WIP Wednesday, you say?

There is nothing on my needles. No, not even a sock. Nor is there anything on any of my wheels or looms. One of my spindles has some green merino on it that I have been spinning, but that is really just a time filler and not something that I am worried about when or even if it gets completed. This is kind of odd for me.

Not having a project on any of my wheels was sort of planned. When I finished spinning and plying the Romney batts that I started shortly after the retreat, I surveyed my stash and realized that the hand spun portion of my stash is now just about equal to the commercially spun portion of my stash and that is not a bad position to be in at all. Keep in mind that my stash is quite modest. I know people with entire rooms (sometimes multiple rooms) to house their stash, whereas mine is mostly limited to the stacked storage drawers in one closet.

As I begin a sort of mini stay-cation today my plan is to end my state of WIP-lessness and find a knitting project to cast on. My dilemma is whether to use hand spun or one of the commercial yarns from my stash and looking through my collection of knitting books, individual patterns, and my Ravelry queue isn’t making that an easy decision.

My tendency is to pick a yarn that I want to work with and then find a pattern that suits it. I think most people start with a pattern and then find a yarn that is well suited for that pattern. But what do they do if they don’t have a yarn in their stash that is well suited to that pattern? Yep, yarn shopping. I guess that’s how some people’s yarn stashes end up requiring an entire room (or more) to contain.

One of the commercially produced yarns that I have pulled from my stash to start a project with is this green and blue Wensleydale from Battenkill Fibers that I got last year on the Washington County Fiber Tour.

I fell in love with this yarn based on the colors alone, knowing full well that the hardiness of the fiber would limit my options of what to make with it. While I certainly don’t mind scarves or cowls made from yarns that most people would find too coarse and scratchy, I think this yarn is much better suited for something that won’t be worn around the neck. I think it will be ideal for a hat and matching pair of mittens.

Choosing from my hand spun stash is a little more difficult of a decision. I still have a sweater’s worth of yarn spun from the brown Corriedale roving, and I believe I have found the perfect sweater pattern for it.

Before I can begin though, I need to recalculate how much yardage I actually have, and possibly swatch again if I cannot find the swatches I have already done with this yarn. They’re here somewhere. I just have to look in a few more places.

Today is going to be gray and rainy, which is perfect knitting weather. My goal is to find just the right hat and mitten pattern for that Wensleydale and cast on. I am meeting up with a friend tomorrow for dinner and knitting, and I would like to actually have something to work on by then. The sweater from my hand spun will require a little more planning before I can cast on.

That’s all I have for today, but before I sign off, I’d like to ask you readers to chime in with how you pick your projects. Do you start with a pattern and find a yarn for it, or do you start with the yarn and then find a pattern for it? I’m looking forward to hearing what your preferences are.