Today, I didn't buy beads.
A Trip to the Land of Backstory: I just got the summer Interweave Knits, and have been drooling over the Juliet pullover with its bell sleeves, cinches at elbows, waist and neckline, and beautiful beads knitted through the entire fabric. The sweater is incredibly soft and romantic looking, and I think it would make me feel like a princess.I decided to recycle the yarn from a miserable experiment of mine and make it from that. Then I remembered I only have 9 skeins of Patons cotton DK at 116 yards a ball, and the pattern calls for 11 skeins of DK at 121 yards a ball. Obviously, I'm two and a half skeins short, though Paton's Bumblebee in Morning Glory or Bluebell (or possibly Grace in Azue or Sky) appears to be a good sub sky blue Paton's DK. (Paton's Cotton DK has been discontinued) And I think I can solve the problem by making the cuffs and the ribbon eyelets and neckline in the bumblebee (which may or may not be too much).
Despite these woes, I cast on for a gauge swatch yesterday. On size 3 needles. (Yes, I am aware of the aggravation of the tendonitis. I don't care) I measured the swatch, and despite my hopes that it would be too small and I would have to go up a needle size to get gauge (less yarn!), I got 26 stitches an inch instead of 27 stitches an inch. I'm sort of at the point of ::shrug:: for this.
< / backstory >
Today I went to the bead store. I found the seed beads for the Juliet pullover. They had an ample supply for a rather cheap amount. I knitted a couple into my swatch. They looked lovely. I picked the color. I picked up all of the tubes of beads in my desired color. I got in line for the register.
Then I got out of line, put the beads back on the shelf and got on the metro and went home.
It wasn't that expensive. But I thought about the other projects I had just waiting for me. I thought about the Vogue Summer Tank, the yarn my mom was bringing me today, and my Bella Companion, and my unfinished Vanilla Swirl and my potential knitty sub (who is quickly losing potential, as it is June 20th and I haven't cast on for a cardigan yet. Uh huh.) and my chiagu tank. And that just covers this summer.
The bead store will still be there. My miserable failure's yarn will still be there. My beads will still be there. And if not, well, I can order more.
We fall in love when we knit. We fall in love with the pattern, the needles, the yarn, with our hands. Knitting a sweater can be like getting married. There's the initial crush stage, where all we can do is stare at the pictures and fantasize, and then there's the first date as we read the patterns, buy the yarn and gradually clear time on the schedule to cast on. You start knitting like you start dating. It has its fits and starts, but you know you're going to get there eventually. And when you seam it all together and try it on, you've created something beautiful and unique.
Today, I didn't buy beads. Buying them would have been moving one step closer to the altar, when all of my other girlfriends will kick my ass if I don't go out for dinner and a movie with them first.
And even if they weren't that expensive... do I really need another project right now? The answer is no.
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