possibilities

I'm not a great one for yarn stashes. I don't know whether it's the puritan in me (ha) or a habit ingrained during my student days when I would plan my knitting and save up for yarn for weeks and weeks, but I'm not comfortable with having lots of unused yarn around, waiting on the off-chance that it will be knitted.

Actually, I think it's because I still relish daydreaming and picturing whatever it is I want to knit in a thousand different colourways, flitting between patterns that appeal, and generally taking my time, considering different labels and fibres and sources and possibilities, browsing books and magazines and websites. And it's all guilt-free.

I have slowly realised recently that I haven't knitted a sweater for myself in a long, long time. This came to me as I read these three wonderful knitting books: Knitting in America by Melanie Falick, The Fair Isle Knitting Handbook by Alice Starmore and The Art of Fair Isle Knitting by Ann Feitelson. These have taken me back to where I started with knitting - garments, fair isle and aran - and it gradually dawned on me that I want to knit a big, warm, complicated piece for myself, the kind of thing I did for years and years before I had children. I want to show off the yarn, the design, the stitches, and I want to immerse myself in knitting.

And now that I have decided to do this, I have carte blanche to consider the options. Do I knit something in wonderfully traditional Fair Isle yarn? I have just received the shade card from Jamiesons - real, Shetland wool in 160 real Shetland colours. Enough to keep me happy for days and weeks while I imagine colour combinations...

...and pore over Alice Starmore's book. This is a gift, a very special gift. It's one of those books I was talking about in my last post that should never be have been allowed to go out of print. It's an amazing resource, and the sections on colour and inspiration are phenomenal, and I can't believe I own a copy. No more reading it in the British Library and trying to commit each page to memory.

Or should I return to cables and stitch patterns and knit a sweater like the one in Knitting in America by Kristin Nicholas? Should it be classic off-white? Or tweedy and earthy? Or pale blue or lilac for a change?

Ah, the possibilities are endless. And, as these books remind me, there's no rush.

* Alice Starmore's book was published as Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting in the US (Taunton Press, 1988) and as The Fair Isle Knitting Handbook in the UK (Blandford Books, 1990).

Comments

[Ingrid]

I love this stage of just-before knitting, filled with wonderful possibilities! Sometimes for me that stage can last for months, though...

(And btw I agree about the Starmore - I can barely believe that I have a copy of "Scandinavian Knitware" that I picked up for 50p in a second-hand bookshop!)

[Gemma]

I'd go for the shetland wool something in heathers and greens and probably a cardigan rather than a jumper. Because a big cardigan seems somehow more cozy than a jumper.

Didn't you start some fairisle before? Red and green, inticate pattern?

[Rebecca]

How exciting, I too love and agonize over the decisions. I have just started a big, cabled knit for myself and I love the cables, so soothing and comforting, absorbing like lace and so addictive. A very meditative knit.

However, I hope you choose colour because I love to live vicariously and would enjoy seeing your colour choices, I keep toying with ordering the Jamieson shade card just for the sheer joy of looking at all those beautiful colours.

[Lauren]

I love the colors on that shade card! Delicious! I'm so glad you're going to knit a sweater. (I can't wait to see what you decide to do!) Sweaters are just the ultimate. I knit myself the first sweater I've ever made last year and it was such a rewarding experience! It's too warm to wear most of the time, but I see it every time I open my sweater drawer.

[Lin]

Choosing the colours is the best bit, and you can spend hours doing it! And then there are swatches to knit, my favourite bit!

[Kathleen]

I'm afraid I think the most exciting part of knitting is picking out the pattern and the yarn. The challenge of finding the right yarn, the right color combination, the tools that are needed is very satisfying to me. Its actually fear of the pattern that usually yanks me back into reality.

[Lesley]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I've just been over to Amazon - wow! Why is the Alice Starmore soooo expensive?

[mesclun]

Oh, oh, oh... that shade card makes me want to just dive right into my computer and grab the yarn! It's a good thing I don't have that thing in my hands right now or I'd be in the process of ordering every luscious color. I even like the names - they actually relate to what you see. Without the card, I could imagine what buttercup, pistachio and granny smith might turn out to be, unlike names I recently came across: boudoir, ripple and provence. Can't wait to see what gorgeous creation you make from these!

