Dear Kay,
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to procrastinate. Nobody does it better than us. In an archive deep dive, here’s The Kay Gardiner SermonetteTM on how to accomplish a lot by accomplishing nothing:
One of the (many) (unintentionally completed) projects you write about is this washcloth, Cindy Taylor’s Reverse Bloom Flower Washcloth, here rendered in Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille, which is surely the highest and best use of cotton chenille yarn.
I share this as a reminder that we haven’t talked about knitted washcloths in a while, and it’s about time we did.
There is no better use for cotton chenille yarn than a knitted washcloth. In fact, it may be the only decent use for cotton chenille yarn. I still haven’t recovered from that chenille cardigan I made for you, and that was twelve years ago. A cotton chenille washcloth is brilliant. This one is great because you can kind of wrap the flaps around your face and just moodge it all at once.
Wishing all a weekend of productive procrastination. And hey—tomorrow night’s the Super Bowl of knitting, the Oscars. I couldn’t be less engaged this year, but I’ll tune in anyway. I mean: I can’t shake the image of Leonardo di Caprio fighting a bear in the mud. I don’t even know what a revenant is. It sounds like a Dodge automobile from 1964.
Love,
Ann
I think I would like to have a cotton chenille beach coverup. But knitting it would probably be a trial. Remember there was quite a vogue for chenille for a while.
You remind me that I tried knitting a sweater with Muench Touch Me chenille about 20 years ago. The pieces were so racked, I couldn’t sew them up evenly. And I loved that yarn. I had to just discard it. Expensive too.
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Oh noooo, Nina! Didn’t you know (or anyone tell you) that with that specific yarn you have to machine-wash-and-dry the knitted fabric to get the wool core to felt and then it miraculously snaps into beautiful place?? My yarny-heart aches for all that lusciousness in a landfill somewhere!! If only we’d known each other then. *sobs*
Well, in the interests of complete research, I just looked on Ravelry and found the comments page for Touch Me. I forgot that I myself made a comment on this yarn (and my love-hate relationship with it) seven years ago!!!
Yes, some people there mention washing the yarns, but that was already 13 years too late for me. Too bad Ravelry didn’t exist earlier.
Thanks, Honeybee, for the memories.
Huh? I have never heard this. I was in fact using a pattern from the LYS where I bought the yarn.
If the Touch Me is felted, as you describe, take on a completely different texture? It sounds scary!
I have to investigate this further.
You guys are amazing: what an incredible piece of crap! (Can I say that in a blog?)
Wait–I just read the Procrastination essay. Excellent job. And it explains a lot, which of course is what essays are supposed to do.
Sometimes procrastinating is the best thing to do. Last night I finished setting in the first sleeve of my sweater, and it’s too long when I tried it on. I kind of knew it would be, but that’s another story (I added extra cables and wanted to make sure I could block the sleeve wide enough, knowing I would lose some length when I did). I decided to wait for a clear head in the morning, since it’s a seamed sleeve and it would be easier to do the surgery on the second sleeve when I figured out the first. This morning I woke up with a clear, simple strategy to fix it. It’s going to be a great day and I might have a sweater to wear at the end of it.
In my book, Laura, that is not procrastination. That is taking a needed break, which in turn provides us with a fresh outlook and/or fresh ability to get a job done. I bet that sweater will be gorgeous. Wear it in good health!
Sorry, that should read Lauren.
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My husband says: “My dad had a Dodge Revenant, he took it on a cross country trip but it died halfway.” Ba dum tiss!
Coincidence? Natural progression? Whatever–while waiting for the weekend so I could steek my Stopover by the light of day, I was seized by a fit of wascloth frenzy. I’ve been knocking out those diagonal-garter stitch dish rags like its my last chance. I wonder if I have any chenille lurking in the stash–I know I made those flower washcloths back when…
I never thought of using my cotton chenille for washcloths. Brilliant! I have a stash full of it (I also had a huge chenille sweater at one time. It was fabulous and cozy. I wonder where it is…… )
Current procrastination project, while eyeing a colorwork cowl in fingering weight:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-scale-mail-gloves
The kit was an impulse buy in the last ten minutes of the Marketplace on the last day of VKL! Scale mail is LOTS of fun to knit; the mitts are actually warm, and the one I’ve finished looks … cool.
