Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The Jest




I made a Jest. You know, a cross between a Jumper and a Vest. A Jest. 

It wasn't supposed to be a Jest or a Vest for that matter. It was meant to be a Jumper. But since it has been a Jest longer than it has been a Jumper, we have been calling it a Jest around here. For that reason, it is also a Jest. The other Jest. A big fat Jest. I know. It's confusing which Jest I'm referring to now but it doesn't matter because both "Jests" can be used interchangeably. 

The Jest was knitted up on the Road Trip during all those long hours in the car but has since sat on the very end of the Mantlepiece over there mocking me for over a month - how's that for irony? A Jest that mocks. 

I know I shouldn't base my self worth on my inability to complete the final rows of a sleeve, a task that would probably take less than an hour. But, I can't bring myself to do it. The love for the project has gone. Seriously, it's such a simple task to complete that I'm ashamed I even have to blog about it. 

It was doomed when I left the smaller circular needle for the ribbing on the kitchen bench when we left for the trip. We arrived in Alice Springs and after searching high and low the only 4mm circular needle I could find was at the Dollar Store on our final day. It seems that knitting in the middle of the desert is not a huge past time. But I finally found one at Mad Harry's for $1.00. Bingo, I thought! But no, it was a big mistake. Read these words very very carefully, never ever buy a dodgy circular needle from a Dollar Store. I spent the next 9 hours in the car muttering some very choice words under my breath as each and every stitch snagged on its way around the cord onto the other needle. It took the entire 9 hours from Alice Springs to Coober Pedy to do the ribbing on the neckline, bottom and the sleeve. I will never take my lovely wooden circular needle with its smooth and seamless transition from needle to cord for granted again.

It then came to my attention that the stitching at the top of the jumper looked significantly different to the rest of the jumper after I joined the yoke to continue knitting in the round. And that would be because I was wrapping the yarn the wrong way on my purl stitches for the yoke. It's normally not noticeable when you knit on straight needles but when you join to knit in the round you don't need to purl at all and that is why the stockinette stitch looked different. It looked much better. See below.

Top half is a 'variation' of stockinette stitch 'achieved' by wrapping the yarn the 'opposite' way.
There was no way I was going to rip it back and start the entire thing over. I never do that, preferring to keep my mistakes in full view to haunt me for the rest of my life. I actually didn't think it looked too bad until my Son tried the Jest on and there appeared to be some puckering at the bust which made the jumper look as if it may be more appropriate for a woman with an A-Cup bust rather than a 7 year old boy. ANother mistake, possibly the result of not picking up enough stitches at the V on the neckline. It was at that point my knitting Mojo flew completely out the window along with the dodgy circular needle.


I don't think I've ever abandoned a project completely. I like to finish things regardless of how painful they are. But what do you do when the knitting mojo has been lost?

The only way to kickstart my Mojo enough to finish the Jest was to do another quick project that promised both satisfaction in the making with a 100% likelihood of completion. So I bought some Zpagetti from my local yarn store and decided to make a simple rug for Flynn for when we move him into his own room. I used this pattern and my Ravelry notes can be found here. It was everything I hoped it would be. It crocheted up fast which was extremely satisfying. Zpagetti is recycled T-shirt material so the colours and texture vary and so it is hard to get the same colour again if you run out. So I chose a T-Shirt Grey and as soon as I saw the lovely Autumn-y orangey colour I grabbed the last 2 rolls of those off the shelf. The colour matches perfectly with the colours in the granny square blanket I made Flynn this time last year. 






Of course the Whippet thinks I set this shot up entirely for his own enjoyment and comfort. 

I haven't done any crochet since I made the little Owls back in January and I think I'm ready to launch into a bigger crochet project again. But first, I need to finish the Jest!



****************

Thank you very much for your very supportive comments on my last Post, especially since I didn't really provide very much detail on the development. It will come, regardless of the outcome. I just wanted to get my current thoughts off my chest as well as to jot down a background Post. It would have been weird down the track to start a Post along the lines of "So, some tractors have arrived today to start work....". 

