Do you start with Love or Reason?

I had the pleasure of attending the local opening meeting of the Dallas Hand Knitter's Guild last week. It was great to see so many new knitters, and get re-acquainted with knitters I came to know last year. Some I know by name (fewer than I'd like), some I know by project (the ones who embark upon huge projects that take a long time, and some I know by the kinds of colors they use.Most of us are the ordinary/extraordinary types you'd expect to meet at a craft or art meeting. Women. But not just "women of a certain age;" women of ALL ages. I am impressed by one knitter who comes with her guide dog. She made a beautiful baby blue cardigan last spring... even though she said she'd forgotten what color it was when she held it up for show and tell. I admired the courage of the solitary male knitter who was in attendance with needles clicking.

The beginning of the year announcements included a thrilling idea. An all-guild knit-along of something called (I think...) a Circumnavigated Sweater. NO SEAMS!!!! And we'll learn how to use a VERY generic (but pretty famous) pattern and measure and swatch and count and add/divide/multiply so it FITS.

But first Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer or E-S (as she refers to herself) spoke about yarn.

How do you choose your yarn? Are you a lover or a planner?

If I am "only" in the budget range for a couple of skeins, I tend to be a lover.
How does it feel? What color is it? Pretty superficial, actually!!

But Jackie made a great case for being a planner when it comes to investing the money, time and EFFORT in making something substantial. If you ever get a chance to take her full workshop on yarn selection, it's a good investment.

Until then, here are some highlights from my notes.

Figure out what the numbers on the ball band or cone mean so you know how many yards/meters you'll need.

Learn about ply and stranding. It will let you know how likely your yarn is to pull apart (think cotton candy).

Yarns can have Z twists or S twists. They will look different when knit up.

And there are tests!

Does your yarn bleed when soaked?

Does your yarn kink when wet?

Does your yarn shrink after being wet?

Does your yarn burn, self-extinguish or melt?

It might be of value to consider being more of a planner than a lover in other areas of life and work, don't you think? Here are some that came to mind. What would you add?

• Hiring employees
• Buying anything that needs to last: car, house, winter coat
• Coaching someone's college choice
• Coaching someone's career change

And the best news? I truly believe that when the planning is well done, loving the outcome comes naturally.