In Stitches

I love to buy books and patterns and such and then just half read them, throw them aside and tackle a project with gusto. What a terrible way to learn! But somehow I want to be part of the design, puzzle it all out and experiment on my own without being tied down by having to follow the exact rules. Why is this? I have no idea... But it is me and I try to embrace me as often as I can...
A recent example of my mad-hatter creativity.
Each Christmas I make a handmade something for each member of my family. AnaSofia desperately wanted a "neck warmer" so I decided to do another cowl for her since the last one was"too itchy" (thankfully Magus, who cannot complain yet, is wearing it daily in this cold weather). It is frustrating to put love and energy into something and not have it well received so I was determined to get it right this time without compromising my integrity (no hot pink sparkly yarn). I decided on blue to match her eyes but I did not like the bright blue I had in my stash, nor did I want to make it with a more gray blue that was also in my stash. But as with most projects I think up, I want them to start immediately. Like that minute. So I decided to use both blues, two strands of yarn at once and wondered if that was possible? It was! Success.

 

Oh wait... It was successful until I picked my duff off the sofa for a minute to rescue a child from one burning quest or another and came back to my project to find it looking like this (above). Hm... Maybe Magnus is a little upset that he got stuck with the itchy cowl... Thankfully I had a two day car ride ahead of me to sort out the mess and finish for Christmas morning.
Soon it came time to finish and I forgot how to cast off, so I asked AnaSofia because let's be honest, she is a better knitter than me and since we were at my parents' house by then I did not have access to my books, the internet or anyone else who knew how to knit. So I tried what she said "That's easy, you just knit one, grab two and knit them together."  And that was working at first but then a thought was tickling my brain that there would always be a few left each time I did this and why was I doing this for more than one row. But I just kept knitting, for awhile. And it looked funky and then the remaining stitches were so far apart that I couldn't stretch the needles to touch. Hm... So I did the very ungraceful and panic stricken thing of pulling out my needles and just pushing a length of yarn through that last row. I decided it all looked kind of lacy the way I had knit one, grabbed two for awhile and then finished with a string of yarn through the last loop just added to that look... Maybe it was even pretty and maybe people would marvel at how I started a whole new way to knit...
But wait, how do I tie it off? I decided to make a few good knots with that long piece of yarn I wove through the last row and then I decided to do something really strange and leave the yarn hanging down some and attach two more pieces to it and braid it. So it could be a little blue braid mixed into AnaSofia's sunny blonde hair when she wore it. How odd is that? Not odd at all when I think of my little 7 year old and her wild fashion sense because really I just knew she would love all those little touches. And she did! Oh thank goodness! Now all three have cowls and I am on to something different for next year because AnaSofia knit a stuffed teddy bear complete with a dress and booties this winter and now cowls seem pretty lame - I need to up my game a little to keep up with her!