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January 23, 2006
The Gift Closet
Do you know what happens when you substitute a yarn that yields 6 stitches per inch with another yarn that yields 6 stitches per inch? If you don’t do a gauge swatch you get a hat that doesn’t fit.
At first I thought it was the yarn. Blue Sky Alpaca sport is very springy. Ambrosia, though lovely, is not. Then I thought it was the stranding. No matter how good your tension is, stranded color work yields a firm fabric with not much give. Hence my desire to learn non stranded color work. Then I thought I need to wash it first so it would bloom. Notice the reach here? The reason the hat doesn’t fit is because I was too proud to do a gauge swatch. And that’s the truth. So off to the Gift Closet it goes.
A Gift Closet is this year’s great idea. It was inspired by Gift Pantries in Frugal Luxuries by Tracey McBride. There is nothing that begs knitterly resistance more than making a special something for a special someone. The closer we get to finishing the more compelled we are to start other projects and thus increase the pressure. Take Christmas for example. Every Christmas I say I’m going to make something for all my loved ones. Every Christmas I go nuts.
This year is going to be different. This year I’m going to work with not against my knitterly self. I’m going to make only those projects I’m drawn to and I’m going to store them in a Gift Closet until the person they are meant for appears. They will include lovely mistakes like the above which is only a mistake because it won’t fit my 23” noggin. It'll work just like the baby hats.
I love knitting baby hats. I just love knitting them. I give them as gifts. I donate them. I try new designs, new yarns. Last year I noticed that every time I had to make one, it took me forever. But when I knit baby hats for the sake of knitting baby hats, I couldn’t stop making them. I had a ready stockpile when I needed a gift and I had plenty to donate. And it was fun! The whole thing felt like play.
So, lessons learned. Do a gauge swatch. And if something doesn’t fit, don’t despair. It just wasn’t meant for me.