Tuesday, January 28, 2014

A Conversation With Yarn







  
Mere: Welcome to Mereknits, beautiful Plymoth Yarn Camino Alpaca.

Yarn: I am so happy to be here.

Mere:  I have to tell you I am in love with your softness, and beautiful texture.

Yarn: Oh my you are going to make me blush!

Mere: Tell us a little about yourself.....

Yarn: Well I was innocently sitting on the shelf in the yarn store, when along came Meredith who almost squealed in delight at the prospect of buying me at 50% off.  She picked me up, scoffed a bit at the $7 full price for only 56 yards and then put me in her basket.

Mere:  How did she manage to make you into this wonderful project?

Yarn:  Well you see it is a bit of a story.  Meredith sometimes thinks she knows everything.  I mean she just doesn't listen, and if you try to listen very carefully yarn will tell you what it wants to become.  First she tried to use me to weave!  I know it sounds ghastly doesn't it!!!  She compressed my beautiful fibers and I lost all my gorgeousness.   Thank goodness she quickly saw the error of her ways.  

Next, she grabbed a large crochet hook, she thought a nice airy cowl was in order.  I again scoffed at the idea, I mean look at me!  I am a beautiful thick to thin yarn with a beautiful, soft flow.  But that Meredith, my goodness she would not listen.  She tried to make me into a dc cowl, twice!  Yes you read that right, twice!   First she chained a million stitches and made a dc in each chain, after two rows she saw the error of her ways, all that twisting was not showing off how beautiful I am!  Plus the dc's were uneven due to my thin to thickness.  Did she learn from this, well no, she is a bit slow on the uptake!  She ripped me back, quite carelessly if you ask me, and crocheted me up again into a dc separated by a chain one pattern. Same thing happened, why am I not surprised!

So finally Meredith figured out I needed to be knit.

Mere:  My goodness!  You have been through so much, did she get it right this time?  

Yarn:  No, bless her, she is sometimes quite daft.  She tried a simple stockinette pattern, which made me look beautiful and all but I was starting to curl.  Really how long has this woman been knitting?  She knows stockinette curls!   And I am much too beautiful to end up curled in on myself around someones neck!

Mere:  The horror!  You must have been quite beside yourself!

Yarn: I was, but frankly after a few minutes I convinced her to rip me out yet again and do a simple pattern.  Cast on 25 stitches with nice size 10 1/2 needles.  Knit 5, purl 5 and so on until the end of the row.  On the next row it is the opposite, purl 5, knit 5 and so on.  Do this for 7 rows and then switch the pattern.  It is called basket-weave.  Repeat until almost all your yarn is gone, sew together after making one small twist to make it into an infinity cowl, and you are done!  She used all of my 220 yards and frankly is feeling quite smug that she made this whole project for under $18 instead of the $35 original price.

Mere: That is quite a bargain!

Yarn: Just because I was on sale do not presume I am cheap!

Mere: I would never make that mistake, you are beautiful, soft and lovely.  You should be proud of what you have become.

Yarn: Oh I am, if only she had listened to me in the first place I would have been completed many days ago.  So for all of your readers who play with yarn, let this be a lesson, listen to your yarn, it will tell you what it wants to be.

Mere:  Amen to that!

49 comments:

Bridget said...

Wow, Meredith, that Mere person sounds like a real character! ;-)

But I'm glad to hear what the yarn had to say. And I'm glad it was able to become something beautiful.

Needles and Wool said...

What a lovely scarf Meredith! I love the basket weave, I will give it a try sometime! I love the look of alpaca wool it is so soft and the gray is so nice. I loved reading your conversation too it was so interesting and a unique way to give us readers information about how you made the scarf and the wool you used. I hope you have a great day!
Take care,
Lisa

Anonymous said...

Sometimes the yarn just have to speak a little louder. ;-)

Your cowl is lovely! Your yarn is SO smart!

kristieinbc said...

Too funny! I will remember to listen carefully the next time my yarn talks to me. :-)

CJ said...

That yarn's got a lot to say for itself. But it is very beautiful. I love the simple pattern you ended up with, it shows it off to perfection.