Speaking of Mojo, sometimes it's important to remember why I blog, which is by and large to document bits and pieces of my life, both past, present and future plans too. Sometimes I write purely for the joy of writing while other times, like this, I like to document my crafty successes and failures. Although not the reason I started, I now love being a part of this wonderful community of  blogging which has now become a necessary and fun part of my life. For a very thought-provoking Post on blogging in general, I can highly recommend this wonderful Post which left me with a renewed zest for blogging when I was feeling a little dismayed at the number of bloggers ditching blogging in favour of other forms of social media. Are you one of the ones who has lost their blogging Mojo in favour of the more immediate forms of social media like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook? Or do you dabble in a bit of everything? Some more than others? I would love to know your thoughts.


33 comments :

  1. A jest a jest my kingdom for a Jest! I think you're onto something new Mel. Lots of work in it anyway, maybe you can recycle it into something completely different.
    Love your crochet - what fab colours, Flynn is going to love it.
    Keep up the good work, I love reading your blog, the words just flow. I'm certainly very low tech and enjoy the basics of blogging not twitter etc. All the best - cheers Wendy

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    1. I can't recycle it Wendy. I have to finish the sleeve and turn it into a Jumper if it's the last thing I do! x

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  2. lol, I can't stand unfinished projects. but if your hearts not in it. there is always next winter.

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    1. I don't like unfinished projects either. The taunt me even if they're shoved in the deepest darkest cupboard x

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  3. hehe, you are so funny. i think that stitch on your jest(unintentional tho it may be) is lovely! wow your rug is amazing, i love it! and it does match perfect to the blanket, well done mel!
    i have not joined anything, f.b. or any of the others. i do love blogging, but at the same time i'm not sure how long i'll continue. it is wonderful and just right for me, and for now it's enough.

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  4. I love the rug Mel, I love the colour of the jest too but I know I couldn't make it however many sleeves it needs! I'm sticking with blogger, I haven't figured it out properly yet & although I occasionally use Twitter I don't have time to learn a "new" way of communicating!

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  5. Hi Mel, unfortunately I think your 'jest' is a victim of circumstances, a pity about those rogue needles and their results. I love the rug for Flynn's room though, the colours are glorious and the texture is great. I choose to blog only 'cos I like the combination of picture and text and don't want to just have one or the other as on instagramm or tweet and I don't want to share my information with facebook at all. I am still not sure what I want to do regarding the 'google reader' demise.

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    1. Yes, I agree, it's difficult to combine writing and pictures on the other media. I have never used 'google reader' or any other reader so won't notice it's disappearance. Have you tried Bloglovin or Feedly?

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  6. Love the rug and the jest made me smile. Somebody (obviously not anyone that lives here apparently) sat on my knitting bag and broke the end off my beautiful wooden circular needle. I tried sanding it down to a new point but that didn't work and I was going to nip into town to buy a cheap replacement but having read this, I think I'll wait until I can get to buy a decent one.
    I find the last sleeve is always a torment, no matter how well the rest of the project has gone; thank goodness we only have two arms.

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    1. It will be worth every penny to at least have something smooth. I've had cheap plastic knitting needles before without a problem but this was more serious. There wasn't even a size written on the needle or the plastic sleeve it came in. I did manage to find another circular needle at a thrift store on The Great Ocean Road for a dollar too - it still wasn't as good as the wooden one I have but it at least worked without snagging :-)

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  7. I love the colour of your 'jest', and I do sympathise - it's so hard to get back into something when you've lost your mojo. Something similar happened with a papercutting months ago, I still haven't worked up the courage to pick up my knife again. Also, the crochet rug looks fantastic. I've seen the yarn before but wasn't sure - how many balls did it take you to make that rug?

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    1. It took 3 balls - 2 of the orange and 1 of the grey. I was 50cm short on the grey so I did buy another grey but I crocheted quite loosely so 3 would be probably be enough and the pattern calls for 3. However, I also didn't do the final round which is a scalloped edge as I thought that would be a bit too 'girly' so really not sure whether you would need a 4th ball for that or whether there would be enough if you just crocheted a bit tighter....

