The Daily Purl

I haven’t knit a sweater in a while and after mentioning that I wanted to knit the hourglass sweater, I started looking at what yarn to use. Choosing the yarn-fun. Choosing the color-fun. Having to buy 10 skeins-whoa! I’d forgotten what a huge commitment making a sweater is and how quickly it empties pockets of cash. In my mind I rationalize. It’s an investment. It will increase in value as the years go by. It will be passed on to (hopefully one day) my children. And if they don’t want it, it will be auctioned off at Christie’s…you know that’s how we all feel about our FOs.
It’s been three weeks since I started my search, but I don’t mind because I love, in the words of one knitter, “the hunt”. You know the drill. Go to LYS. Stand in front of yarn. Compare a bunch of colors. Go to the window to see them in the light. Do you ever knit up a swatch at the store? I always feel that I shouldn’t….like I’d be trying one chocolate from the box, and then putting it back on the shelf, wrapper all messed up and box top askew. (I know you don’t eat the swatch, bad analogy.)
Cari asked what yarn I’d use and I’ve finally decided. Fresh greens just waiting to be knit up.

Nona makes a good point.
I’ll stick to one of pair socks at a time. But I think I’m going to branch out and have at least one other project on the needles. Made me think that switching things up may prove better for my hands long term.
Last year I injured my right tibia – a hair-line fracture. I was running more miles per week than my body could handle and not mixing up my workouts with riding a bike or using an elliptical trainer. The doctor said I probably won’t run mileage like that ever again. The culprit? I ran almost everyday without incorporating cross-training in my workouts.
Not being able to run is hard. Not being able to knit…I just don’t know what I’d do! So here’s my cross-training.
pattern birch rowan magazine no. 34
yarn rowan kidsilk haze
colour splendour 579
…knitting Olympics must be on my mind.

Even though we’ve had a mild winter, my hands are still dry from the weather. They take a beating from all the knitting, walking my dog without mittens and the occasional office paper cut. More now than ever I’ve been putting on lots of crème before I knit. I used to wash my hands well before knitting and then just dive into the project. Dry hands and wool don’t go well together. So now I use shea butter for the cracks on my fingers and if I have any cuts I do a quick soak in a bowl with epsom salts.