A Burst of Color

Oh, Midwest winter, you are getting the best of me. I’m starting to run out of ways to remind myself that there is light at the end of the tunnel; that spring is on its way.


This is what remains of the ball of fiber that got me through this cold and icy week.

Between the frigid temperatures outside and the insanity that’s starting to creep into my evenings due to an unbelievably heavy workload during the day, I needed a calming, colorful project to keep my mind tame during the evenings.

I’ve had this yarn for years. Seven years ago my Mom, as moms do, saw me ogling yarn I couldn’t afford and treated me to two lovely skeins of it. I walked out of the sweet little Virginia yarn store, happily dreaming of what my fiber could become. And since then those two skeins have become a number of different projects. They have become at least three different scarves knit in stockinette, garter and basket weave. They’ve been wound and unwound time after time. They’ve been the pride of my yarn stash forever, just waiting for the perfect project.

I was never able to get too excited about any of the finished projects though. Everything just seemed too structured and repetitive for this wild and uneven yarn. In order to show off its color combinations, variations in weight and seemingly uncontained energy, I decided that something without much rhyme or reason would be the best fit.


I picked Diversify from Knitty as a starting point for the pattern. At first I thought I was following the instructions, but about two rows in I realized I wasn’t even close. Obviously the yarn over is a stitch I never really mastered, simple as it may be. When I realized I was doing it all wrong it reaffirmed my desire to just have fun and enjoy the process. It was such a soothing project to look forward to each night and I didn’t want to stop and think about following any rules. This yarn certainly doesn’t adhere to any rules.

I may change my mind later, but for now I’m loving what this has become. Creating it calmed me down during a rough week at work and wearing it, I think, is going to help usher in spring. I’m going to be hopeful about it all.

What would you have made with this yarn?

p.s. Thanks to Regan for taking all the yarn pictures!

Comments

5 responses to “A Burst of Color”

  1. Sara I. Avatar
    Sara I.

    Your blog is turning me into a bad person. I am jealous and want to steal that scarf because it is beautiful! Perfect colors for you πŸ™‚

    1. Claire Avatar
      Claire

      You will never be a bad person. There’s just no way πŸ™‚ Thanks for the scarf love, Sara!

  2. Erin Avatar

    Ooooh. I lvoe the grass picture. It’s like the grass is just frozen in an ice capsule and will be freed at any moment! And then we will see it again. There are 3 solid months where I despise living here. Once the color returns I feel quite content. Boo for winter. Oh, and nice scarf. πŸ™‚

    1. Claire Avatar
      Claire

      I’m with you. Right now I kind of feel like the grass. Stuck. Once warmth and color return I’m sure I’ll be quite content in IN…. for a while, at least.

  3. maryannk Avatar
    maryannk

    I think you made a great choice, worthy of the yarn. May it keep you warm the rest of this winter and into next! I think if I was good at knitting, I would use yarn like that to make some of those gloves that don’t actually have fingers… kind of like legwarmers for your hands? But alas, it is just a dream. πŸ™‚ And Spring is coming anyway!

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