And some memories

Two things that struck me recently....

When I went to Longview with Laura, I wound up buying a couple of the "Caron Cakes" (the color called Blueberry Cheesecake - not the name I'd have given it; I'd have called it something like "sea glass" instead) with vague plans to make a long, wide scarf out of it.

Then I vaguely remembered a pattern I made BUNCHES of 10 or 12 years ago...at first I couldn't find it because I couldn't remember what it was called, but then (in classic fashion), the other night when I was falling asleep the name "Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf" popped into my head.

It still exists out there, both off Ravelry and on

Wow, that takes me back.one of the ones I made for myself. That was ten years ago (well, almost 11, now). I still have the scarf but don't wear it that much as it doesn't match my current coat. (I should get a new, brown, mid-weight coat, like a barn coat - I used to have one but it got trashed from doing fieldwork in in a thorny area).

I made a bunch as gifts, too. It's a fun pattern, far more interesting to do than the plain all-garter scarf that is often recommended as a "beginner" project (I think a simple hat would be better, because hats don't take as long, so it's more-instant gratification). I haven't started it yet but I have half a thought to if I finish up the sample hat this weekend. (I need to start my mom's version, though, too. And I notice I made a little error in following the pattern - you don't repeat rows 1 and 2 on the successive repeats of the pattern, but no matter, the yarn I have doesn't stripe so it didn't mess up the patterning and I doubt it will adversely affect the fit of the hat)

I dunno. "Old" patterns like that - ones I made years ago - bring up a certain nostalgia. In that time, I was less busy. Part of it was I didn't set aside an hour a day to practice piano (I didn't have the piano yet) and while I wouldn't trade my ability to play....still, I do sort of miss the time when I had several HOURS upon arriving home to work on knitting. And also that was a time when I ate more restaurant food; bad teeth and hypertension have mostly ended that so most nights I have to make time to cook.

But it's also nice to revisit them; it's nice to know they're still out there. I'm also happy that Woolworks still lives; it was the first site online I ever used - it had a treasury of free patterns (entirely in ASCII; no photos, just typed instructions)

Another memory: I talked before about how Patternworks has been sold to Interweave. I got an e-mail this morning about Interweave closing out the remaining merchandise; I read somewhere they are now going to using the Patternworks name for a "curated collection of kits."

I....kind of hate the word "curated" now. It's one of those New Normal words, or, to use harsher language, one of those "peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining" words. "Curated" in this case means "less choice and more programming" - no longer can you buy a book or a pattern and then pick out the yarn you want in the color you want; now there are kits with SET yarn and I presume a choice of 2 or 3 colors. Which makes me sad. Maybe that's the direction crafting is going, where people want to be told what to do and just do it, instead of choosing. But I'm old enough to remember "quilting" (what was done in the 1970s) being done mostly with the good bits of worn clothes or with scraps from your own garment-sewing. (And I also know of piecing the pieces that go into a block, if the scraps you have are too small.

Part of it, to me, is it seems to reflect a loss of freedom and choice. But also a loss of ingenuity: of knowing HOW to piece together scraps (e.g.: making sure the direction of grain is consistent) to make a piece large enough to cut the triangle or whatever from. And maybe a loss of frugality, too? Though that seems counterproductive, given our New Normal economy where it's Wal-Mart quality for the masses and only the 1% get something any nicer. Or maybe it IS reflective of our culture - the "I'm in debt up to my eyeballs," "Keeping up with the Joneses even if it kills us" mindset, where you don't DARE let on you sew because it's cheaper or something. I don't know.

There's a quilt shop in the general area that I used to love that's now gone to this "carefully curated series of kits" model and I admit I'll never make the drive there again because faugh, I want to buy yardage that works with what I already have and use old and new fabrics together in a quilt....

I hope the "curated" trend does not spread; I would hate to walk into a grocery and be told, "We have a carefully curated selection of meals" where there are salad bowls and pre-prepared platters and the like and all you need do is heat it when you get home. (And woe unto you if you have a "weird" food allergy, like my celery allergy - 'cos that will be in a lot of the things). It's like "life for people who don't want to think" and to blazes with it.

But I'm also sad because Patternworks was the first-ever site I ordered yarn from, back when I got back into knitting (20 years ago, now). I remember carefully saving out of my grad-student stipend and sending off a check for a few skeins of Socka....and once I got full-time employment, the excitement of being able to call in an order, and have the flat Priority Mail box show up for me a week or so later. I used them back in their original form, when they were in Poughkeepsie. Back then, the catalogs were kind of wonder-cabinets of choice. After the original owners sold out, it did seem the catalogs declined a little....and then they started featuring heavily their "own" yarn lines, which honestly? Is not really why I wanted the catalog. Living in an area with effectively NO yarn stores, I'd prefer NOT to only have a "generic" yarn as a choice (and a lot of those "exclusive lines" do turn out to be pretty generic). I ordered less and less from them....in a way, it's sad. I'm sorry they're gone but I admit I have sources I like better now.

(Webs, for example - Webs is kind of like what Patternworks used to be. And for more budget-friendly yarns, KnitPicks probably has the best of the "house brand" yarns out there. And there are a number of niche-sellers like Simply Sock Yarn.)

But I can still remember back to the earlier days of knitting for me, when it was a big day when that flat box from Patternworks arrived with new yarn....