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  8. I laughed so loud that it was only necessary to narrate your post to my husband. Jest - great name. Still laughing. xx

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  9. Pretty sure I have a couple of jests stashed away in a cupboard somewhere, after coming to the conclusion that whatever it was I was knitting, was never going to work. Consequently I only knit squares now. Not much can go wrong with those! x

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  10. I love the rug...so much
    I am definitely spending more time on IG than blogging but ignoring twitter and trying to avoid fb.
    Having never knitted anything beyond a scarf (than someone else cast on for me) I am somewhat in awe of the conversation involving circular needles let alone the (un) finished jest
    x

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  11. I've had projects where I've completely lost my mojo too. It's hard to get it back. Instant gratification projects do help though. I lost mojo for a few weeks on my current project. It was tight before I had to start my colour work. Once I picked it up though and could see the pattern taking shape I got the mojo back.

    I love my blog but lately haven't had many finished projects to blog about. After me made may my blogging has gotten a little quiet. I am working on a few things though so hopefully I'll have some stuff to blog soon. I use Instagram on a daily basis. It's addictive! I try to blog three times a week but sometime I just don't have anything to write about. I think most of my readers are there for my finished projects (based on those being the posts that get the most comments) so I hate just blogging about nothing.

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  12. Great post which will resonate with a lot of fellow crafters I wager ... I have a heap of unfinished projects winking at me from various baskets and drawers ... so I think you should be proud that you only have your jest ;) ... I have been blogging for almost a year now and love the fact it is a sort of diary of family life and my random exploits ... so I will keep going for the foreseeable ... have a lovely week ... Bee xx

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  13. I like the Jest, but I understand the frustrations. The rug is beautiful and that yarn is really interesting. I've never seen anything like it before. I love your attitude, you're a really good sport! :)

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  14. Oh, and to the blogging question, I actually started blogging almost in protest of other social media. I had grown very tired of certain aspects of life on Facebook, where I felt people were not genuine and when I shared parts of my life, like my hobbies, I felt people were negative about them. I started my blog so that I could have a safe, happy place to write and share photos, and to my surprise, it grew into a wonderful place full of friends in a supportive community. I'm so glad to be a blogger. :)

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  15. Gosh I like these, especially the mat! My sister has some of this yarn so I will watch her progress with interest! I love my little blog, I'm not sure how long I will write it for but I'm having fun! Facebook is fine, quick but not as creative! :) x

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  16. I love the rug Mel! It's lovely! I've looked at Zpagetti but don't crochet - how do you think it would go knitted?
    I'm sorry to hear about the jumper. It's really hard to finish somehting when you have nothing but problems with it. I had a horrid day yesterday with a bonnet. I ended up ripping up the pattern and snipping my knitting into pieces. I'm not usually that reckless with faulty projects, but there was something about that bonnet and it's pattern that go me quite cross.... :-)

    RE your Fair Isle question on my last post: I don't find it hard at all. I'm actually a bit addicted to it! It's just important not to pull your stitches too tight or you'll end up with a puckered picture. My first Fair Isle pattern was a Christmas stocking, and where the Fair Isle was worked there was no shaping. I'd recommend a pattern with no shaping for your first time so that you can just concentrate on following the chart :-)
    (Here's the link to the stocking pattern if you'd like to check it out: http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/mini_knitted_christmas_stockings/)

    Sarah xo

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  17. The "jest", I love it. Perfect for those 'in between' seasons.

    You should always start knitting alternate sleeves so you can wear two jests together and have a full jumper. You know, now that it's getting colder... x

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  18. Oh Mel! I was talking to my crafting bestie the other day and we both agree we are certainly "product" crafters. We craft and crochet with the end "product in mind" and for that reason we find long repetitive projects such a drag! I love your Jest...and I hope that you do finish it, even it is the last thing you do. Just think what a good story it's made! hope your days are wonderful xx

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  19. Great post, Mel.

    I read the link, and it has certainly given me food for thought. I use Facebook, but only as an instnt way to keep in touch with friends that are scattered to the four corners of the world. Most of my statuses are pretty irreverant. I also like it for the freebies and money off I can access. It makes my forays into gardening much cheaper! I will always grab a bargain when I can ;)

    As for your knitting - well I'm just staggered that anyone could knit anything anyway, let alone in a car....

