Monday, August 06, 2007

Part 2: What Yarns & Books Would I Take To A Deserted Island?

The selection process:

I actually started by going through the stash and picking out the yarns I wanted to knit with. The yarns I chose for the most part were ones I had something in mind for already, and had been meaning to start on for a while.

The first one is self striping Yarntini in Boardwalk. I haven't had this one for very long (a bought it of ebay for only $22 a few weeks ago). Part of my yarn diet has a clause that states that any new yarn that I buy must be used immediately, as to not add to the stash any further.

This is all I have left from the stripey socks I showed you two posts ago---

The second one is Yarn Pirate Superwash sock yarn in Malamute. I've had this one for a while, and I've had an awesome pattern in mind, but I just hadn't gotten started yet. I'm part way through what I'm doing with it, and I'll give a full review of the yarn once I get some project pictures up (which should be in the next couple of days.


The next one is Fleece Artist Sea Wool. I receive this in a swap a little while ago, and I figured it was appropriate to bring Sea Wool when going to stay by the ocean. I still don't really have a project in mind for this one. I'm thinking maybe another pair of Monkeys though.

I've had a project in mind for the Socks That Rock Lightweight in the Farmhouse colorway since I ordered the yarn more than 6 months ago. I'm also part way through what I'm doing with this, but I want to give it its own post to reveal it. I can't tell you who it'll be for though, because it's a Christmas gift.

To me, no vacation knitting would be complete without bringing along some dishcloth cotton. It turns out I didn't get to it, but still, I felt better knowing it was there.


Last but not least, I brought the Lotus Blossom Tank from Interweave Knits Summer 2006. I didn't end up working on it, but I thought it might be wise to bring in case I got totally sick of socks (aka. went insane). Hey, you never know what all that time alone will do to a person!


The right tools---

Because there's nothing worse than needing something you don't have and being trapped on an island.

*I made sure to bring my dishcloth knitting needles (dishcloths are the only time you'll find me knitting with straights).

*A spare set of metal 2.5mm needles (I had two sets of bamboo needles with me too).

*A tape measure (a actually got this one at a kitchen store, and it is great)

*A bunch of stitch markers (if I had looked, I would have realized that all of the small ones have disappeared from the package).

*A darning needle for weaving in ends/kitchener stitching.

*My trusty Kacha Kacha (I now have three of these, and I love every one of them).

*And the best emergency supply ever, a teeny tiny crochet hook in case I drop a stitch while reaching for my cold drink!

On to the patterns!

This first was the IK Summer 2006 issue for the Lotus Blossom Tank pattern (pictured on the cover). This did not get used.
For some nice mindless easy reading, I brought the two magazines I picked up the week before I left. Knit Simply Fall 2006 and Interweave Felt which is a IK special edition.


I also brought two awesome sock books. Favorite Socks (a compilation by Interweave Press), and More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch.

Favorite Socks got a good work out, as you'll see in the coming week. I was glad to have the More Sensational Knitted Socks though, because it allowed me the freedom of making socks for other people than me by using the measurements found in the book. It is also inspirational.

It turns out that I'm getting quite a bit of use out of Favorite Socks, so come on back soon to see which patterns I've been working on.

PS. I love that my stash contains yarns that are suitable to take to a desert island, and that they are yarns that I would pick even if they weren't already in my stash.

7 comments:

KSee said...

I love all the colours of your yarn!

Theresa said...

That's a fun exercise. If we all figured out what we'd take to a desert island, maybe we'd figure out what we'd most like to knit next!

Christie said...

Gosh...that's a hard question. My taste varies so much!

How did you like the Interweave Felts mag? I saw it in the store, but decided to put it down...I haven't seen anyone else mention it before you.

Chrissy said...

I actually only got the Interweave Felt mag because of the felted bead tutorial. Oh, and it's got a bit on needle felting. Other than that it seems pretty useless to me (gosh, that isn't very nice is it?). I am fascinated by felted beads right now though.

Ann said...

You did a fantastic job of choosing your yarn & books - I think I will have a problem deciding but I will definitely bring lots of sock yarn.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful yarns - and you were well prepared!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you were definitely prepared! Can you tell me more about the dishcloth cotton? I love that yellow colorway.