Stitchy Mc Floss said...

The yarn is lovely...and I love the basket weave, so very pretty.

I am so glad I am not the only one who hears voices, too! Yarn/thread they can really be talkers if you let them!

Hugs and blessings always sweet friend.

Linda said...

Yarn you are so wise and Meredith got there in the end, please don't be to hard on her :-)

Meredith, your yarn didn't speak loud enough but you listened in the end and transformed yarn's luxurious fibres into something beautiful x

Unknown said...

Hi Meredith,


Just found you at Stins. What a nice blog you have.

I adore Max. Isn't he a nice looking guy? so fluffy and all.

P.S. Somehow, a stream of consciousness in my head, connects the name of your blog with "meerkats". I don't suppose you meant it this way. Don't ask me why. My head is blurry sometimes.

Brigitte from Belgium

http://homeiswherethedachshundis.blogspot.be/

Melanie said...

Thank you for the chuckle Meredith...we all need a good conversation with/about ourselves now and then, don't we? I'm glad you and your yarn had this lovely chat...it really is beautiful, knit in the basket weave pattern you decided on. :)
Melanie

RedSetter said...

It's always lovely not just to have your own voice in your head when you are weaving/crocheting/knitting. Slightly annoying to be outfoxed by a ball of wool though! The scarf is beautiful and well done for persevering. I suspect that wool may have been lobbed to the back of the spare room somewhere around the crochet attempt.

Crystal Rose Cottage said...

You are too cute and clever! The end result is really beautiful and looks so professional. You certainly have a way with yarn Meredith!
Hugs, Patti

elns said...

Love the interview with a yarn. Seriously how fun are you? I had to to try not to laugh too loudly. hehe.

kathy b said...

I am so glad she did not use any $&@@@ bad words so no bleeps were necessary. She is a class act. That gorgeous cowl deserves to be on you as the model mere

Julie said...

Boy Mere, I think Alpaca was a little rough on you. We all know you are a wonderful weaver, crocheter and knitter. That yarn should just be thankful that you spent so much time with her!

Gorgeous cowl BTW. xo J

Unknown said...

Thanks for the chuckle! Needed it. That turned out beautiful!

Taci simmons said...

What a beautiful infinity scarf. I think it will keep you warmer all year. Have a wonderful week friend!

Stins said...

Hahaha, love that story, you are so creative!!
And the scarf is beautiful too... ;-)
Love from Mirjam.

Gracie Saylor said...

Ahhhh, but you really did listen beautifully in the end, Meredith :) Well done! xx

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this post, it made me smile and congratulations on a beautiful end result! Enjoy your day x

Amy at love made my home said...

Oh that is so funny!! Annoyingly that yarn is right, yarn so often does seem to know best what it is meant for. Your cowl is of course beautiful! xx

Pammy Sue said...

Ha-ha! I do not want to hear what some of my stash has to say about me! Poor yarn, stuffed into plastic bins on top of each other never being used.

gaia said...

Fun post, gorgeous cowl :)

Unknown said...

:) Wonderful conversation, just what I need as I head off to the yarn store to choose some pretties for a new project! I'll listen carefully...and your yarn looks like it was destined to be knit in that pattern, which obviously it was! Chrissie x

Home Meadows said...

Beautiful cowl. It's amazing you were able to knit the whole thing with that small skein of yarn. The basketweave pattern really shows off the pretty yarn. Take care, Heather

millefeuilles said...

Dear Meredith,

One should always listen to one's yarn! And just look at what you made with it? It's so beautiful!

Stephanie

Unknown said...

How beautiful!! I was waiting to see what you made from this luscious yarn and it is even more beautiful than I imaged. I am sorry that I didn't get some of the yarn after seeing your item. I know that the yarn is very happy!

Pooch said...

Absolutely gorgeous yarn! I felt like I could reach out and feel the yarn because your lovely opening pictures.

:)

linda said...

I love it Meredith, it was so funny but true, we have to listen to what the yarn is trying to tell us and many a disaster could be avoided, what a pity poor Mere had to have so much trial and error but what a happy ending the cowl is beautiful and it looks so soft and cosy. :)

Anonymous said...