    Leanne xx

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  20. You write such great funny posts! When I first looked at the photo, I thought it was your daughter modeling an unfinished sweater destined for you with the shaped bust line! So reading further on I had a great chuckle that it was meant to be a sweater for your son ... oh dear!! If I was knitting that sweater, I would just rip out what wasn't working for me. I don't like mistakes staring back at me for years on end (and would your son wear it?). It's hard to do, but once ripped out you can either leave it as a ball of yarn (they don't scream from the cupboard so loudly as UFOs), or knit it back the way you want. But that's just me.

    As for blogging, I hated facebook after awhile and I found a lot of people left such flippant comments trying so hard to be funny that the comments started to be quite negative and hurtful. So I quit my account there and started blogging for a more positive outlook, and I found it! It's great to share my creativity (such as it is) with people from all over the world. I find that fascinating and so much more enjoyable. To get a real glimpse into peoples' lives and homes and gardens really extends that sharing feeling. I love taking photos, and to be able to share them with like-minded people is such a relief. I'll be continuing blogging for as long as I feel like writing (blogs will probably be outdated before that happens!). Have a great day Mel! Wendy x

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  21. That rug is wonderful, and has me wondering if I could try making one for the wood floor in the home we are moving into next month. I'll have to check out the ravelry link and see how difficult it is. My crochet skills are almost non-existent!

    As for the sweater, I used to guilt myself over unfinished projects. Now if something isn't working my attitude is life is too short to waste it on something I don't enjoy doing, for a finished object I will never wear. Which is a different thing entirely than finishing a project that is less than perfect (which would be every single item i have ever knit!), and enjoying the process.

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  22. But a jest is so much more fun than a vest, or a jumper. there is so much shakespeare humor in it all (surely, you jest, with your jest). love it.

    I am the inverse, I dabbled in all sorts of social media, until I spun around and found myself blogging. But my tumblr has taken to the back burner because of it. I love flickr AND instagram, I ajust can't juggle both very well at the same time. So I guess what I am saying is that I struggle to juggle it all. xxoo

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  23. Oh no about the jest. all that work and for it to then turn out not right.
    The floor rug does make up for it though, amazing. and doesn't the whippet make for the perfect little model. x

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  24. Oh Mel, you write so well and you do make me laugh! I would've said just finish the jumper until I saw the yoke and now I think if you've no more love for the project then just leave it be. Don't waste what few crafting hours you have on a project that mocks you!

    The rug is GORGEOUS. I saw some of that zpagetti in my local yarn shop and wasn't really sure what it was for but now I really, really want to make a rug for our living room.

    I have recently discovered instagram and like it as it's so fun and, well, instant, but it's not a patch on blogging which will always be my first love. x

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  25. I can understand your lack of mojo and wanting to abandon your jest... a bit like getting half way through a book and not loving it. Your rug is just gorgeous!! I think you'll need to make another one for your sweet whippet though too.

    I feel a bit sad that things have quietened off a bit in blogland... fewer comments, less conversations etc. Like you, my blog is for recording our families memories and for me personally to participate in the community that has become so important to me. Creatively, I also like the challenge of taking photos and weaving words together. In saying that, only days ago I joined Instagram which I can see looks like heaps of fun :) However, blogging will always be my passion I'm sure x

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  26. Ha, I love the fact it's called a Jest! I'm with you on the not wanting to abandon projects...power on! And if it still doesn't work out, perhaps it could keep your lovely whippet warm?! Love the look of Zpagetti, haven't seen that before - I'm a complete klutz when it comes to crochet and knitting, but seeing recycled tshirts turned into that lovely rug make me want to go and learn!
    I'm glad I've found you through littlebirdie - and thank you for following :) x

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  27. Your jest mocks you? How rude! I'm still blogging away, but I do dabble in FB, Instagram & Twitter. I link my blog to my FB + Twitter so it just automatically publishes posts for me. That way I don't have to do much. I should probably be more active on FB in particular and have more on my photography FB page than just linked blog posts, but there just aren't enough hours in the day!

    I must be crazy because I have a hankering to learn how to crochet and/or embroider, even though I have a scarf I started knitting, oh must be 2 years ago now that has never been finished!

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  28. You are hilarious, Mel. Love you! I can't wait to let you show me how to make such a glorious rug. J x

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