For one reason or another I am fiending for some truly instant gratification which I believe will be in the form of several easy-peasy garter stitch scarves with some fancy novelty stuff I found while on a yarn outing with my mom and her BFF. I guess I’ve forgotten to mention that my mom is now knitting! I had been promising her BFF that I’d teach her so on her last visit I was able to coerce my mom into trying it. She was reluctant at first but really seems to like it, and I feel like a proud mama. It’s so fun to see everything through the eyes of a beginner and I’ll be the first to admit that I really needed that. When we begin as fledgling knitters all of our concentration is directed on getting those first awkward stitches on the needle. We only care that we are not twisting, dropping or otherwise mangling them as we strive to create those first few rows of garter stitch. Little thought is given to materials, at least for most beginners. Then when the garter stitch has been mastered and we stand in the aisle of yarn at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or Walmart (for those of us deprived of the local yarn store experience) we have a tendency to ooh and aah at the fuzzy, furry, uber soft fluffiness of many synthetic novelty yarns.

It isn’t until we’ve made a few scarves, and graduated to other beginner’s projects that we also discover the general distaste for these foo-foo and fakey yarns among the knitters in the know.It isn’t long before we begin to question the tote full of stuff we got on clearance at said yarn outlet and develop a taste for natural fibers, and that is how yarn snobbery is born. Some of us proudly flout our snob status while others happily wave the flag that knitting with synthetics is better than no knitting at all. I have to admit that I fall somewhere between the two and am moved depending on mood and of course budget. I have a true love for woolly goodness and many other natural fibers (the softer the better) but there are occasions when like a wild animal I am totally entranced by the sparkly, furry and utterly novel of the yarn families. It may not be practical or even really functional, but it’s just so darned pretty!

So my fouffy scarves will be like the sorbet before the main dish since I hope to have a few bigger projects underway soon. Cupcake’s BSJ is getting it’s zipper sewn in tonight as is Ladybug’s bog jacket, and if all goes well my newest pattern, Letterman will be for sale next week at the latest. I hope you’ll be by to take a peek!