Becoming Less of a Magpie?
The Football World Cup has begun. I'd be happier if I could knit my way through every match, but my wrist is still bothering me. A colleague recommended arnica gel as a possible short-cut to future happiness knitting. I am not one for herbal remedies, really, but I get twitchy if I have nothing to occupy my hands.
During my "downtime" I have been doing a lot of thinking. Yet another fantastic Cargo Cult Craft blog post sent me thinking about the things I create and why I create them. This spring I made Millbrook, a lightweight cardigan, and it has turned out to be one of the pieces I reach for again and again. I want to knit things I will actually wear and I think I need to be far more discerning about what I chose to make. I think I have been a "magpie knitter" in the past - making things just because I thought they were really, really shiny rather than because I needed them.
I love knitting triangular lace shawls which I wear as scarves - but do I really need more than four or five? Instead, perhaps, I should look into knitting fine-gauge lace cardigans and pullovers, because a) I will wear them and b) they fit with the rest of my existing wardrobe. Fine-gauge lace cardigans and pullovers will provide the challenges I love in my knitting, and while they may take much longer, they will actually see some use rather than languish in a drawer somewhere. I'm thinking along the lines of Geno, Arisaig, Shirley .. but pattern suggestions are very welcome. My queue is long, unwieldy and does not contain many realistic knits. I am looking for winter-appropriate patterns as well as more summery knits.
Susannah at CCC makes a great point about realistic wardrobes. I find my wardrobe is very geared towards "vintage-inspired casual" but I struggle when it comes to dressing up. Recently a good friend became engaged and I had a moment of panic, because I have nothing I can wear to a wedding. Fortunately the wedding is some years away, so I have time to find a solution, but it was an eye-opener. I tried on this dress (I liked the silhouette), but I am struggling to see how a party dress fits into my lifestyle. Weddings come around every five years or so, not every five weeks. Susannah's point about realistic wardrobes comes in handy here. If I did have a realistic approach to clothes-shopping and -making, I would have a little shift dress I could pull out whenever an occasion arose. I would have matching shoes and a little handmade cardigan.
Another thought-provoking blog post about clothes and bodies come courtesy of ProjectRunGay. I know, I know, but their fashion recaps of Mad Men has been hugely enjoyable - and I don't even watch the show! This post about "Joan Holloway" (aka our Mrs Reynolds' Christina Hendricks) was a particular favourite of mine because I have a similar body shape and took a lot from how Mad Men's costume designers dressed Hendricks. I might be able to apply some of the logic to my own clothes. In a realistic way.
PS. I wholeheartedly recommend the Glasgow Boys exhibition currently on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. I think it will become a touring exhibition, so keep an eye out if you are in the UK. I was particularly taken by George Henry's Symbolist landscapes and Japanese watercolours as well as Arthur Melville's impressive watercolours.
June 12th, 2010 - 08:07
Good food for thought, I have loads of shawls in my queue, but am I actually going to use all of them? I’ve actually added some cardigans I’ve seen you blog about it because I think they look like realistic knits to me, things that might actually flatter me and I might wear. I have yet to knit a cardigan for me I’m happy with.
I definitely have an ‘ooh shiny!’ approach to wedding outfit shopping, although as I only have about one a year to go to it doesn’t end up costing a fortune (sales and eBay help that too). I’m really trying to get things that I’ll wear again though, years ago I got a gorgeous dress in the Jigsaw sale but I didn’t wear it again.
June 12th, 2010 - 23:27
first up, have you seen the Myrtle cardigan? I was just looking at it. It’s a 4ply lace cardi. Right up your alley (and mine!).
Second of all, I have asked myself the same question about triangular lace shawls. From where I’m sitting I can see five of them hanging over the back of the stand I keep them on near the front door. There are two in there I wear more than any others because they go entirely with my wardrobe. The others are less frequently worn, but they’re all in rotation this winter. Do I need more? Well I haven’t covered all colours yet and I do like there’s a range of sizes needed, but I’m currently making one as a gift, to satisfy my love of making them. I think I might slow down on them, but I won’t stop.
Thirdly, and most importantly, I haven’t yet written a post about my so far only laceweight cardigan. Featherweight. It didn’t end well. I got two months of wear out of it. I should write about it and see if others had the same problem. I don’t know that laceweight yarn is meant to be anything other than shawls or scarves. For everyday wear, the stuff doesn’t work….stay tuned.
June 13th, 2010 - 18:08
I am starting to question the number of shawls i have/need-i try to make them different colours, weights, and shapes and i did wear one or sometimes multiple shawls at all times during the winter, plus my wardrobe is mostly grey or brown solid colours so the shawls are the burst of colour.
My friend is getting married next month so I had to buy something to wear because I don’t own anything at all formal. I figured I ought to own a Little Black Dress because then I could just wear that to everything with a different shawl, but as I expected, it was impossible to find anything that fit in all places. So I set out to buy a plain black/grey/brown/navy skirt that came to below the knee…impossible to find!
June 14th, 2010 - 09:21
You have hit the nail on the head with this post. I am all about the shiny… and then I realise I do not have a hand-knitted cardigan to wear in Self-Stitched September! One? I need several! NOT elaborate beaded socks or shawls! I am planning to knit Audrey in Unst, but also want to try reinterpreting a 1940′s pattern from an old magazine. This would be both practical AND shiny! (But will still not solve the wedding-wear problem…!)
June 14th, 2010 - 11:07
It is so hard to focus on dressing for real life (washable fabrics, flat shoes, other tedium) rather than the exotic wardrobe I need for my imaginary life (high heels, bonnets, ball gowns, chiffon).
June 14th, 2010 - 14:06
Oh, this is a very good post. I have…a lot of shawls and a lot of socks and I don’t wear many of them on a regular basis. I also have a queue full of things that I would be unlikely to wear, once I’ve knit them!
I haven’t had the best luck with knitted garments – there’s a stripy vest I made that I never wear because well, it’s not very flattering, there’s a cardi I’ve been delaying on finishing because I think it’s going to be slightly too big. I really do need to sit down, assess my wardrobe and actually knit the things I’m going to wear, rather than the things that I think are shiny.
And also, I am going to pay more attention to things like sizes, to avoid these items I knit but never wear because they’re not right scenarios.