Definitely Feeling Groovy

Are a process knitter who knits a project because it seems fun to make? Or are you a product knitter who knits because the finished object is what you want? Me, well, I’m usually a mix of the two. Most of the time, I start a project because I want the finished object or think that it’ll be a good gift. How fun a project actually is to knit - thanks to an interesting construction, the yarn, or neat details - usually gets me to actually cast on. When a project large or small starts to feel like a slog, I keep knitting because of how nice it’d be to have the finished thing. Deadlines help me get stuff done too. Most of the time. 

The Feeling Groovy shawl is the perfect example of product vs process.. I wanted to wear this shawl and to go stash diving for the perfect colors. Once I cast on and figured out how the pattern worked, I was hooked. loved casting on a tiny number of stitches and seeing them grow. I loved how the shawl increased in the chevron pattern. I loved the texture of the alternating rows of garter and stockinette. I loved learning and using a new centered double increase. 

Then it all started to feel routine and like a bit of a slog since the rows kept getting longer and longer. Plus, I had to do the math to figure out just how big I could make it. So I put it away while I worked on other things that did have deadlines. Eventually I remembered that I wanted to wear it next winter. So I did the math and got back to knitting. The vague deadline helped, but it was binding off the repeats that really got me motivated again in the middle of summer. I could compare how many repeats I’d bound off vs. how much I had left to go. 

I admit to binding off and just randomly wearing it for a few weeks before blocking. I gave it a bath and pinned out the points to keep them neat. I didn’t stretch it, because I wanted to keep the texture, but it still grew a few good inches. Feeling Groovy isn’t the largest shawl I’ve ever made, but it’s cosy and easy to wear. Even better, it’s ready for cooler temps, long walks, and a bit of snow.

Pattern: Feeling Groovy by Nim Teasdale

Yarn: 327 yards Colinette Jitterbug (Velvet Plum) and 325 yds Shibui Sock (Honey)

Needles: US 4 (3.25)

Dates: December 16, 2016 - July 5, 2017

@Ravelry

Ditching Silly Excuses

Sometimes my knitting projects sit around for the silliest reasons. Like this one. It’s the Feeling Groovy shawl by Nim Teasdale. I started it last year as a bit of selfish knitting after finishing all my holiday gift knitting. I was making good progress on it too until I added another step. I wanted to know how many repeats I could work before starting the decreases.  

Step one involved measuring how much yarn I had . Step two was working up a repeat, or two, or three. Step three, measure how much yarn I used. Step four, do the math.  

Enter the silliest reason to hold myself up. I did weighed the yarn and then got stuck on the knitting a repeat or two. I made lots of excuses why the time was never right to knit the repeats, and made the whole process much harder than it had to be. Ugh. Then a bunch of other important must-do’s came up and the shawl languished in a project bag for a few months. Eventually I needed new purse knitting and this shawl was the easiest thing to grab. The shawl was getting bigger but I still needed to know when to start the increases. 

Side note: The pattern has some helpful notes on when to start the decreases, but I’m knitting the shawl at a tighter gauge. So I have to do my own yardage calculations for this. 

I went back to step one, kept detailed notes, and got to work on the calculations. Spreadsheets make this kind of number crunching pretty easy, but it’s still time consuming. A couple of uninterrupted hours later and I knew the absolute latest point to start the decreases and use the most yarn. The good news? There was only 1.5 repeats between me and the first bind off. 

I haven’t been able to put the shawl down since. It’s been my constant companion during long drives, low key parties, and tv time.  And I bound off the first point yesterday! There’s still a lot of stitches between now and binding off the last stitch, but it won’t take long at the rate I’m knitting. If I hadn’t let some silly excuse hold me, I’d probably be wearing this shawl right now. Well, it’s summer, so probably not right now, but maybe during that last surprise snow storm.