Obsessions

I thought I would be updating this blog more frequently, but maybe it was just a diversion from school work. 

I've completed at least two projects since last posting: Skimmer Socks and Sunny Sky Shawl; none of that alliteration was intentional. I'm still obsessed with knitting through my stash, and yesterday I felt like the time had arrived to knit my substantial Madelinetosh Merino Light stash. 

Almost 10 years ago, I developed a fixation on the Clapotis pattern especially when knit with Madelinetosh yarn. I ended up making three shawls with this pattern and yarn and giving them all away to my best friends. From time to time, I wonder if they still have them... it's better not to think about it.

   

Around the same time, I became entranced with a specific project on Ravelry that utilized a beautiful shade of Madelinetosh: Mansfield's Garden Party.

At that point in my life, I thought this was the most beautiful pattern, project, yarn I hade ever seen. I felt compelled to find and purchase the yarn used on this project. And I did. I found it and added it to my stash.

I purchased this yarn in 2011, and there it sat for years. I pulled it out to use in this project in 2016.

It's not my most favorite project or use of the yarn, but it does represent my re-entry into the knitting world after a hiatus. The point that I'm taking a long time getting too is that all of this MadTosh love left me with a lot of leftovers that are now being put to use.

After seeing a beautiful project on Ravelry for the Turnstile pattern, I am in full-on maker mode!

The inspiration: 

  

A woman obsessed: 

Not only will I be able to use up all of my MadTosh, but I feel like I finally understand this yarn. At this gauge and size, the emerging fabric reminds me of an Impressionist painting of a garden.  To say that I enjoy knitting with this yarn is a gross understatement: when I knit MadTosh, I feel like all is right in the world. I feel like I could knit indefinitely. I want to wake up at 5:00am and knit.

I'm making a few modifications to the pattern. Since I have five colors rather than three, I have a plan for some overlap of each color and solid sections for each color. My plan is knit a third blended with the previous color, knit a third alone, then the final third with a new color. Somehow, I've got to also blend the main color (MGP) in there too...

I also appreciate the tip to avoid the jog but for some reason (user error), I couldn't make it work. So my work-around is to knit past the marker three stitches and then change colors. so far, it's all good.