I'm Drea. I'm Meg. I'm Tina. And I'm Jess. And this is Pardon My Stash.
Welcome to Pardon My Stash, a podcast about knitting, the fiber arts, and how awesome it is.
Before we delve into this week's topics, let's see what everyone's working on currently, Dreya.
I am currently contemplating my pattern. Oh no. No, I don't think it's that bad.
I'm literally just sitting here with the pattern in front of me and I'm reading it and my project
is right next to me and I'm just not, I'm just not doing it. You're just like, hmm.
I forgot it was something I was supposed to be doing. That is a pattern. So these are the
directions. You know what, let me pull this out. I mean, I mean, do you want to do some brioche?
No. Wow. That was blunt. I have to remind myself how to do brioche every time I pick up a brioche
pattern. Fair. I was just offering a tiny project, you know, something easy. Hats.
We okay over here? It was a day, man. I am working on
the Akimishaw by Isabel Kramer and I'm using Silver Moon fiber arts,
jingling weight in the colorway, feed of jeans.
Wow. That's a new sound. I've been dying to use that ever since I put it on this thing. Sorry.
Sorry. My project sounds so sad now, but if we needed any sounds, we need a sad turn.
We finally got some horns in here. Even if they're sad horns, still horns.
All right. Meg. So I made a minor mistake in my sun drop pullover by Laura Alar. I am on the
third change of pattern, so I'm getting close to the hem. I love it. That's why I'm taking the time
to tink it back instead of putting it in a bag and hiding it somewhere where I don't have to look at
it for the foreseeable future, which is what I usually do when I make mistakes. It's so pretty.
I love it. I can't wait to wear it. It's going to look really good on you. My favorite part is
that these are going to be short sleeves. It's like three inches of knitting that's so much better
than the long sleeves. I am knitting it out of dragon hoard yarn gnome tweed sock in the color
fairy yule tree. Very good. It's beautiful. Thank you. Tina. Engel sweater, string NYC,
Dolcetto DK in gray, dark gray and red. And this will never end the end. It will. You're getting
close. It's almost done. It goes on and on my friend. No, I am. You know what it is? I feel
like once I bind off the body, I will realize how much I did. But right now it just feels like I
have been knitting body body. You're in the black for a long time. We are weird tonight. Jess. I am
working on the knit flower basket tee cozy because I kind of put it down for a while.
Kind of. Just kind of. I haven't seen that in like a month because I was doing it on recording days
because it was easy to do and we haven't gotten a chance to record in a bit. So I forgot about it
and I was doing other stuff, but I'm picking this back up and I have half of one side done.
That's more than hey, listen, that is more than any other person at this table has done on their
knit along. Listen, you never asked. You never asked. Have you started a knit along? No. Yeah.
Have I started my knit along? No. Have I started mine? No. No. I started overachiever. I've even
got a whole side of basket stitch done, which is really impressive. It looks cute, but I'm not
going to lie. That's hard for you. I got bored with it after the second row and I was like,
oh my God. But it's going to look wicked cute. It's going to be short because I'm doing a short
little teapot. So I'm like, oh yeah, they told me to like double this and I'm not doing that.
I still got to start my snail, but I need to like. You got time. You do have time. I made a long one
for anyone that suffers these kinds of issues. So that's me. I mean, to be fair, it fits in so
many ways. I'm going to use that thing all night tonight. I was going to say to be fair, I just
moved. So I'm still like finding all my stuff. I could, I could do it again, but I'll say don't.
I do love the horns though. It kind of gives the life. The horns are awesome.
But if you want to see pictures of these projects or get some information about Part in My Stash,
be sure to check out our website, partinmystash.com for info, picks, patterns, and yarns.
So this week's topic, uh, we're going to talk about how do you know when you're ready to start
jumping into some more difficult or different, uh, fiber activities. You got to feel it. Yes.
That's fair. That's a, that's a big fairness. That's the biggest. You got to feel it.
Cause if you're not feeling it, it's just not, even if you're scared about it, you have to have
that sort of like flutter of, but I want to do it. Um, that's a good point. Yeah. Cause honestly,
if you force yourself to do something, it'll just hate it more. Yeah. Or you'll find like,
you know, when you, cause a lot of times you will make mistakes and they will be far less easy to
fix and, or come to terms with if you're not enjoying it at all. And in fact, it'll just
like back up your thought of, no, I don't want to, I didn't want to move on to harder stuff yet.
