Genius Tips
Hey Everybody: Stop Knitting for a Week
Dear Kay,
A funny thing happened on my recent family trip: I didn’t knit at all.
And I didn’t miss it.
The time away with my grown-up lads and hubbo felt Technicolor, heightened, rare. There was a lot to see.
Also: the fermented shark was a constant concern. I kept worrying that it was going to show up on a menu and I’d have to eat it again.
The net result of all this not-knitting hit me when I returned: I was delirious with the desire to knit. I mean, you would have thought that world peace depended on me getting some yarn onto a needle. You would have thought I’d invented knitting.
Colors on My Mind
Before I left town, I’d been patting a set of skeins from Lichen and Lace, the 80/20 Sock that we recently brought into the Shop.
What a palette. Megan Ingman is a genius. I wanted to knit them all. Together. In one project.
So, every time we’d pass an insanely beautiful Icelandic landscape, I’d think: that looks just like those Lichen and Lace skeins.
The colors kept showing up.
Here’s when we went to go see those three white dots, aka sheep.
This was after seeing icebergs.
This was after climbing up some damn hill.
This was when we overshot our hike turnoff by two hours uphill. 
This is about the time we got over that, three days later.
This was about 11 pm on our last night in the countryside.
See?
It’s all Icelandic landscape in there.
A New Corrugated Wrap Erupts
So, the night we got home, with bags still packed by the front door, I sat down with Cecelia Campochiaro’s Corrugated Wrap pattern from MDK Field Guide No. 5: Sequences and got to it. I didn’t go through the mail. I wedged Kermit up next to me and let fly.
This happened in a few days. Cecelia’s clever design has 16 panels of sequences in it—simple knit/purl patterns that turn into surprising and magnificent textures. This is my third sequence knitting project, and I find it as addicting and fresh as that time I knit a bed-sized blanket with sequence knitting.
I’m fakeyfading the color changes in 12-row stockinette bands. It’s entirely compelling, the whole thing. And I don’t think I would be so exuberant about this had I not spent time away from knitting.
The Knitting Respite
If you’re knitting a lot, and maybe you’re feeling like it’s a bit too much, I heartily encourage you to take a break. There are risks, of course: during your time away, you may discover decoupage or marble sculpture or motorcycle restoration. It might be the end of knitting, forever. More likely, you’ll get back to it, in a fever, with the most delicious idea you ever had.
Love,
Ann
I would find holding my breath for a week easier than not knitting. I have already dumped all the needlepoint canvases I won’t do, sold the sewing machines I won’t use, and donated hundreds of yards of fabric that won’t be turned into quilts. Take a pause from knitting? When there’s still so many glorious patterns and yarns to enjoy? Not a chance.
Hi, I’m looking for 16in crucial needles size 2.75 clover doesn’t make one or I can’t find it. A friend said I might have to get it England, Austria, New Zealand they have more knitter there than American does. Clover #2 Is 2.25 and #3 Is 3.25. What happen to # 2.50 & 2.75 & 3.00 I sure could use thies sizes if you can tell me who sales them, and where to order them from. Thank you
Knit Picks carries US size 2 (2.75mm) in 16″ circulars. Chiaogoo has that size as well and many lys carry them or could order for you. Also could purchase online. Lots of options in the United States.
Have you tried knitpicks? I believe they carry 2.75
OK, OK
Everything thing you wrote is TRUE. Ipl promise to try it, one of these days….
Recently I had shoulder surgery. All together, I will probably be not-knitting for at least two months. The daily boost from MDK is wonderful, but also makes me crazy with missing knitting. Probably a week is more than enough, especially with something exciting like Iceland as a diversion.
Ginny I am in the same boat you are in! Shoulder surgery 5 weeks ago, and cannot move my arm away from my side for another 5 weeks. It’s forced me to slow down & give up doing quite a few things, which I think the cosmos felt I needed. I tell myself there will be time when I’m ready.
Sending you shoulder folks lots of healing intentions! I had wrist surgery on June 12 for a severe tendon condition. I had not been able to knit much at all since mid-November last year! I am back to knitting in dribs & dabs. I feel ya
What is Kermit?
Kermit is a force of nature, and master of the mysterious Foodlady, his humble servant.
I sometimes call my teenage daughter as Foodlady – in her hamster’s voice. ” Hey Foodlady… I’m hungry again! Got any carrot?”
Kermit is a lifestyle brand headquartered out of Nashville.
We need a fresh photo of Kermit! We acquired a Maine Coon Cat in March; the most lovable cat in our tiny cat Army! I won’t say how many, but it is double digits and less than 14! Some are strictly outdoors and some strictly indoors; all sizes and colors! My yarn is kept behind closed doors
Kate
Ann’s cat=Kermit. Sometimes he writes a blog post of his own.
Is yours the first multi-colored Coorugated? Did you marl the dividing sequences? Can you discuss your color placement? Will you post another photo with all colors? Thank you!
I think she is alternating stripes of the old and new colors in the dividing sections.
Yes! I’ll post better pix of this.
Interested in “fakeyfading” term and technique. 🙂
The wrap is glorious. Absolutely glorious. And your Iceland picture captions make me guffaw. I would still be getting over missing the hike turnoff uphill by 2 hours.
Thought for sure that a couple of those skeins would be slipped into Ann’s shoes as comfort insoles. Then the knitting reunion.
