Plain and Simple

Sometimes the simple things are the best things.  We've all heard that one before, right?  This is true for me in knitting.  Sure, I admire fancy knitting: the best new yarn, the great cable stitch that I haven't quite mastered...all of that looks great.  But what I find myself turning to again and again are the simplest patterns and the plainest stitches.  Maybe it's because this is a time in my life when knitting time is at a premium and often has to happen while I'm having a conversation or watching something on TV, times when my attention is divided.  But sometimes it's just because the very act of doing a basic stitch, over and over again as uniformly as possible is so satisfying that it is an end in itself.  I like to knit.  I like to knit beautiful things.  But I also like to knit plain things, things that will get used, that no one will put away in a closet because they are "too good" to be used.  Socks.  Wash cloths.  Baby blankets, the kind that can be thrown in the wash.  Good things.  Plain things.  Satisfying things.

This morning I spent a lot of time with my one of my friends, who is about to have a baby. Talking to her reminded me of the times before my children were born, when every step is more difficult and you are both looking forward to giving birth and dreading it at the same time. Now that I have four kids I don't anticipate any more pregnancies, so it is admittedly fun to participate vicariously in my friend's experience.

I first met this friend in graduate school, where we were both training to be librarians. While we were at Pitt together we used to get together with a bunch of other students to knit and drink coffee and shoot the breeze. One thing I've been getting into lately has been social networking sites. A very good one in my opinion is Ravelry, a site for knitters and crocheters. Ravelry is particularly effective because it combines useful tools like a pattern database with more social phenomena like message boards, "friends," and blogging.

Today, after spending time with Emily and thinking about Ravelry, I have put together a group trying to unite those same people who used to knit and chat (and study) at Pitt. I'm wondering if anyone will join it. I guess that is the big thing about these technologies...you can lead a horse to water, eh?

Feather and Fan

This is my first post on this blog, which I have set up in conjunction with the public library continuing education project "23 Things." So far I am enjoying the experience. I haven't been particularly challenged by anything yet but it has been interesting and fun seeing what other people have been saying about the whole thing.

On a more "bloggish" note, this is what I have been thinking about lately:

I have just cast on a new knitting project. Other knitters will know the lovely feeling: what was just an idea is becoming concrete. Some of that endless stash is getting used up (note to non-crafters: "stash" = a huge heap of yet to be used yarn, which grows inexorably with every trip to a local yarn store or craft emporium). Hopefully, none of the inevitable mistakes, tangles or redoes have had to be redone (yet).

This project is especially interesting for me because it represents my first foray into lacemaking. I am trying out a "feather and fan" pattern scarf, using fingering weight yarn on size 6 needles. What that means is that the yarn is thin and the pattern will be very airy. So far it looks fabulous, knits up quickly and is so easy it seems incredible I didn't start this a long time ago.