Rainy Day Knitting : 30th October 23
Experimental Log Cabin Scarf Making; A New and Colourful Way to Procrastinate
I had restless hands and a drawer crammed full of colourful yarn. The only thing to do was start knitting. In my impatience, I didn’t make a plan. I just wanted to knit, almost urgently… so that’s what I did. I pulled out a few balls that looked like they would look good together; a blueish pink cashmere, dark grey, navy blue and orange Shetland wool and some beautiful Rusty Ferret hand-dyed wool in two colours - my favourite is the vivid orange, which has bubblegum pink peppered through it.
With knitting it’s best if all the yarns used together are the same weight/thickness, otherwise, it can end up with a rumpled appearance. That makes sense, but I wasn’t going to let the fact that my wool was a mix of 4ply and double knitting get in the way of me getting started. Anyway, I’m more interested in playing with pretty colours than perfection so I threw caution to the wind and cast on. Oh, the excitement of starting something new!
The loose idea was to knit a log cabin square, which is made by knitting rectangular blocks around a central knitted square. Each new colour is worked by picking up stitches at right angles to the last block from the edge of the knitting.
And once I started I found it hard to stop. There’s something about the repetitiveness of forming each stitch which is soothing. It uses up just enough brain power to distract me from noisy thoughts. Each row finishes and I’m compelled to start another. Each block finishes and I’m compelled to start another, and then to finish it. Log cabin is perfect for me because there’s no complicated pattern to memorise. So much garter stitch could easily become boring (both to knit and to look at) but changing direction and yarn spices things up a bit.
Cutting to the chase - after a lot of knitting I now have a big warm woolly bandana to help keep me cosy this winter. And, it’s not perfect but I really don’t mind. It’s colourful and warm and that’s all I wanted it to be.
This week I’m laying down my knitting needles and getting ready for the next Makers Market at Portobello Town Hall. I’ll be there on Saturday only, although it’s on for the whole weekend, with lots of fabulous local makers catering for everyone’s gift-giving needs. Come along and support these independent businesses if you’re in the area!
In other news, my caravan/painting studio arrived a few weeks ago and Robb and I have made a start on its restoration (mainly Robb so far tbh). There’s so much to do before it’s fit for purpose - making it completely watertight is the most pressing issue but a lot of the work can’t be done when it’s actually raining and the rain’s hardly stopped lately which is frustrating. Realistically it’s going to be spring before it’s all done but I can’t wait! I made a new account on Instagram to chart our progress. Hop over to @eriba.chronicles if you want to follow.
Knitting and caravans… How middle-aged am I…?!!! Oh well, it comes to us all eventually.
Thanks for reading, I’m grateful you did. Look after yourself. Stay cool and stay cosy!