nose to the grindstone

 

I thought I'd better start this off with something unequivocally pretty. My garden beds develop slowly because I want to design them aesthetically without understanding much about garden design. I do get these patches of things that are exactly what I want, at least for a few weeks. This purple on purple patch is one of those things. Garden design seems even more challenging than knit project design, since it is a moving target. At least with a sweater you don't have to worry about what it will be doing in three weeks. Presumable, the same thing it's doing now. Ahem....there are times when we wish this was not the case....more below....

 

When your sister gives you permission to post a photo like this, you put it up before she changes her mind. I was going to let the veg garden lie fallow this year, but Hightest convinced me to co-op grow it with her. And she promised her labor, and so it was on. Both Hightest and Operations Man are very good workers. They can attack a physical task with a kind of focus that I both envy and exploit. On a good day, I can be brought along and really put out as well, but just as often, I find myself drifting off and being pulled back when they realize I have been pulling the same weed for ten minutes. They know me well enough to know that I have probably been fantasizing about my alternate life as an Irish potato farmer (it's not always princesses with me). I don't think this is something that is easily changed......I have tried.

 

And so to the knitting. I've taken up the Pintuck Tee again. And I've been thinking about recent laments from Princesspea and SweetP as I try to soldier on in the face of what seems to be a hopeless situation. Somehow, I don't believe that this project (blobject?) will ever be wearable. It's not the pattern, which is both ingenious and fun, but this damn Louet Euroflax yarn. Why did I buy three projects worth? It's stiff and lumpy and while the colors are beautiful, I'm having trouble believeing that multiple rides in my dryer are going to relax this stuff into a beautful piece of textile as suggested. We shall see. In the meantime, I am trying to take inspiration from Hightest and Op's Man, and power through this thing without running off to get lost in my pattern books and fantasies of the next project.

Comments

[Anna]

Oh, I do feel your pain! I haven't knitted with Louet Euroflax, but I have definitely read that it does soften up amazingly on washing. Boo for the seduction of pretty colours, and good luck with it!

[SweetP]

Yes good luck with it and take comfort in the fact many others before you have struggled with similar issues x

I'm sure it will be just fine, soldier on...

[Alexandra]

When I read the part about what a sweater will be doing in three weeks, I had a vision of knitting projects hiding around the house, developing all sorts of problems! Oh wait, that has happened to me! Anyway...

Your garden looks beautiful! I bought some linen yarn and it felt like string. I cut a little piece off, washed it and it softened up a lot. I felt a lot better!

[amanda]

I think I'd kill you if you were my sister! :D There is no way my backside needs showcasing on the internet!