That said, these mitts may be worn in public only once, for knit night show and tell, and then become pencil holder cosies. Or something. We’ve already tried to convince the cat that he needs armor. He emphatically indicated that he does not need armor.
Revenant “A person who returns” A person who returns after a ghost.
Love words. had no idea what it meant either, so looked it up!!
I may have just realized that knitting is my meta-procrastination. To avoid difficult classes in college, I perfected stranded colorwork. There was no YouTube. Heck, there was no internet. This was back when learning meant knitting and ripping out several times. Alone in one’s dorm room. And now I procrastinate on existing projects with new projects. This is all making me dizzy. I have to sit down. But first, let me get my knitting.
I’ve always wanted to knit that Reverse Bloom washcloth but I know this about myself–the charm would wear off at about petal #3, and I would procrastinate the rest.
NOOOOOO! The chenille flower washcloth of doom! “Weekend Knitting” was the first knitting book I bought myself, along with about 8 skeins of chenille yarn to make those washcloths. I struggled through the first one and vowed I wouldn’t do it again–that yarn killed me! Over the years I forget how annoying they are to make and start another…I have three skeins left so I guess this is a sign that it’s time to make another. Maybe….after I finish my Stopover!
The movie is based on the book “The Revenant” by Michael Punke, who is from my hometown in Wyoming. His dad was the biology teacher at my small town high school. I loved the book and would definitely recommend it. Please see the article in today’s NYT about the author:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/movies/the-revenants-author-has-a-day-job.html
Love the washcloth!
Wow! Thanks so much for the link and the backstory.
Funny you should bring this up. I was just recently in the process of signing on for an adult ed class entitled “Stop Procrastinating Now!”. Then I thought, weeell, maybe next semester….
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You guys make me feel so much better about the things that I don’t have done. I procrastinated on starting working on taxes by knitting the #bangoutasweater Stopover. Just finished it, so now I have started on taxes. But, wait, there’s a pair of socks to work on. What taxes??
When I returned to knitting after a 20 year career break, I remember knitting that washcloth. The plan was to knit three and drape them over the edge of my Victorian claw foot tub. Those petals!! Only one washcloth ended up adorning the tub, and I gave the rest of the yarn away.
I have three washcloths I knitted from cotton chenille. Agreed; that is the ONLY good use for that yarn.
Love ANYThing glorifying procrastination! I love how you created a post by repeating one of Kay’s! That wins a golden something in the 2 categories: stealth procrastination & perfect procrastination; which both share the beauty procrastination that actually accomplishes something. Knitting’so the only thing that’s won me those categories, even while I’m knitting one thing to procrastinate knitting a WIP or even worse a UFO GIFT!
I think I’ve decided the red carpet is the best part of these award shows. Although this year’s granny’s was actually entertaining! Someone must’ve screwed up.
Btw, don’t forget tonight, Saturday before Oscar’s, or as Kay likes to say, erev Oscar’s is the Independent Spirit Awards.
I do have 1 ball of chenille somewhere, which I found too annoying to knit. Perhaps it’s time to find it and try again. Or not.
I hope that I’m not alone in thinking that knitting wash cloths is a desecration of yarn andthe knitting process.
Not when it’s cheap yarn. Actually someone once made me one out of nice yarn. I loved it!! You buy nice towels that come with nice wash cloths, right?
I love my knitted washcloths! It’s a good use of cotton yarn and a good way to practice new stitches.
Cotton. Chenille? Noooooooo…..
Now I know the circle of life! In a previous life this flower pattern was the first wash or spa cloth I made and made over and over for gifts and now it is a revenant. I thought it has history.