It is beautiful yarn! and I just love your needle ends! Gorgeous! :)

Crafty in the Med said...

Great fun post......love it! I am thinking i just better sort my stash out and settle them all more comfy like ...... I can imagine they are all having a good chit chat about me !
You enjoyed writing this post,didn't you?

Keep well

Amanda x

Acorn to Oak said...

It looks like you figured out exactly what that yarn needed to be. It sometimes takes a while to figure that out. It's gorgeous! Great deal on the yarn too! Looks like a fun project to knit.

Anonymous said...

You are brilliant! I almost spit out my very nice and warm cappuccino all over my laptop because I've found one cannot laugh with a mouthful of warm beverage!!! I think I will most certainly have to try that pattern... and I am quite impressed at your good fortune at finding such fabulous yarn at those savings! Even if you were supposed to be on a yarn buying hiatus, er ummm! I still make the same mistakes trying to figure out what my yarn is saying to me... sometimes it can be quite difficult to hear the yarn!
Hugs,
Beth P

Jo said...

Now doesn't that have great stitch definition? It looks really great and will go with so much. Jo x

Suzan said...

Lovely color Meredith and lovely pattern!! These continuous scarves are the warmest and most versatile!! Know it's warm.

Clare said...

What a beautiful yarn, you found the perfect make in the end. Loved reading this post. Clare xx

Joy said...

What an entertaining conversation Meredith, and one that should come back to mind each time we contemplate purchasing new yarn - well done, you innovative girl you!
Oh and I mustn't forget to mention that I love the yarn and the cowl - you eventually did a wonderful job and I would say, worth the struggle to get it right! Warm hugs to you my friend,
Joy xo

RURAL said...

And will you listen next time?

Don't laugh at me, I've found a crocheted heart pattern, and after 6 tries have managed to make one that kind of resembles a heart...

I still have no idea what Triple crochet means, but I can fake it.

Jen

Ana BC said...

cute conversation ;-)and the yarn was righT....It turned out into a beautiful infinity :-)

Teresa Kasner said...

Somehow I missed this post.. well, you know I've been seeing to Dayle at the hospital and all.. he's now home. He's doing well. I adore what you made from this delicious yarn! Bravo! Now I'm going to go look again.. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Lynne said...

Oh boy I just love that yarn. I'm so glad you listened, because that basket weave scarf is gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Lovely to laugh,lovely to knit,lovely to wear,lovely to know you x

Annie Cholewa said...

So glad to read, Yarn, that Mere finally came to her senses!

Lillie and Moss said...

"Great advice girl" your such a character!
Hugs, Shari

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Ha-ha! You are such a hoot! I agree that there are some yarns that are definitely more suited to knitting. That's why when I had one that just did not work with crochet at all, I gave it to a friend who knits and she made it into a beautiful shawl for her sister. :) You and that yarn had a very productive conversation. Best wishes, Tammy

Rose Red said...

The yarn is so pleased it has found it's destiny!

Susanne Tyree said...

Something delightful comes from a strand of yarn, it is amazing isn't it. I love what you did with it, it was the perfect yarn for this perfect project.
(((HUGS))) Susanne :)

Gillian Roe said...

Meredith, what a fabulous post! It made me smile, it really did. Yes, we should listen to the yarn (except I don't really speak yarn - I must try to learn harder!) and let it tell us what we must make. Your infinity cowl is totally beautiful. c

Vicki Boster said...

what a lovely yarn -- the scarf turned out just stunning. I love knitting with beautiful yarns -- its like music to your soul!

Vicki

Liz said...

Oh I love it. The yarn, the result, and the post. I love your storytelling ability. I am quite jealous of that. My posts are just boring. I'm also jealous of your knitting. Like I mentioned in the last post, I am so envious of knitters. I don't understand why knitting projects seem so hard for me. I have regressed over time. My very first knitted project was a dog sweater for a dacshund. Now I can't even make a hat. Anyway, your cowl is gorgeous.
Liz