At What Point Does Art Become Mess?

How is it the weekend already? Life is going past so quickly these days and I have so much to do, both for uni and for Childreach... I sometimes wish that Bernard's Watch really existed.

I've finally started knitting the Under the Sea scarf after finding a pattern to adapt on Ravelry. As the name suggests, I want the scarf to look like it's just washed up on the shore which is the complete opposite of perfect and store-bought - surprisingly difficult as I shall now try and explain. 

When I started experimenting with the freshly-spun yarn last week I tried knitting plain garter stitch on big needles (20mm) but although it was quick to knit I couldn't get the effect I wanted and it looked lazy and boring. For several days I was stuck, then thanks to a brainwave from my friend, Ele, I started looking for wave-shaped patterns to try out, both online and in my library of knitting books. 

Unfortunately many of the patterns that I found were too tight-knit and wouldn't have suited hand-spun yarn but eventually I stumbled across the perfect design incorporating everything that I had pictured in my mind's eye. For copyright reasons I had to extrapolate and adapt the pattern a little but I loved the idea of using drop stitches to create a running wave through the scarf and it's a novel way of highlighting the slubbiness of the yarn itself and the blend of colours used. 

Not long after starting the project, however, I had a bit of a crisis of confidence which resulted in yet more knitter's block... What if people think it's just messy and that I'm utterly useless at both spinning and knitting? What if Jamie's mum doesn't understand or appreciate the design? 

At what point does art become mess and vice versa? 

I don't tend to panic about this sort of thing with my other, more conventional, projects - those that follow a strict pattern and are made using the perfect size needle gauge for the yarn. A dropped stitch usually invokes a panicked five minutes with a crochet needle and a skipped heart beat yet in this case I am expected to drop multiple stitches every half a dozen or so rows then ladder the scarf on purpose. It goes against everything I have ever made before and it's a difficult mindset to get into. 

But I love it! 
I love the randomness of the rows
I love the curliness of the over-spun yarn between the loose ribbing
I love the way the silk, corriedale and merino create different textures throughout the piece 
I love its uniqueness and knowing that there is no scarf in the world exactly like this one
Though most of all I love that it has been created by me, myself and I - from scratch. 

When I realised that I am beginning to think of this scarf as my own offspring the panic subsided and I remembered why I became a spinner in the first place. The first thing I ever spun myself was on a drop spindle a few summers back... it was terrible, utterly terrible; at the beginning I had no idea how I was meant to draft the wool and spin at the same time and by the time it clicked in I had nearly finished. One half of the yarn was chunky and the other half was practically lace-weight, I dip dyed it badly and ended up with a garter stitched purple and pink mess with one end twice the width of the other. When I took it to show my Grandma her friends looked at me with pity and smiled and nodded slowly when I said that I'd made it all by myself. Nevertheless I adore that scarf and it's my symbol of defiance and determination. 

'Never let them tell you that something is too difficult or impossible' - Douglas Bader 

The photo doesn't do the colours or length any justice
but here is a sneak preview of my first custom-ordered scarf:
 Under the Sea

And so I am going to keep on knitting with a clear conscience and although I very much hope that the recipient loves the scarf as much as I do, I have to learn to trust in myself and not worry so much about other people's opinions and criticisms. 

In the meantime I'm still working on my potential stall so I am knitting another Highland Heather Hat and I'm going to see if I can get any matching gloves made to go with them as a set but I still haven't got any 6.5mm dpns so that will have to wait a few more days. It's reading week at uni so I'm completely bogged down with French essays and reading for Gaelic but I'm hoping to have a few nights of knitting and jewellery making etc... 

Second attempt at the Highland Heather Hat
- I'm aiming to have five for sale by next month...

And finally: I had a very productive evening this Wednesday and made my first batch of Felted Soaps. I found a tutorial by the brilliantly talented Neauveau Fibre Arts on youtube whilst procrastinating earlier this week and decided to give it a go myself. It's such an awesome and brilliantly simple idea that I can't believe it's only just beginning to take off! Essentially you wrap wool round a bar of soap and wet and agitate it until it felts: in short it's a bar of soap with an attached wash cloth! 

My first felted soaps using a variety of popular brands
- will be on sale at my Xmas stall next month

There are some genuinely good reasons for using and buying/making felted soap: 
When you leave a normal bar of soap in the shower or on the side of the bathtub it develops a horrible scud on the outer layer which is usually rubbed off when you next use it and gets washed down the drain. It also bugs me how you rarely get to the end of the bar, I usually bin mine when it gets to the cracked and dried out stage because it then breaks up into tiny pieces and and gets all yucky (scientific term). All of this is incredibly wasteful, particularly if you're a student and would rather spend your money at the pub than in superdrug or tescos on yet MORE soap! 

Not only does the wool cover prevent this scuddy layer from forming, it's also a minor exfoliator and wash cloth - they also lather up really quickly and feels lovely and soft. You also don't have to worry about those last little yucky bits as they are all contained within the woollen pouch - no more waste! If you are really into your recycling you can re-use the felt on another bar of soap or do a quick google search for ideas on how to turn it into another useful and pretty household item. 

I have ten ready made to put on my Christmas stall and they'd make a novel and cheap stocking filler for friends and family!

Current Total: £142