Thursday, March 09, 2006

In Which I Confess My Limitations As A Wearer-Of-Accessories

To a knitter, accessories can be fun, portable, quick-to-knit projects. Hats, headscarves, headbands, neckwarmers, mittens, wrist-warmers, what-have-you. For me, they were also an excuse to buy yarn. Tiny amounts of yarn, a ball or two here and there when I couldn't bear the expense of an entire sweater's worth, or when I "had to have" something that I didn't already plan a project for. I'd think "oh, I could make wristwarmers! And a matching headscarf, if I bought 2 skeins!", or "sock yarn can also be used to make gloves!", all in the name of justifying my impulse shopping.

But you know what? I hate most accessories. I can't go out between November and March (or more realistically, October and April) without both a scarf and a hat, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to what I'll wear on my person. Here is a list of things that I don't really like wearing:
- mittens
- gloves (I will, but only when it's too cold for just hands-in-pockets)
- wristwarmers
- headscarves
- headbands
- tiny insubstantial scarves that scrunch up and get super-skinny
- novelty yarn scarves
- neckwarmers
- I've never tried one, but I'm sure I'd hate cowls

That pretty much limits me to these things:
- long, warm scarves (yarn-eaters, all of them!)
- lace scarves long enough to wrap around the neck twice, to make up for the lack of bulk
- hats
- plain store-bought gloves

So, that's it. No more haphazard yarn purchases to make accessories I know I'll never wear. I feel so mature and level-headed. Now if I could only stop buying sock yarn....

1 comment:

Karen said...

Wow...you and I are opposites when it comes to accessories! Of the list that you made of stuff that you wouldn't wear, I think the ones that I would have to agree with you on are:
- headscarves
- headbands
- neckwarmers
- cowls

Personally, I really like wristwarmers. I've never tried the tiny, thin little scarf. I think I'd still like it if was nice and long.

In fact, in some ways I almost prefer to make accessories because I finish them a whole lot faster than big projects, so I feel all accomplished over it.