But if you got that feeling, if you got that itch, then you know, the whole journey is just kind of
like, yeah, or if you find yourself really bored, I was just about to say, if you are like, I,
I don't want to knit anymore. I hate knitting because I can't stand doing the same project
again. It's probably time to get adventurous, completely try something new.
Hmm. It's probably not the knitting. It's probably the project.
I was going to say that could be the feeling that that is it's it's when you feel like you're not
being challenged anymore. Right. Yup. So, and, and moving on, could it like, it doesn't have to be
like, you know, jumping into something super huge. Like it could just be like, you know what I'm done
with just doing a garter stitch. I'm going to learn how to Pearl. Um, and that counts because
sometimes that can be difficult. Yeah. It's, we're not necessarily speaking,
like it has to be this like complex stitch that, you know, only master knitters know. It's just
literally like the next step for you. It could be a small step. It could be a huge step. And also it
doesn't necessarily mean you need to switch project type. Like if you like making hats and you just
want to make hats for the rest of your life, like that's fine. But there you can, there's all,
there's is a, such a thing of a basic hat and a, a very complex. Well, it's like, maybe you always do
bottom up hats. So do a top down hat, or maybe you've done hats, like all in continental style.
And now you're going to try a European style. Like it could be as easy as switching up the manner
of your, your knitting. It could be from like regular crochet crochet to like Tunisian crochet.
Like I was so happy doing garter stitch. You were years. And then it was multiple years. Yep.
Nothing fancy. Just knit the front, knit the back until it's long enough to be a scarf.
And, and for some people that may also be the case that it takes a long time before you feel that
like kind of itch. But then for some people they might like, I feel like Jess in particular would
be like, I've done this. I'm accomplished and done. Do you know what? I don't think mine was,
was like that at all. I think I saw Meg moving on and then you felt peer pressure.
And then I like, yeah, like you moved on to stuff onto different stuff. So I, I learned how to purl.
Yep. Um, because it took me a really long time. I tried to learn how to purl and I did really
poorly. And then my, um, former mother-in-law gave me a book that had a really, really good diagram,
step-by-step how to purl, which I think a lot of people just assume like, oh, it's super easy.
And it's, it's not like it's, it's a little daunting. You just have to figure it out.
And, but that's the thing is like, I didn't make a big jump though. Like I went from,
I learned how to purl and I was like, oh, now I can do stockinette. Yeah. And I stayed there for
a very long time. It's true. Like I saw you doing, I did not know stuff. And I was like, oh,
well, I want to do that. It wasn't even like, I wanted to challenge myself. I was just like, oh,
there are options. Yeah. There are other things that I could do. Yeah. And then you started doing
hats and I was like, oh, I can do a hat. I made a goat hat. Yeah, you did. And then I made a pattern
for a hat with runes for Paul. You did. That was pretty cool though. I like that one. You had a
time where, and I remember you made a koi fish hat. Like you had a time where you were just making
crazy hats, like off the cuff. I am also in a hat phase. Yup. I am definitely in. I need to, I feel
like I need to redo that koi hat because that was a lot of fun. And it's like looking at it now. I'm
like, wow, I, I just sort of went until it was a shape, but I feel like I understand more about
how hats knit up that I can make that look a little better now. But see, I think the great
thing about hats is, and kind of, if you think about it, the great thing about any pattern,
anything you do, even just a scarf, you could do nothing but scarves and do something different
every single time and learn a different technique every single time. It's one of the great things
about knitting. You could knit a hat a week for the rest of your life and never repeat or come
close to repeating the same type of pattern. There's just so many different ones. So if it,
there's not like a pressure to be like, okay, I've, I've gotten really good at hats. Now I need to
move on to sweaters or I'm not a complete knitter. You could just keep knitting hats and be every bit
as prolific because you're learning new techniques. I really dislike the idea that being a good knitter
means you can make multiple things. I really don't think. No, I don't. I agree with that. No, I'm
agreeing with you. Absolutely. But I feel like there is a lot of pressure that, oh, if I don't do
like complex lace, I'm not a real knitter. If I don't stick, I'm not a complete knitter.
