Knitty Gritty Annie is organizing an afghan project to honor the life of John Glick, a musician and the brother-in-law of our fellow knit blogger, Kerstin.
If you've come across any of the articles, the reality of this senseless tragedy is too shocking, like staring at the sun. It makes memories surface of others that we know that passed away too young due to senseless tragedy. In my own sphere, a special young woman who died at 23, days before my sister's wedding, at the hands of a reckless driver bent on suicide.
At first mention, I agreed to knit a square. So how does a square happen? First, I go into my stash to see what potential might lie there. I am reluctant to break into full lots of yarn that might make a whole project. Eliminate anything too textured or blended, not blanket-worthy. I search for remnants of other projects to be used up. I wonder if this is cheap, but then I realize that I get such joy coming upon yarns from other projects. I re-live the knitting of the project, remembering where the yarn came from, why I bought it, going back to where I was then. I settle on some cinnamon Lamb's Pride. I didn't know John, but I think a cool musician living in Chicago would have liked cinnamon LP.
Now on to the square. First, the gauge issues. The instructions were - 8 inch square with a garter border. Based on the label, LP knits up at 4 1/2 stitches on size 8 needles. Let's make it simple. I should be able to get 5 st.s/inch on 7's. So cast on 5 stitches x 8 inches = 40 stitches. I will knit a few rows, to get a garter border, and a general gauge measurement. If I'm on target, then comes the question - what to do with those 40 stitches for the rest of the square...
Knit every row? Simple and Reversible. Humble. Timeless.
Let's just get out those stitch guides, magazines, afghan leaflets, whatever provides inspiration. I actually have an afghan pattern which has some nice possiblities for squares using 39-40 stitches per square. There are some lovely titles for squares such as "Raised Heart", "Firecrackers", and "Acorns".
It's late, and that's all for today. I am amazed at how such a simple request - 8" square, garter border can challenge me to use my resources, both yarn and knitting skills, to make a fitting tribute to a life lost so young.