You didn't confess exactly what it is that your stash needed for the mitten that that you were trying to start. Inquiring minds and all that.

freezerfreezerfreezer

Just a random thought here...have you considered the insulating benefits of lining the walls of your new back porch room with shelves of stash? Downright cosy I'll bet, and beautiful.

Hi, Steph! I think I would have driven to Canada (from Ohio) for the sew-up if it meant I could have my name in a bowl for one of those beautiful scarves! I was also wondering if you might post an instructional on sewing together a bunch of afghan squares. I'm sure I could do a passable job with mattress stitch, but what is this mysterious crochet edging business? Inquiring minds (who are considering an afghan for the bedroom) would like to know!

I was on my way over here to leave you this link, because I thought of your post the other day and your attempts to foil the pooling tendencies of your handpaint, and I thought that the photos on this page might inspire further adventures in variegated-yarn-wrestling, aka knitting something that doesn't suck.
http://www.artyarns.com/newsite/patterns_main.htm

I don't like pooling, puddling or flashing yarn either.

That link Elaine sent you is awesome.

And you know, in your own defense for not swatching ... you can't tell what a varigated yarn is going to really do in a garment when you knit a little swatch. So, there you go ... a good reason not to swatch! ;-)

Jen

oooooh pretty yarn.... even prettier shawls. I had a shawl from Afghanistan that a friend got me when she went to visit family last Christmas. Unfortunately I lost it at a wedding I went to this past summer, very sad :(

Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie, you are thinking way too much about this. Put down the coffee and have a martini instead. Or you could spike the coffee - Bailey's is nice. Slow down, take a deep breath. It's just string and sticks.

It's like that saying about the Eskimo having many different words for 'snow'. (Don't know if it's true, but it's cool if it is.) Knitters need specific vocabulary for space-dyed yarns and their many characteristics. I only knit with multi-colors when I am in a state of mind where I do not care about pooling, puddling or flashing. Que sera, sera. Very rarely in that mood, and usually only for an accessory or child's garment. I love the yarns that stripe, though, the Noros, the sock yarns. Thanks so much for the informative link. xox Kay

You got a comment from Meg Swanson! I would faint dead away if Meg Swanson left a comment on my blog. I would be beside myself. You lucky girl! But then you are the harlot.

i was wondering if you could help me with a question, actually. i'm looking into hosting an afghans for afghans sew-up here at my place. i dont know a lot of local knitters, but i know a FEW in the area, and i'm sure some searching would dig up more. but i dont know... HOW one would start something like this. any advice? and dont worry, i painted my house back in august, i dont plan on getting into that again any time soon :)

Thanks for the clarification on the pooling, puddling, flashing thing. Those are great terms! And very clearly described - all the reasons why I can't stand variegated yarns. That said, I love the yarn you've got there that striped! Maybe the rule is if it stripes on the ball, it won't when you knit it and if it's not stripey in the ball, then it may stripe??? There's some new self-striping sock yarn at my LYS (called CRAZY) that is so lovely, I may have to get some. If I could just get over hating knitting socks, I might find a way to enjoy variegated yarns.

Thanks for putting a name on the disorder that I seem to suffer from in spurts. Now if I could just get Finishitis, I would be all set. Thanks too for all the info on the variegated yarns-what would we do without you, dear Harlot? Forget it-I don't ever want to know.

Startitis has a familiar ring... I've managed to cast on about 9 of 12 planned Christmas presents and had to restrain myself from going out to buy the needles for the next three (I already have the needles, but they're in use!). I have however finished ONE present.
I understand your disgust with the pooling, but I admit to being fond of the 'flash' myself... and I hate self-striping yarn like your first example. NOt because it is self-striping but because I AM BROKEN and cannot get it to do that for me.

I am so attracted to variegated yarns in the skein but I rarely like the knitted fabric. I'm much more pleased with variegated yarns when I crochet with them.

I am amused. You see, in some circles, I am internet-famous (none that I would expect you to recognize, Stephanie dear, if so you would have noticed that the Mad Pirate Bippy was posting comments). I've met 'fans' in real life, which I always thought was REALLY odd, since all I did was be myself online...which is rare, apparently. But it's always nice to have strangers run up to you and hug you while squeeling like little girls...especially if they're 6'5 men (that's mostly for the amusement value).(I was really happy that Ed was there, though, because it was a LITTLE concerning.)

I cut back on my internet exposure fairly big time a while back, and now when I google for Mad Pirate Bippy, my comments in your journal are some of the highest hits...in fact, it's the LAST link on the first google page that even has anything remotely to do with what I got quasi-famous for in the first place.

This is good, and really funny. I don't feel as exposed as I once was, but that I went from a (very, very) minor celebrity to near obscurity from two years worth of work hiding my tracks makes me laugh.

Ha! I have the same scarf (the plaid-like one) that my husband brought back from Afghanistan last year! Small world.

Colinette advises in all her pattern books, that in order to avoid pooling, one should use two balls of yarn. One round (or two rows,) with one ball and repeat with the other.
Would this help?

Someone asked me yesterday if I could tell what two yarns held together would look like before I actually knit them. I told them that I could only in a very general way. Now I can tell them "not no, but hell no." Most sock yarns are a total surprise to me so I just buy ones where I like the colors and don't let the patterning bother me. Except the Broadripple socks in variegated Fixation were pretty gross.

Meg Swansen, whatever. But when I got a comment a couple of weeks from TMK, I was beside myself. Really. She's the most famous non-bloggin-blogger I've ever not-known, and I was over the moon. Too cool!

All this talk of flash/pool/puddle reminds me of something. Perhaps it's a Flashdance memory! :)
Those scarves are wonderful! From Afghamistan! They are treasures!
Did you say MITTENS?!
:)
Got snow?

Thanks for the explanation. My daughter thinks comments from you are amazing! And now yu've answered a question.

I'm so glad to see someone else trying to figure out the mysteries of flashing/pooling. I have a bunch of lorna's laces, I love the feel of it and I love the colors, but the flashing drives me nuts. I'm thinking I will try some slip-stitch patterns in my next sock, but I'm worried that the sox won't have enough stretch. I may just try random yarn-overs and ssks to embrace the randomness.