I feel like the sweater thing is a thing. Like, if you don't make a sweater, like who are,
you're not really a knitter. You're like, it's still a beginner or you're still whatever.
And I just don't like, what if you just don't want to make a sweater? Like it could be for
multiple different reasons. It could be one, you just have a sensory issue. You don't want to,
you don't like wearing sweaters. So why would you make a sweater? Or like it's just impractical
for like your lifestyle, like you're in Arizona or you're just like, I don't know. It's just like,
you don't need, need to make it. Sweaters are also, um, you know, when you, when it comes down to it,
the construction on a whole is very like, it doesn't vary very much. Wow. How many times can
I say that? Um, it doesn't vary. Differ. Differ. Um, it doesn't differ very much. So, you know,
you have the body, you have the sleeves, the construction, you know, might vary between a
round yoke and a raglan. Every so often you might get one that's a little bit more cleverly put
together. But generally a base pattern for a sweater is a base pattern for a sweater. And
there, there aren't a lot of different fancy ways to do that. I used to follow, um, I still follow
her. Um, her name is grump arena. She used to have a blog. She doesn't really anymore. Um, she's a
knitter out of Boston and she knit her first sweater within the first year that she learned
how to knit because she was the type of knitter like Jess that was like, how complicated can I
make this? Like I want to learn all the complicated stuff. And after, I want to say like a year or two,
she did this great blog post. And if her blog goes back online or maybe it is back online,
I should check after this. Um, and if I ever find it, I'll link it on our blog, um, where she kind
of like came out and said, guys, I, I don't like to knit sweaters. And she's like, I feel like there
is so much pressure that you're not a complete knitter until you knit a sweater. And she's like,
I just don't like it. Like I don't find it enjoyable. Like I like wearing sweaters, but it's,
it, it takes so long and it's not really enough of a challenge. You know, the, the, a fancy yoke or
maybe like a different detail could be fun to do. But she's like, I just, I don't want to do it. I
want to knit accessories. I want to knit like hats and shawls and like, you know, fun things like
that. And it's not even a, it's not about the, you know, this is too difficult because this is the
person that knit the crown prince stole that had like 2200 noops in it. Like this, this woman has
to admit it. It really is. I would never do that powder. I feel like Draya just went like a Stoney
and lace period. It's all noops. But I'm not a lace person though. No, and neither am I. And, and
that, no, like lace, lace, like pattern knitting, like lace yarn. Okay. Oh, lace weights. Yeah.
Yeah. You said making lace cause I'm like, no, no, but it's not fancy lace. Okay. You said lace.
You didn't specify fancy. Okay. I mean, there's like, sorry, but semantics, but I just, I don't
know. Yarn over, Tina, calm down. Even at the time. And I remember, cause I could not, I could
barely Pearl at the time that I read it, but I remember it really resonated with me that this
was somebody that I really respected as a, as a really great knitter who was just like, you know
what? I don't like to knit sweaters. What of it? Yeah. And I think there's a bit of bravery with
that because I have, I have heard directly from people, not online, like in person, someone say
like, yeah, like, you know, hitting the pinnacle of knitting is like, you know, this or that late,
it's either sweaters or I'm speaking or like some, something that makes you like, okay. And okay,
I'm going to clear it up real quick, real easy. Okay. If you think you need to be at the pinnacle
of knitting, do the master and inner course and get your certification. There you go.
Congratulations. The rest of us are going to just enjoy what we make. Like nobody needs to be
peer pressured into like doing anything that they don't want to do. So like, and I, and I will attest
to this after making multiple sweaters and garments, I have to be in the mood for it. Usually I am, but
you know, there are times that I'm just like, I don't, I don't want to do that right now. I
just want to make a hat. I just want to make some gloves and I'm just, I just do what the,
what mood strikes me. And so far it's been hats recently. I've been making,
everybody goes through phases. Yeah. So yeah, I just don't feel like if you're listening to this,
like if you feel any kind of pressure to do a project that you don't really think that you'll
enjoy, like just don't, just don't man, like just do what you want to do. Also, it doesn't matter what
heights you think you've reached, how great you've become. You're still
as susceptible to dumb mistakes as you were when you were a beginner. Like I knit my first,
I knit three sweaters last year because I knit the little one for Marilyn and two for myself.
