, I end up with it in my mouth and that's yucky. Talk about a wooly mouth!!

So, now I'm looking at Reynolds Frisky, which no one online seems to have in red and we only have yellow in the shop - oh, by the way, I work one day a week in a yarn shop. Most days I spend more than I make. LOL What a good employee I am - contributing to the well being of our shop - you notice the possessive "our" there, huh? My boss would have to run me off with an ugly stick.

So, maybe some of my posts will be about yarn and beads, jewelry and such. And, no, I'm not a fancy dresser though I do like to look nice. I just love jewelry. My partner, who does woodworking, says that one can never have enough clamps. I think one can never have enough earrings (or yarn) (or beads). Currently, I have more bead than the local shop. And, the bead show is coming up nearby in January. So, I really need to get rid of some of the stuff I have in order to buy more.

Ah, the wicked web we weave when first we practice gathering and greed.