[Anne]

What a delicious decision is awaiting you, dear Jane Flowers. Yes, that's how I think of you now. It suits you perfectly.

[Boo]

Love the color and creativity you share! Sometimes I love the wondering of looking at yarn and fabric, and imagining what it will become---it can almost make me crazy! Then suddenly, something speaks to me, and I know what it was meant to be. . .

[Tracy in Portland Oregon]

I felt the same pull but went for Fair Isle rather than cables. I'm using the Jamieson's to knit the Ivy League Vest by Eunny Jang from the Winter 2007 Interweave Knits. Except I'm using about a bazillion colors more than the 6 she specified. The color card was sooo much fun and then I laid all the balls of yarn out on the floor at the shop and placed them next to each other and tried to imagine. I'd been driving around in the midst of one of the best fall leaf color displays in years and I ended up with a color scheme that reflects it.

Funny thing, I can't bring myself to buy more than a projects worth of yarn at any time. I would save up for months to buy the right yarn, and sometimes get skunked when they sold out. It's an odd knitter who doesn't have more than a few projects going at once.

I guess I'm odd.

[lucykate crafts]

i don't think it's a good idea to have too much wool lying around unused either. i do know someone who discovered a funny smell coming from her basket of wool, only to trace it to a dead mouse hidden in amongst it all!

[rosie]

Whilst the knitting sounds exciting, I think I'd simply frame that shade card and spend a while longer dreaming!

[dee]

Im ashamed to say that i had the Alice Starmore book when it first came out in the 80s and in a mad moment a few years later i gave it away.Oh.. do i regret that!

[cherry]

Brings back memories of my first Jamiesons shade card, back in the late seventies. It was the start of a love affair that hasn't ended!

[catherine]

what lovely prospects! that shade card is enough in itself ... I find I often have to plan two projects instead of just one (ie what I'm going to do next, and what I'm going to after that) so that I can go some way towards satisfying all the ideas! Usually I manage to restrain myself to buy just what I need for the first project tho.

[shelley]

I never bought the Starmore books when they first came out and have been kicking myself ever since. So, I keep my eyes open whenever I am in used book stores. I managed to snag Aran Knitting for half the original cover price this past summer. It's almost like a game now, and the joy when I found the book was (almost) as much fun as perusing the book's pages.

[littlejennywren]

Oh Jane, "Knitting in America" is one of my all time favourite knitting books. i love reading about all those people who have made knitting and yarn such a big part of their lives. The Jamieson shade cards are beautiful aren't they. Good luck with choosing colours though, it was more than I could manage.

[Carol]

The fair isle is so tempting. I've been looking at the cardigan in V. Avery's Knitting Classic Style that uses Jamieson yarn. Everything about it is so right but my knitting is confined to simple projects at the moment as tiny demanding children are not conducive to complicated knitting.

[domesticshorthair]

I bought the Alice Starmore book in the U.S. back when it was still in print. Although I've only made one sweater from it, I treasure it for Starmore's inspirational introduction of creating Fair Isle colorwork. It's funny you should write of it as I recently looked it up on Amazon.com and saw that used copies are selling for over $100 U.S.!

[Diane]

What fun this will be - did you happen to finish your daughter's hat you planned on knitting earlier?

[Dianne]

Lucky you having the Starmore Fair Isle book. I think the best bit about Fair Isle knitting is deciding what colours to use. Have fun.

[Luisa]

It's just so hard to choose. I just received Fiona Ellis's Inspired Fair Isle Knits as a gift, and I'm torn in about five different directions. But I've been in a hat-and-sock rut; it's time for something more involved.

[di]

Delightfully tantelising.. I'm looking forward to seeing which road you decide to take. I must admit I never used to stash yarn either- but that was before I started reading blogs, and inspiration and ideas started to fly at me faster than I could make them.

I should also mention that I've nominated you as a blogger who makes my day. Reading your blog really does. So colourful and thoughtful, and providing much food for thought. I understand that you don't like doing memes, so don't feel any pressure to jump on the bandwagon, but details are on my blog.

[Rebecca]

Though I am in danger of gushing, I had to stop lurking about and let you know how much I love your blog--I mean, you combine chocolate and Dickens. Thanks so much for your brilliant blog--full of inspiration. :)