Pajama Days!
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- By Anne
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Crawl's in the rear view mirror. Ready for a jammie day filled with nothing but knitting. Here's how I spent my post Crawl down time.
It truly is one of my favorite days – the Monday after the Crawl. Right up there with my birthday and Christmas. Don’t get me wrong. The annual 4-day Rose City Yarn Crawl is its own kind of fun. Hundreds and hundreds of happy makers rubbing elbows, indulging their shared passion. But it’s also the culmination of many months of hard, focused planning. By the end of day four, I’m exhausted, as are all the wonderful For Yarn’s Sake yarnologists. Several years ago, the collective decision was made to close up shop for a day after the event to recuperate. Best decision ever. Now, when the passport stamp gets tucked away for next year, we all head out for a 'me' day, doing whatever we love most. Me? It’s spent with my three furry besties Petunia, Lily and Albus, hanging out all day in pajamas and slippers, and playing with pretty string. And this year, on a deep dive into my newest knitting obsession – assigned pooling.
I’m loving this new technique. It’s even more entertaining than working with self-striping yarn. Instead of anticipating a color change tough, you look forward to making a fun, fancy stitch or two. Like nupps. I love these little pillows of color. I first encountered them in Dawn Barker’s Cowl “Froth,” which I shared about in my last post; still in the works, but making progress. But beyond looking forward to fancy stitch work every so often, what I like the best about assigned pooling is how it lulls you into an easy, relaxing space. A simple to follow, easy to memorize shaping pattern that soon becomes second nature to work, and the occasional switch-it-up intricate stitch. All this with color being your tour guide. A purely tranquil, mesmerizing knitting experience. Perfect after a high energy, intense weekend that is the Crawl.
Have you ever looked at a knitted object – a sweater, or hat, or scarf – and rather than admiring it for what it is, you start to deconstruct it, find ways to make it better, or simply say “I could make that.” I have, a lot! And I’m starting to do the same with assigned pooling. Most recently, with a "Sophie’s Scarf." During the Crawl, I noticed a lot of people wearing this Petite Knit creation. Very simple, but classy. And also, not an particularly exciting knit. I started one in my favorite pastel pink, but quickly lost interest. Then, as I was admiring one of the new Madelinetosh x Barker Collaboration AP colors, Fly Away Home, I began to ponder how a Sophie’s Scarf would look with nupps. And there you have it. My first Monday-morning-after-the-Crawl party with pretty string - an assigned pooling version of the Sophie Scarf. So pretty. And finished, on display at the shop. Come take a peek.
The other assigned pooling pitfall I’ve succumbed to is not being able to resist all the pretty colors. Curse you Madelinetosh and Dream In Color (just kidding). Now that I’ve fallen in love with the different stitches – nupps, Aster Stitch, florets, tiny bobbles – I’m compelled to try them in all the amazing AP colorways hitting the market. While straightening the shelves, I came upon a skein of Dream In Color Smooshy called Spring Ballet. A charming background color of pink (of course, pink caught my eye), green, cream, and yellow, with a pooling section of golden green. It reminded me of a vase of spring flowers – pink and white mums, with a sprig or two of Hydrangeas. Just had to try it. So there was my second day-to-myself foray into assigned pooling. And the second “Summerhouse” scarf (another Dawn Barker design) I’ve knit, or at least started.
That’s it. A day (or maybe a week) of rejuvenation, delving into the wonders of assigned pooling. If you haven’t tried this yet, I hope this post convinces you to give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
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