On Linen

There is one really, really, old UFO in my basket. It's a lacey linen shell in tobacco brown and I pick it up from time to time. Like any reasonable knitter, I consider all my UFOs and I frog those hat no longer make me happy. Somehow this Lacey shell persists. Although its been there for years I still think that I'm going to finish it one day and enjoy it very much. I'm not sure why I don't finish it but I suspect the yarn is at least part of the problem. It's linen and it feels like I'm knitting straw. No fun at all.

Based on this I was surprised to find myself enjoying my current project (long delayed) very much. Yes, after procrastinating for months, I have started the kippot for Stinkette's Bat Mitzvah. I dyed the yarn way back in October but turning it into yarn cakes was a nightmare so I got frustrated and cast it aside. I felt awful putting it off but I was having trouble knitting or crocheting anything at that point. Suddenly, the big event is really close and it's now or never. Never really wasn't an option.

It turns out that crocheting with linen is much faster than with silk. With the silk I set a goal for myself of 10 kippot per month and that was about all I could handle. This time, I can easily do 5 or more a week which ought to be about 20 per month. Good news since I'm starting so late.

So what's the deal? I think it's the extra body that linen has. It's not floppy and it just takes to the crochet so nicely. It also holds the shape well so that these are more head-shaped which is a good thing. I am really encouraged and therefore enjoying this project a lot.

So what about that poor, lingering, linen, shell? Only time will tell but summer is coming.