Paintbox

In my studio lay a basket of yarn that has rested for more years than I can remember. I placed it there because I liked looking at the colors, but I never knew what I was going to do with it. It was decorative. There were eleven skeins of different hues, wound into balls. I would pick one up from time to time while I pondered other things. It was my paintbox of colors waiting to be placed onto a canvas.

As 2022 nears an end, I am wrapping up projects, tidying up the studio, and setting the stage for a new year with new goals. This basket of wool has been patiently waiting for me to notice saying, “look at me, look at me, I want to be more than I am. I want to be”. So, as it seems, do I.

The time came to cast-on and get to work. Skein by skein, color by color my paintbox sweater pulls loops through loops, creating row upon row and is becoming alive. This project was going to be my gift to myself as I knit without any preconceived notions. I am just having fun with the material and letting my mind wonder as I go. It is the sweater of thoughts and dreams, and the fleece will carry me across miles and pages and memories and hopes of things to come.

It is a nice place to be. Creating for creations sake. I am at a point where I do not want to waste materials that can be put to good use. I have long ago relinquished the yarn that I did not want to spend time working with. It is more valuable to others, than it was to me. But this special basket of paintbox yarn had its purpose in my thoughts long ago and was waiting for the right time to reveal itself. When I knit a new design, I imagine how it will feel after it is washed and blocked and worn for the first time. Are the sleeves going to be tapered or full, will the length be generous or cropped, how close knit will the collar be? All considerations as the stitches grow and the mind wanders.

So, I will be knitting through the holidays and in January I will post my paintbox sweater. This was to be mine alone, but I realize that it would be a wonderful way for you to arrange and appreciate random balls of worsted-weight yarn that are waiting patiently in your stash whispering, “look at me, look at me”.

Gail

November 29, 2022