Am I getting wiser or just plain fussy?

I am not sleeping very well at the moment which is delaying my quest for the completion of Kelmscott. I find myself making too may mistakes when I knit at the end of the day and the lace is taking longer than I would like.


I realised how much I am pushing myself to finish it. Instead of sitting back and enjoying the creative process, there is a part of me that drives me to finish what I have started. All the incomplete projects (3 of them) sitting in my project basket are calling out to me to finish them.


They are an eclectic collection as I enjoy knitting a full range of styles. I love cables, arans and guernsies. I love delicate lace. I love textured stitches. I love knitting in the round. I like'd to have one of each in my basket to satisfy my knitting needs in the moment however I do practise some restraint.


Then there is the seduction of the new. It is always delightful to start a new project, to get excited about the colour and the style and to be enticed by the allure of sumptuous yarn. Like the sea sirens of old that lured the fishermen into the sea, beautiful yarn tantalises me. It is a passionate adventure.


Yesterday, as a therapeutic retreat, St Grant the Long Suffering escorted Robyn and I to Bristol. We visit Get Knitted. I love the shop. It always takes my breath away to walk in and see the wonderful array of yarn everywhere. I especially love all the hand-painted, hand-dyed skeins that line the shelves. They lie in baskets waiting to be stroked and admired. 'Choose me', they all yell at once. Who do you listen to?


It was Robyn's first visit and she was speechless. I imagine her face looked the same as mine did the first time I went there. It was a picture to behold. I walked around enjoying it all but I did not feel drawn to anything. It felt really strange. There was so much beauty and an unrestrained budget. I wanted nothing. At the moment, I am blessed with so many beautiful yarns in my stash.


Now, I must tell you that most would consider me quite mad. St Grant was actually amused. One friend commented that I am a 'fussy mare' and I agree with her wholeheartedly! There was a time in my life when I would have bought everything in the store to add to my stash to knit 'one day'.


I hope that this reticence I am experiencing is a case of 'as I get older, I get wiser'. I have no other explanation for it. I am still a bit stunned. Over the last year, I have been looking for patterns to knit up from my stash but to no avail. I have spent a huge amount of time swatching numerous garments only to be dissatisfied by the results.


So it seems that at the moment I have reached a halt on the stash hoarding habit. I don't know if it will last. I may I need to go into therapy. Any comments will be duly noted, all 
family excluded!


St Grant says that I should go back to designing my own garments again but I am lazy. I am looking for the utopia of the perfect pattern which I can pick up and knit blissfully without any thought and in pure enjoyment. At the moment, Kelmscott delivers this.


Still, I am in search of the next perfect pattern although I believe there is an Aoelian shawl somewhere in my near future. This might just serve the purpose.


Robyn bought herself beautiful yarn to knit an intarsia summer cardigan. It will be her first attempt at colour work but I am confident it will be beautiful.