It is kind of hard to imagine how the Family Shayne survived such a miscalculation.
We refer to it as The Bad Times. One of our four cellphones ran out of power. It was touch and go.
I agree, Anne – there is very little anger of a voluntary knitting break becoming permanent. Every Spring during cashmere harvest, my daily knitting tapers off then stops for a few weeks. My hands have a limited capacity for holding onto things, and the needles must take second place to the combs and brushes. When I realize the harvest is (finally!) over and I can pick up my daily knitting again, it’s about 50/50 whether I restart a WIP or cast on something new. Sometimes it’s both.
“danger” not “anger” !
Ha!
I live in a Northern climate and knit seasonally. When the frost hits in September I start, and when gardening can really get going in May, I taper off. There is too much to do outside during our short sunshine season for me to knit. But there is no risk of me not returning in the fall. It is my hibernation!
Local yarn shops struggle to keep the doors open. Your encouragement of even a temporary halt on knitting is irresponsible.
I hope you’re kidding, Cynthia, but I can’t tell. We celebrate knitting 365 days a year, with as much humor and joy as we possibly can.
I live in a southern climate and I do the same thing. I tend to pick up small cross stitch projects in the summer. Last thing I want near me in this heat is any extra quantity of wool or even cotton. Even a sock quantity of yarn seems excessive.
As soon as I finish this wrap/ blanket that needs to be clean & wrapped by 28 November, then I’ll take a break….
I’m afraid to stop knitting for any period of time. I get cranky.
This inspires me so much…even though I have NOT taken a break from knitting! I need to pull out Field Guide # 5 and get to work! I love this idea! It’s stunning!
I stopped knitting for several months (because I was spinning and weaving), am now knee deep in a cardigan, plus socks (almost always have a pair of socks on the needles). Have you considered selling roving in those Icelandic colors? Some of us “paint” with wool – needle felting – or would like to spin our own.
I actually stopped knitting for about 2 weeks. I had this fear that maybe I had finally lost interest after 4 years like other craft projects. Well desire came back and I feel relieved!
Very entertaining. Thanks for letting us know how long it took to recover from the missed turn! I really wanted to know.
I want to make this and am ordering the yarn. Please explain the fakeyfading technique you used between sections. Thank you!
A few years ago, bit of tendon stress made me cease knitting for 6 weeks. Oh the horror. Now I take care not to bend my wrists and stop when my wrists are tired. But stopping voluntarily is something I can’t do. Too many yarns! Too many patterns I want to make. A knitting manic? Oh yea.
You are soooo right! I became owned by a new puppy at New Year’s Eve. You can well imagine there was a long spell when I didn’t knit a stitch and since then I have had to budget my time between Louie and knitting. When I could once again knit this spring it was as if my fingers had been starved (if that is possible) I kept knitting until 3 AM that first night. Since then I have skipped some days in favor of puppy play time and been rewarded by a delightful furry head on my foot while I’m knitting on other times. Balance in all things is my new goal!
The only thing I could think of when you wrote “marble sculpture “ , was the Father’s Day pyramid marble/ Elmer glue paper weight I made in Brownie ‘s ! LOL!
English author W.H. Auden said of the Icelandic fermented shark (I am paraphrasing here) that it was more like shoe polish than any food imaginable.
I’m on an enforced break from weaving and spinning till the end of the allergy season, the tiny natural fibers being a bit of a problem. So I’m having a great time with English paper piecing, new passion, and I’m knitting in acrylic for Warm-up America.
But once the season changes, weaving will return. Knitting for Warm up America will continue anyway. It’s simple stuff I can do at my knitting groups while chatting. I find that more demanding knitting can’t happen in a group. At least not without getting cranky with mistakes. And I’ve found a couple of other group members have become interested in taking part in the Warm up projects.
Meanwhile I read in here in awe of the skills of other knitters.
I do hope you brought back some fermented shark for Kermit. Because, really, what sort of souvenir would a cat most appreciate?
Thank you for the inspiration to make the Corrugated Shawl in many colors. For some reason (probably because that’s how it is in the book, grin) I only ever imagined it in one color, but It’s the perfect shawl for a set of smaller skeins, and much more interesting to knit in many colors.
Nice article
Wow
Um, last time I tried to stop knitting for a week, I nearly repurposed my needles as Implements of Mayhem and Destruction, my blood pressure did Alarming Things and there were ‘splosions, and that One Incident With the Dishwasher happened, and my husband and co-workers begged me to reconsider my life choices by day 3.
And then he bought me yarn…
(wait, maybe there IS something to this…)
Love your post about Iceland. My husband and i were there in 2005. We found that putrified shark is hard to find. Made friends with a local violinmaker (which is my husband’s field), who invited us to dinner and procured some shark for us, which his wife insisted we consume on the porch. It was delicious and tasted like a very strong cheese, not fishy at all. We were instructed to wash it down with sips of “black death”–an 80 proof icelandic liquor somewhat like vodka. A delightful memory aof a country with few trees, and lots of fuchsia, chartreuse and black in the landscape. And you didnt buy any local yarn?
I just took almost a week off from knitting after binge knitting projects for our county fair. About six weeks prior to fair time I decided all nine entries should be original projects. Probably a crazy idea but it was done! So the time off was much needed, but I’m back at it with renewed vigor.