the final round winners are...

#4 and #6 - Dee Anna and Jodi! Congratulations you two! Please PM me (madtownmama on Ravelry) with your mailing addresses and barring illness or inclement weather, I'll get everything sent out tomorrow. I love how it worked out that you guys like different yarns too. It's always nice when things fall into place like that.

I'm halfway through about four pairs of socks, none of which are remarkable in any way, and working on another test knit which I can't show yet, so instead of pictures I'll answer some questions I always like to know from other knitters. FAQs, if you will, though I rarely get asked these things in real life.

I'll start with the ones I asked y'all!

1. What is your favorite color, and how often do you wear it? My favorite color has always been red. I love pure, deep red. I think I wear it well, though only in the shades veering towards burgundy. I don't wear it as often as I'd like, in part because it's kind of hard to find red clothes! Colors go in and out of style, and the ones that have been "in" the last few years are dreadful - orange, yellow (actually, I like yellow but I can't wear it), lime green. All the more reason to knit red things for me, I suppose.

2. Who do you most like to knit for? I loved your answers to this question, everybody. Especially Jessi! Because she is always so honest. But you know what, knitting/crocheting/making for yourself isn't selfish and terrible at all. Rarely does one find a recipient of hand made items that can really and truly know and appreciate the time and effort and love poured into those things, other than oneself. Not never, of course, but rarely.

Anyway, to answer the question truthfully - as much as I love knitting for other people, I think I find knitting for myself the most satisfactory. I know what I like, and if I mess up and make something ugly or ill-fitting or unuseful, I can only hurt my own feelings by insulting it, yes?

That said, knitting for my kids is a close second. They are old enough that I don't make anything without their request or at least their consent, and as a result, they actually want and like and wear all the things I make. It's very rewarding. Also,  for now I'm off the hook for making sweaters because they don't really wear sweaters these days (Anya does every once in a while); it's mostly mittens, socks, hats, and more mittens. I can handle making lots of those. Come to think of it, I ran out of time to knit socks for them for Christmas, and they really needed socks, so I bought each of them an expensive pair of SmartWool socks, which are already coming apart! Hand knit ones hold up so much better, they really do.

3. What yarn is the most overrated, in your opinion? No one has ever asked me this, but I'm going to say it anyway - all those expensive hand-dyed superwash yarns that everyone else swoons over. I'm just not into those. (Like I didn't just buy a $20+ skein to make Anya a hat/cowl set this month, but let's overlook that for now...) Mostly, I just don't like superwash except for sock yarn, and sock yarn is a notable exception. I don't like how it's slippery and stretchy and unpredictable in a gauge swatch. I don't like how it soaks up moisture instead of repelling it. I don't like the way it feels when you knit with it (the recent and afore-mentioned Malabrigo Rios stumble notwithstanding). And again, except for sock yarn, I don't get real excited about variegated yarn.

4. This isn't even a question, but I just want to know what is UP with designs lately? Not that I don't have about 1,000 perfectly lovely patterns already (and I bet that's understating it, but I'm afraid to count), but it seems like the new releases of the last year or so follow the ready-to-wear fashion trends of dropped shoulders, oversized fit and deep sleeves. I hate to say it, but even the usually classic Brooklyn Tweed has several designs along this line and I. don't. get. it. I probably could have gotten away with looking sloppy nonchalantly-yet-on-purpose fifteen years ago, but not now. I have to go to some effort now. And I'm not going to spend hours knitting something for myself that looks like it could fit my dad!

Comments

Jodi said…
Oh, what great news! Many thanks! I'll PM you on Ravelry.

I feel like SmartWool socks used to last longer -- I still have some "light hiking" socks from 10 years ago that are functional (a bit threadbare, but no holes), whereas some from last year are already hole-y. Very disappointing!

Dee Anna said…
I just recently read something from a designer I usually like where she wrote about how great loose silhouettes looked on every body type and how great it was that they were back in style. I just cringed, drape is one thing, bagginess is quite another. Knitters get a bad rap because of ill fitting garments and now we are supposed to make them that way on purpose?
Andrea said…
Ugh, totally in agreement about the loose clothing these days. More fabric just means you need more yarn and good quality yarn is expensive enough these days without adding in more drape.
Naycha said…
I haven't really worked with a lot of yarns (I've been trying to get rid of the huge stash of acrylic yarn that I bought way back before I knew what a LYS was and that I have 3 close by and that they carry wool and alpaca and silk and soy and bamboo, etc, etc), so I can't really say that I've found one that is overrated.

And as for the current trend--I don't do oversized or baggy either. I'm a bigger girl and carry a lot of weight in my middle. So I don't need any help looking boxy, thank you very much. I prefer just an inch or two of positive ease around my middle and zero ease everywhere else.

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