A Rainy Day

A rainy day is just my cup of tea! Perfect for curling up in an easy chair with a book, or a delicious bit of knitting. It makes me smile; it seems as though I have permission to forget the errands and just do as I please. These are the times I can get involved in researching a new technique; in making sample swatches, and going through UFOs - Unfinished Objects - of which there are many.


A rainy day indoors is usually filled with bits and pieces, the myriad odds and ends, the tidbits that get pushed to the back, or lost at the bottom of the pile. Their tiny voices call to me on a rainy day and I seem to be able to accomplish a great deal.


Often there are discoveries; like finding the book I was frantic about, sure it had been lost. When I saw it standing on a shelf, I realized it wasn't blue after all, but white with gold that I should have been looking for, and the bright blue was inside the dust cover. And after a few quiet moments with good instructions, I learned entrelac wasn't difficult at all! In fact, it was a lot of fun. I discovered that I should make a stashbuster lap robe; it would free me from guilt. Guilt?


Don't you have just a teensie weensie bit of guilt over some yarn still in your stash that you purchased, but have never found attractive enough to use for any project? Well, I certainly have plenty of those odd balls! The stashbuster is the way out: grab a couple of bags and go through your stash, pulling out all those small balls, those you really don't love, those you love, but have been afraid to use. Grab that hank and roll it into a ball and drop it in the bag. Keep going until you have poked through it all, and pulled out every single questionable bit of fluff, every scratchy wool you aren't fond of, and especially that beige you loved once, but cannot recall why. Toss in the gray, the fuscia, the mustard.


Now this is not what the folks say when they give instructions for a stashbuster throw, or blanket, or whatever. But I don't want rules at a time like this; I just want to get on with it! Make the thing, use up the yarn, and move on. After all, now I have spaces in my stash I didn't have before, and can go shopping again after this. So what I do is begin. Grab some fairly large circulars, a worsted or two, and cast on. Keep going, letting what emerges guide me. I did several rows of garter stitch at first and it was quite thick, heavy. So I switched to stockinette and it's working well. When one yarn had a bit of pink in it, I gradually added more pink until it was all pink; then it morphed into violet and then blue.


So as you can see, I have created a rainbow. A bright spot that elicits a smile whenever I lay it out to see my progress. I am tickled pink, and green, and yellow! Now if that doesn't take away any notion of gloom on a rainy day, I don't know what will!


Beth