Knit for Brains

I stopped by Gail Knits, the LYS near my home looking for inspiration. I just finished by Christmas gift blitz of six scarves and two shawls in three weeks (all on superbulky yarn and or large needles, so don’t be that amazed) and want to knit something for myself. I’ve been eyeing a leaf lace pattern for a scarf, but try and try again I keep messing up, not liking the yarn, not liking the pattern, wanting to change the pattern and not getting it right, and ripping everything out about ten times by now. Something was wrong. I had what I’ll call “knitter’s block”. Nothing would cooperate: not my hands, not the yarn, not the pattern.

It was the fiber. I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do with the yarn I like. I was reminded of this at Gail’s store when I found the Eco Alpaca and Eco Duo by Cascade. NIIIIIIIICE. It’s single ply, which to me is wonderful, old world, “real” yarn, not the “city-fied” stuff they make by the millions of miles nowadays. I like the feel and vibe of natural fibers, especially naturally dyed or non-dyed. I love the hand spun look of single ply yarn as well. Comparing them in the store, even the beautiful blends that have tencil or some acrylic in them, they just aren’t right. They feel like they are made of plastic, and they are. They are plastic yarn. This is not real.

I have come to  a point where I am just not satisfied with synthetic fiber. As nice as it can look, as affordable, colorful and easy to get as it all is, it just isn’t real. And I think that is something of a theme in my life development. I want real. I want real me, real friends, real purpose, and real fiber in my knitting just underlines realness in all the rest.

What I want is my single ply, undyed alpaca reversible cable scarf I planned last summer but never bought the yarn for it. That will be my next project. So the other, artificial yarn I have I will use up for Christmas gifts and experiments. Yes, artificial, like flowers made of polyester and plastic. It’s not yarn snobbery, but wanting real stuff. Like real tile, not vinyl flooring, or real wood doors, not moulded mdf printed with wood grain and texture. Real chicken nuggets, not injection molded reconstituted chicken substance. And so on.

Related Posts:

• How to Rev Up Your Knitting Again
• What is Wrong with Cascade 220? I’ll Tell Ya.
• A Bunch of Scarves, Some Cable Knit, and a Shawl
• Knit A Scarf – Fast!