And for me, that was like a massive goal was being able to knit an adult sweater.
And I finished my second adult sweater and I felt pretty good. And then two weeks later, I had a
two needles of two different sizes on my thing. And I knit like a quarter of a project without
realizing it. So, well, I was going to say like step because I was, and everyone's pointed it out
that I have always been, I am never going to do a sweater. And that was true. I had no interest.
I would look at sweaters and be like, Oh, that's kind of cool looking. I don't want to do it.
Don't want to do it. And then I saw a pattern and I was like, Oh, that's a real cool pattern. It's
like swords and based on tarot and a lot of things that I'm super interested in. It's really pretty.
I still don't want to do a sweater, but that kept happening for months. And I was finally like,
the same pattern, the same pattern, the same pattern. So I was finally like,
maybe I could try to do a sweater, like, but it would have to be this one. Like this is the one.
I'm not going to do like a workup sweater. It's just, this is the one that keeps popping up that
I'm like, but it's so nice. And I feel like you need something like that, like to know, like you
can totally look at something and be like, I'm not sure if I'm ready. So don't hop on it right away.
Wait, come back to it. See if you have the same feels when you look at it the second time or the
third time, like, because there are a lot of things that you'll look back on. Like there's
plenty of saved projects I have that I look back on like a couple months later. I'm like,
I don't want to do that. Why did I like this before? Like, I'm never going to be able to do that.
Exactly. Like it's beautiful. Did I just like it because I like looking at it? That's
fair. It'll stay in there for that reason. But, and that's fair. I feel like if it is something,
especially a bigger step, like if it is something that's a big leap kind of project,
you do want to make sure you're ready for it. And you're not just doing it because of peer pressure
or anything like that. Like you got to be ready for it. And it's okay if you're not. And if you
don't want to, like there, no one really should be making you feel bad if you're like, yeah, guys,
no, I'm just not feeling this. I mean, a couple of years ago, I think I was, cause I did a shawl
and you guys all did sweat last year. That was fine. It was like, yep. Wasn't feeling a sweater
that because we're supportive. And if you're around people trying to make you make a sweater,
then they're not supportive. You should do what you want to do. Like if you are just not feeling
that other project, then don't do it. Cause then you'll just, you'll start to like resent it. And
it'll turn into one of those endless whips. I feel like a lot of my projects I started like
when I was ready to move on to newer things, it was always because somebody else was doing it.
And I was like, Oh, I could do that. But I always picked a pattern that was
more based on construction than like skill. If that makes sense. Like I've always been like,
like skill, if that makes sense, like I would pick a pattern that would show me how to make the thing.
And then I would be stuck on that garment, that accessory for however long. And I would do as
many crazy patterns as I could, except for when I did the sweater, I just kind of went ham on that.
I feel like sometimes with sweater, you just have to dive in. Yeah. But that one,
you were on a big cable kick. So you found one that had like lots of cables, lots of cables.
And that was something you were super interested in at the time. And yeah,
and it was going to hold my interest. Yeah. So I was really, I had wanted for years to do a sweater
and I was really, um, cause it's me, I really doubted my ability to be able to put a sweater
together. And one of the things that helped me get the confidence to do a sweater, um, was doing
the Feodora capelet first, because it was kind of like, like a first, it was, it was like a waiting
pool for a sweater. Like it, I learned how to do a collar and how to increase the yoke. And I did the
color work. The, the only real difference is I never split for the sleeves. Um, and when I was
finished with it, like I had a garment that had some shaping to it that had just as much, you know,
work put into it as the yoke of any sweater. And after that, I'm kind of like, okay, well,
if I did all of that, the only thing that I haven't done yet is splitting for sleeves and then
picking up the stitches for sleeves and knitting them. And knitting is knitting. So I already know
how to do that. And that gave me the confidence to be like, okay, well, if I did this project,
I can take the next step. And sometimes maybe that is kind of what you need to do. If you're
somebody like me who has very little confidence and gets anxious about trying something new is
maybe break it down into smaller steps and be like, let me try this first. That's why I'm doing the
coffee cup, stick thing instead of going like full hog and being like, let me stick a sweater.
