Tuesday, July 31, 2012

To Pom Pom or Not to Pom Pom?


While on vacation in beautiful Holden Beach, North Carolina I did a little knitting. I cranked out a dishcloth for a dear friend vacationing with us who was also celebrating her 75th birthday! Happy Birthday Beth!
Grandma's Favorite dishcloth: a classic.
I also knit a pair of footies. But, first a few obligatory vacation pics. Thank you for indulging me.
Are we there yet? (Aren't they so cute cuddling with their iphones?)
Typical day at the beach: reading, swimming, surfing with family and friends. 
My youngest: Where'd she learn to do that?!
Right, back to knitting. With leftover yarn from my Pettine Shawlette, I knit the Pom Pom Peds by Purl bee. 



The pattern calls for the top band and a pom pom to be knit using a contrasting color. Well, I just happened to have some leftover Noro Taiyo sock yarn laying around. I think I’ve covered my Noro love affair/obsession in previous posts. I’m not yet seeking therapy, but writing about it does help. Moving on. The yarn was leftover from my Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, which was the second sweater I knit. It’s a great pattern and I wear it often.
Featherweight Cardigan. Click for pattern info Ravelry
Back to Hamlet or the question at hand. The whole time I’m knitting my footies, I’m thinking about how cool the pom poms will look. A Noro pom pom! Can you imagine the possibilities?! Sorry, calming back down here. Anyway, as I was getting ready to make what could possibly be the most cool pom poms ever, I started thinking about washing these babies. I know. Every now and again, I let my practical side out to play. I machine wash my hand knit socks in Woolite on the hand wash cycle and dry them flat. If I pom pom, using the term as a verb here, I think I’ll have to hand wash. And, I’m worried about how the pom poms will look after repeated washing. So, to pom pom or not to pom pom? That is the question. 
What do you think? Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice. ~ Christina

10 comments:

  1. Love the footies! I am all for machine wash and hate to hand wash so I vote for no pom pom. Or make many and be prepared to fix them!! Love your featherweight!!!! Gorgeous!

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    1. Thanks! The sweater was pretty easy to make and I get tons of compliments when I wear it. Of course people want to pay me to make one for them - until I tell them what the yarn alone cost before factoring in my time... ha ha. I'm leaning toward the pom pom. I think the footies need some jazzing up. I can always replace or just take off if they get wonky. Thanks for reading :)

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  2. Hhmmm, that is a hard one. While I can lament with you over the washing thingy, I just can't help but want to see the Noro pom poms...so I'd have to say Go For It! Live dangerously, and don't let the practical side out to play any more than you have too :)

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    1. Oh, Aunt Karel - if you only knew. lol I am leaning toward throwing caution to the wind and making the pom poms. My feet could use a little excitement! ;)

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  3. Pom-pom! You can always cut them off if they felt.

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    1. I think that's what I'm going to do. Just need to find a really small pom pom maker :)

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  4. I love your socks just like they are, but that's simply because I'm not a Pom Pom kind of girl. Love your photos and the other projects :)

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    1. Thanks for reading and responding :) I didn't think I was into pom poms either, but they are what attracted me to the pattern due to my fond memories of the late 70s - early 80s. lol

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  5. Another no pom-pom vote from me, I honestly don't think they'd stand up to much washing, with all those yarn ends to fray. And the socks look just great without embellishment.

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    1. Thanks Annie. I'm concerned about that too. Think if I do end up making pom poms, they'll eventually have to be cut off.

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