Letters
Out of the Zone: Alex the Mouse
Dear Ann,
You know how people are always saying that it’s good to get out of your comfort zone?
Well, I am making headway on my Alex the Mouse project (literally: I knit a head).
I can tell you, a three-dimensional sphere (aka rodent head) and Fair Isle colorwork for the body, both performed on US 1 double-pointed needles, are well outside my comfort zone.
My fingers feel enormous. There is much tangling of thin yarn around thin sticks. Stitches always seem to be at the wrong end of the needle.
Two things are keeping me going. First, I am keeping a close eye on the Instagram hashtag #AlextheMouse, which shows lovely images of Alexes that are further on the path to glory (and also a few actual mice named Alex). It’s particularly encouraging to see how great Alex’s head and body look after they’ve been filled with fluffy stuffing.
(Image: @mimicodd on instagram.)
Second, I have a Relief Project to turn to when I need to put down the dpns and get some zen.
(Yarn: Esopus by Jill Draper Makes Stuff; Shade: Vamp.)
I’ve started a second iteration of one of my favorite sweaters, Relax by Ririko. The yarn is Jill Draper’s Esopus, a fingering-weight yarn that I used for last year’s Fort Tryon Wrap. I adore knitting with Esopus, and I think I’ll like this version of Relax even more than the one I made in MadelineTosh Tosh Merino Light. That Relax is in constant rotation through the cold months; I love the fit and the drape and the way I can pop it over a longer shirt and wear it with jeans or a skirt. Its only flaw is a tendency to pill. Esopus is not as flurfy as Tosh Merino Light. My Fort Tryon wrap has nary a pill on it, so I’m hoping this Relax will be new and improved, come Autumn.
And between now and Autumn, it’s a very soothing, chatty thing to knit. No pressure.
Love,
Kay
Getting ready to be brave and cast on my mouse today! Of course, I was informed the body had to be blue ‘because that’s my favorite color’, says my 4 year old grand daughter. Therefore, we are knitting up the same color scheme it seems.
I’m impress you can knit with wood #1s without snapping them. I used to knit socks with them, I had to switch to metal.
Thanks for the tip on TML That has been my suspicion, and has held me back. I don’t know Jill’s yarn but I’m thinking that the Twist Tosh in fingering might be better for a sweater.
Love your ‘lil Alex.
Please keep posting about the Relax. I’m slogging through it – 7 cm’s away from the short rows. I started it just after you finished your first.
Yes! I did the Worsted Boxy because of the large needle but would love a lighter weight Relax. How does one get through the slog of endless stockinette?
Stockinette is terrible for knitting without distraction. But it’s wonderful for knitting while you are talking on the phone, on a conference call, watching a British detective story or endless episodes of West Wing. You don’t even realize you’re knitting after a while.
Hunh – when I need relief from the baby blanket I’m knitting on size 10.5 circs, I turn to my sock – being knit on size 1 DPNs!
I can’t wait to start my little rodent, but I’m still working on my colorwash scarf, and I refuse to start yet another project until it’s done!!!!!
I love the color you’re using for Relax! And last night, with Alex’s head and about 25% of his body, I decided the colors were wrong (the two colors on his sweater didn’t contrast enough). And instead of just changing one of those colors and ripping back to his neck, I started all over with 3 different colors!