I'm going to do the coffee mug holder. What's it called? Cozy. That's the word I'm looking for.
And I'm looking for, um, because that's not as big a commitment. And if I completely screw it up,
I've only caught up a tea cozy or a cup cozy, not a full blown color work sweater that I have spent
months on. So sometimes baby steps really help. Well, I found two with anything that I'm doing.
Um, that's a bit more complicated. Um, I like to go like skim through the pattern and make sure I,
at the very least have an idea of like, um, for the sweater, I knew the type of short rows that
they use. Um, so I was like, okay, this is good. Um, I still had to YouTube it and make sure I
remembered because German shirt rows are a little weird and I always kind of pull the lakes the
wrong way sometimes. But, um, but I had a basic understanding of it. So when I got to it, it
wasn't slowing me down, which I knew like, if I got stuck on a part, it would, you know, kind of
ruin your whole drive. So I feel like if that's something that you know about yourself, if you
get stuck on a part or like, if you get stuck on something, it kills your drive to maybe go over
the pattern first and just make sure, you know, any of the stitches that it requires. Um, and so,
so you're ready to go and you don't, uh, risk running into this sort of like hiccup or, or
hurdle that, um, that's going to throw you off. That is such a good tip. And I am so bad at
remembering to do it. I'm like, yeah, I'm good. And then I get to a point in the pattern. I'm like,
Oh no, I like to, um, make baby versions of whatever I'm trying to make. That's a smart idea too.
So actually when I made your set for Mariel, that was my foray into sweaters and socks. Yeah. Cause
I had never made a sweater or sock before. And I was like, well, if I can make one for a newborn,
I can make one for an adult. Now just do this, but bigger. Yeah, pretty much. But like you learn the
technique. Right. So it was really smart. Yeah. So that was, yeah, no, that's okay.
I had with, um, with the outlet sweater that I did for Mariel. I mean, it was, it was, it was not
like an infant, but it was still, it was still small and it was like, okay, let me, and it was
also kind of like, do I hate this? Am I going to hate this? Is this maybe a lesser commitment?
Figure out if you even want to knit a sweater. Yeah. So before you jump into that three X sweater
or pair of socks, even like, cause socks are a big commitment too. They're small, but it's two
projects. It's two projects and they can be quite complex and they have a lot of parts.
And the sock piece it's, if you know for a fact that you will not complete the second one,
you really should learn how to do magic loop and do them at the same time. I don't know how to do
that. No, I, I do not know how to do it, but I've seen many people when I was in North Carolina,
did magic loop and I saw kind of the idea of it and I kind of sorta get it, but like I've never
actually tried it, but I never had a problem like doing a second sock, but if you know for a fact,
you're going to finish that one first one Jess and then be immediately. Nope. I don't want to
do anymore. Um, magic loop it. Cause I believe you can do it with gloves too. Yes, you can.
So, uh, so yeah, you knit like slippers, right? I did. You knit like sock slippers that were like,
what out of like, Oh God, I don't know. Like Aaron weight yarn. They were huge. It was kind of like,
they were super soft, not a sock knitter yet though. We can't say that anymore now that you're not in
anything that are because the sweater was a surprise. Something may catch my fancy and it
may be years before, you know, Jess, I think might get you into socks. When I got the stocking from
my friend and I had to figure it out, that was really fun. Just FYI. Uh, she gave me like a
stocking that her grandmother had made for her and she wanted one for her husband. Her grandmother
had already passed. There was no pattern. There wasn't even a hint of a pattern. It was just,
she probably didn't use a pattern to be honest. It was a pretty basic construction.
Grandma's doing socks with no patterns. Pretty much. So I was like, I was like, okay. And like,
I did figure it out. It does look slightly different. It's going to, but it looks a little
different, but it's pretty spot on. And that was fun to figure out. And I feel like, yes. And I
feel like Jess would be into that. So maybe I'll find you a stocking that needs a friend.
Well, my aunt has been asking her for like a year now to reverse engineer. My grandmother made like,
I don't know, 75 plus Afghans. They were always the same pattern, but my aunt is dying to make it.
