In this episode, I talk about steeking my first knitted sweater and knitting a whole lot of knitted gifts.
Music Credit: Ketsa, "Day Trips"
Intro 0:00-0:30
[Upbeat intro music with bells and trills]
Holly 0:36
Hello! I’m so happy to be talking to you. It’s the first episode of my new season. (laughter) But it’s also the last episode of 2021 so it’s kind of a weird feeling. But I wanted to steal a minute and come and say hi it’s been a little while.
Holly 01:00
But I have good news to report. I’ve steeked my sweater! I really thought of it as a learning process. It’s terrifying to cut into your knits. It didn’t turn out as I had hoped but I still really like it. And I’m just delighted by how much use I’m getting out of a woolly, hairy sweater. (laughter)
Holly 01:29
I’m jumping right into it. I’m a little bit out of practice. I just wanted to say hi. I’m holly. I’m happy to be talking with you. I am someone who, how should I say it? I use this podcast to talk about knitting and recovery and recovery for me is a 12th step program (and for me it is al-anon). And you should of course always take what you like and leave the rest. I’m happy to be sharing with you and I feel like my story matters when you all listen to the podcast. The knitting community–I don’t know–I never met anyone who talks about addiction in that community or what it’s like to love someone who does. But one of the nice things during the pandemic–and during my recovery, since they overlap–is that I’ve started to talk online with people who I think may be in a similar situation, you know when their posts just sound familiar, and i’m realizing that there are a few more of us than I thought there were when I was feeling oh so alone when I started the podcast. So I just wanted to thank you and end the year with some gratitude. And to start the new season of the podcast with gratitude.
Holly 03:08
So yeah, my steeked sweater! My knitting story is that I’ve been knitting for a really long time. I want to say about 21 years. I started in 1999. OMG i feel so old. I was in grad school, and a really good friend taught me to knit. Not only did she teach me to knit. She also taught me to knit continental. What a gift. It really helps me so much. As an addendum, I just learned about mirror knitting. And it just goes to show you there’s so much to learn. Mirror knitting is when you knit with your left hand, liek continental, but you knit from left to right. My mind was blown. (Wow, I’m rambling today… I’m just happy to be talking to you all).
Holly 04:40
So anyway, I learned to knit continental and i’ve been knitting for a long time. One was colorwork and the other was steeking. I feel confident with cables and lace and last summer I tried brioche. So colorwork is on my horizon but for now I really wanted to try this steek. I had a bunch of lopi yarn in my stash. I even had a pattern, so it was easy to just try this. I cast on the Solbein cardigan from Mary Jane Mucklestone. Lopi is really forgiving. (laughter) I still had to redo the steek something like FOUR times. (laughter). But I did it. It’s great. I cut it! And I did a crocheted reinforced steek. I was hoping to do an icord bindoff over the steek but it seemed way too hard for me to figure that out. I think I would need to knit a button band and then an i-cord bindoff. That looked a little weird to me. I wanted it to look like a 1960s sweater. It would have been a giant bindoff, like 8 stitches. So I was like dang it! But I already bought the zipper. So I sewed it in. And you know what the crochet reinforcement looks fine. It’s a little weird. It’s a little too tight around the shoulders. Like I said it’s a big hairy fuzzy sweater. But dang it I love that thing. I’ve worn it like five times. It’s probably something I’ll look back and think why did I wear that. But I’m just so proud of myself.
Holly 07:40
I didn’t think I’d love Lopi. I had knitted a sweater out of a cheaper brand–not Itex I think it was Reynold’s–it’s not soft. It’s like a hair shirt. It’s really warm. I wear it to the hockey rink. (laughter) it’s not a warm hug. But the Itex brand of Lopi–if you’re on the fence–I can totally see that yarn getting softer over time. I can see why Lopi is a magic yarn. I definitely see another one in my future. Just not right away.
Holly 08:22
I did it! I cut my knits! I felt that wild abandonment with scissors near yarn. Laughter. Other than that, my knitting has been a bit unfocused. I teach, so this is a really challenging time of year. There’s a million work deadlines. My kids… my kid had a science fair project (laughter)--we were realy trying to just survive December. But I’ve been making a few silly little things and gift knitting. I’ve been working on a cable mittens for my kids’ therapist–it feels weird to give your kids’ therapist a present but my goodness I love that woman–I made a few tiny ornaments. Which again is not my style but I generally find that they’re so fiddly. They take up so much time and I’m so frustrated when I’m making them. But then you see the tiny object and it’s the cutest.
Holly 09:40
I made a tiny gnome. The whole time I’m like this is the dumbest thing ever. And then I finished it and I was like OMG i need to make seven more. I made a tiny tree sock ornaments by Summer Lee. It looks so cute. And this is where I got totally absurd. You can tell it was a hard month. So my kid likes to customize doll houses and they were working on an epic one–this doll’s house is nicer than mine, including a little hanging plant (laughter)--so I made a tiny little stocking for that doll house. And it’s precious. It’s smaller than my pinky. It was so annoying to knit. But product knitting. It’s so cute. The good news it is that it taught me how to knit an after-thought heel. So hey skill acquisition!
Holly 11:30
So that’s where I’m at. I’m making weird things. I’m making a weird bulky christmas hat. I don’t know if we’ll ever wear it. But it’s in my stash and I’m going to use it. My kid has a red pompom. We’re doing it.
Holly 11:47
Last thing goals: 2022. I’m not going to mention the variant. I’m not going to worry myself sick. I think 2022 is going to be about a reach. As I said before I’m not really great at colorwork knitting. So 2022 is going to be my year of colorwork. And i’ve been preparing for it (laughter) with my yoke sweater that I redid four times. And I’ve also been working on these Selbu mittens. OMG. I think I’ve knitted them six times. They are kicking my butt. I keep telling myself that I’m preparing. As Elizabeth Zimmerman reminds us when you have to frog something think “thank goodness I love knitting. Yay more knitting!” So I finished one mitten and then the other one and I realized I made a huge mistake in the pattern so I ripped it back. And re knit it. But then I realized I had knitted two right hand mittens. I’m not kidding. I’ve made them six times. Ugh, you can tell I am just like stuck. Ugh the end of the year grind!
Holly 13:13
But I’m close to finishing that. So once the holiday passes and in that in-between time I’m going to finish that mitten. And I have yarn at the ready to cast on a color-work vest. I think I have enough yarn to also knit a soldatna as well. And then from there I’m going to keep working on it. ANd hopefully–(whispers) this is so ambitious–I may have even cast on one of those amazing Alice Starmore sweaters. That’s the goal. I don’t know if I’ll get there in one year of colorwork knitting. That seems so lofty. Especially considering that recently I couldn’t even pull off a Lopi sweater (laughter) That seems like a reach. But it’s good to have goals right? (laughter).
Holly 14:12
I’ll know when I’m ready.
Holly 14:20
So thank you so much for listening. I hope you’re well. I’m sending you well wishes. I know… if you are someone like me who has to deal with active addiction, I know this time of year is really challenging. I’ve felt it in years past. This has been a heartbreaking season for me, and it’s triggered depression sadness because I would watch my partner struggle so much. And this year, we’re really lucky. We’re in a good place and I’m far enough into my recovery to know that it’s one day at a time. And it’s just one day. Right? And the holidays are a series of actions and moments and it’s not all this pressure on a single moment or day. Or even eight days. Or seven if you celebrate Kwanza. And I am hoping that you have ways to keep yourself happy, safe, and sane during this difficult time.
Holly 15:22
Take care friends, I’ll talk to you soon.
[Outro music: upbeat music with trills and bells]