Monday, April 21, 2008

Cleansing the Palate

Hi Knitters,
Believe it or not, I have actually been getting some work done for the book project I have under hand. I say this because I post about other side projects that I work on concurrently with my "work" knitting. The thing is that after I finish a project that I have designed and knitted I have to catch my breath for a moment. Take a quick breather, clear my mind, gear up for the next challenge.
I have started saying to myself after I finish a project and work on something mindless for a minute or two, "Now I need to cleanse my palate." My knitting palate that is. These granny squares have become my knitting palate cleanser, a bit like a light sorbet in between courses at a fancy restaurant. Do any of you do this (mindless knitting) in between tackling challenging projects?
On another note, I listened to this wonderful podcast today while I was running, by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood and the authors of the new Knitalong book. I am going to review this book when I get a chance. You should take a listen. I just love Jennifer, she is a real talent.
Thanks to the knitters who joined in on the live podcast yesterday for It's a Purl Man. That was really fun and I loved the questions and comments and web cam stuff during the podcast. What a new experience that was. I was definitely on overload trying to keep up.
Okay, have a good Monday evening.
best, susie

7 comments:

Tracy Batchelder said...

My palate cleanser is usually preemie hats. They help me refocus and give purpose to my knitting.

Oiyi said...

I am loving your granny squares. What yarns are you using? The colors are lovely.

I love the Knitalong book. I knitted 2 of the squares for the Barn Raising Blanket in the book. I am going to check out the podcast, thanks for the link.

SSK* said...

I'm with Wool Winder -- I try to complete a charity hat for every personal FO, but I rarely have more than one project going at a time. The hats started as a challenge to myself, but it does have the added benefit of clearing my head before going on to another project.

I love the colors of your squares -- I recognize most of the colors of Cotton Classic -- they are in my stash/leftovers, too.

As an amateur vintner, I'm amused that you made this analogy of palate cleansing... I've always associated that with wine tasting. I suppose it's ok for my worlds to collide sometimes!! ~~ Joan

Susan B. Anderson said...

Hi Oiyi,
SSK is correct, the yarn is all Cotton Classic, one of my faves. I am using a size H crochet hook and following the pattern from purlbee!

I had a couple of knitters write me that their palate cleansers are always knitted dishcloths. I thought that was great.

best, susie

Anonymous said...

I just finished my first project, so afterwards to cleanse my palate I taught myself a new-to-me technique with my leftover thread. It was fun, and now I know how to make circles!

Anonymous said...

I recently purchased your hat book and have been working on Olive You! -- your patterns are adorable and so easy to follow (love the knitting guide in the book, btw - it's better than most "how to knit" books I've seen!) . Today I googled you and found your blog - it was interesting to find this post...I woke up this morning feeling nothing but the love for the granny square.

You are also amazing with color.

Kristin Nicholas said...

Hi Susan - I love the grannies. My afghan is really coming along great. I got to demonstrate your adorable baby booties on the show. So much fun and a super cute, fast project. Hope spring has gotten there by now!