But there's no, she didn't have a pattern like because she had done it so many times, she just
hauled off and did it. So my aunt wants to make this Afghan and she's been asking Jess to reverse
engineer the pattern. It's not complicated, but I'm pretty sure I found out how to do it. Did you?
Okay. Write it down because she keeps asking me for it. I'm pretty, I'm pretty sure I figured that
out. And she wants to use our yarn. She swatched for that sweater. I just want to say that.
She swatched for that sweater. Congratulations. I did. Welcome to the exclusive club. Listen,
it's a garment I'm going to swatch for. Honestly, the biggest thing that went against me with that
was that I did drop another size in the midst of making it. So it's a little baggy, but I like
comfy stuff. So it looks, it looks good. It looks good on you. I'm just going to block it smaller.
I'm not going to help. Yeah, we're not, we're not going to do, we're not going to do extreme blocking.
To help her block the sweater. You're good for extreme blocking. It's going to be, if anybody
ever has like some really good lace they want blocked. I am your man. That looks like a leaf.
Like that's going to be great. That one. Oh my God. When I ever do that shawl, that's going to be my
day. It says block aggressively. Yeah, I got it. I got it in the bag. But, um, but yeah, no, I,
I do think I figured that stitch out. So I got to write it down for her.
I feel like my pinnacle knitting is going to be two at a time socks.
You know what? Okay. This, I don't know if I said this to you guys yet, but like,
so I've been helping Joe learn basic crochet. Yeah. Well, now I want to crochet, learn it.
Yeah, you did. Cause remember you asked me for the granny square. Yeah. Cause I want to do it.
Oh, you should do it. Well, no, because I was doing it with Joe and then I was like, oh,
wow, this goes up really fast. She you're ready to evolve like a Pokemon. I am. No, I have to,
I have to say, besides sneaking, I've pretty much done a lot of things. I can't think of a lot of
things besides the magic loop with the socks and the sneaking. I can't think of a lot of things I
haven't done. So I'm just kind of like, and even if I let like someone has a new technique or
something, it's basically a glorified knit pearl, something like, you know, um, so yeah, when I,
when I started helping, uh, my youngest daughter with the crochet, she's very much into crochet.
She refuses to knit. She says she doesn't understand it. Doesn't make sense. Why use two
and you can use one. I thought that was a really cute response from a six year old aggressively
talking to me about how crochet is better than knitting, but that's okay. Uh, everybody has their
preference. Well, she, Joe has a preference. I've tried to learn crochet and it just doesn't stick.
I prefer to knit. I can at this point, but you prefer crochet, don't you? Most of the time.
It depends. I mean, crochet works a little faster for me. Um, I did find a crochet blanket that I
want to try and do at some point. You're going to make a blanket. Yeah. That's why I haven't done
this year is like, I said, that's why I haven't done it yet, but it looks so pretty. It's just
all of the things we thought to be true or not true anymore. I just, so I saved it and I look
at it every once in a while and see how I'm feeling. Cause that's, that's big. That's bigger than a
sweater. You're evolving like a Pokemon. Dude, blank blanket is tough. It's someone who's tried.
I've made baby ones, but I can't do the full size. It's just like. Pretty. I want to say
it's kind of a full size blanket for my brother in three months. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Big red.
Uh, big red. Big red. He still uses that. He loves that blanket.
The one that was originally just a little too big. Yeah.
No, I, I, I wouldn't say that it like, I look at it as like, I don't think there'll ever be a time
when I'm like, I'm done learning how to do anything or I I've reached like a pinnacle or anything like
that. The one thing that I really do want to do, um, is knit lace and not out of lace weight,
because I don't like lace weight, but out of like a fingering weight. Okay. But dude, Jess, that is
so up your alley. Isn't that cool though? That's there's so much stuff. Yeah. There's so much stuff
going on with that. You will have a field day of the reason why I thought I want to make a blanket
and you could do it all different color. You have to send that to me.
So I can put it on the blog. Um, sorry. I didn't mean to, I just, cause I know me being like,
I want to do a blanket was like, Jess, what the hell? I know. It's so shocking.
Okay. It was, I didn't even know you wanted to do that. I decided three days ago that I would,
that I would save it breaking news and see what happened.
And that's all the time we have for this week for additional content and opportunities to
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and remember to tune in next week for more tips, knits and wits at part of my stash.