(Preface: There are no pictures in this post. I am sorry. I hope to add some later when not in such a rough technological patch [read: Billings, Montana].)
So I'm usually a strictly monogamous knitter.
In the early days of my knitting, I would start a project, either finish it or frog it, and then move on.
Then I discovered Ravelry. Now, let me preface the remainder of this blog post by saying that Ravelry, in so many ways, has improved my quality of life. That may sound a facetious, but nothing could be more honest. Ravelers and their kindness have inextricably shaped me as a crafter as well as a person. I doubt that could be said of many other websites.
Now, with that said, Ravelry has also made it much more difficult to be satisfied with any single project. As soon as I cast on one project, no matter how very excited I am about it, I invariably see something else that I just can't wait to start. Normally, I'm strong. Normally, I use that excitement to dangle a carrot for myself, so to speak. And, generally, it works.
I make the occasional concession to myself during the holidays or if I really, really can't stand the project I am currently working on, but these exceptions are few and far between.
Of late, however, the exceptions have slowly begun to multiply.
Currently, I have a stripe for my 64 Crayons Blanket in progress (why is ribbing just so tedious to knit?), I just cast on a Hanging Leaves scarf and, perhaps, the biggest distraction of all: I have purchased a circular knitting machine.
It's glorious, complicated, infuriating, and a complete time-sink. I mean this all in the most affectionate of ways, but until I become a little more competent with this machinery, the time I spend on it isn't at all productive in the end-product sense. Fluency will come and with it socks and scarves and leg warmers and all manner of tube-based knits. Until then, little progress is made on my other projects.
And I suppose that that's the way it goes.
The scarf/shawl I've started is actually pretty interesting. I've made some changes to it, the most major of which is to knit it in a slip woven stitch pattern rather than in plain stockinette. Mostly, I just can't abide shawls curling on me when I'm trying to look fabulous while wearing them. Instead, I have substituted the Odd Slip Stitch pattern from the incomparable Crow Waltz Shawl (of which I have made three to date).
At present, I'm feeling a little guilty for not having ideal and pretty pictures to show, of all the fabulous progress of posts past, but at least I have been doing something with my time.
Currently, I am on yet another business trip in scenic Billings, Montana. I haven't been here long enough to make an assessment, but I do have this to say: the combination of staying in a hotel, not having a car, and being vegan is not an easy one.
I try to do reconnaissance ahead of time to make plans in terms of my meals, but I admit that I was at a loss when it came to Billings. Online resources are only as soon as the information supplied to them, I suppose, and I'm sure there's more here than the meager list I've heretofore compiled... but at present, the list of places I can procure vegan food within walking distance of my hotel is: Costco.
So I schlepped myself over to Costco on this mercifully warm evening, shopped, and then hauled back around 35 pounds of mostly produce and hummus. I'll be here for a week, after all, and I am a known menace to baby carrots... good thing I bought 5 pounds of them, then.
Being a knitting vegan abroad is a challenge, certainly, but it's still rather a bit of fun, even if my hands are still slightly numb from ferrying my purchases the half-mile or so back to my room.
No comments:
Post a Comment