My knitting goes in phases. Two or three times a year I manage to complete the cycle, only to again throw myself head first into a new round. The start usually leaves my living room looking like above for a few days, a warning sign by itself.
During this phase all books, pattern files, stash yarns, websites and inner brain storage unite to form a *ahem* optimistic number of projects, few of which manage it past the first rows before they are ripped or put aside for something new. But all I really want is to one or two, or well, a few, nice established projects that I can just pick up and knit on. Not having a good knitting project is a nightmare, and it takes time to get to know a new project. So as you see, the initial rounds often take place over a coffee or a beer to break the ice.
In an attempt to justify all my book buys (and more are on the way, I am waiting for my catch from the Interweave Hurt book sale) I actually cast on a pattern from one of them, the classic EZ baby sweater on two needles. An easy knit from what I’ve heard but after messing up the lace pattern and ripping back twice I’ve decided to wait and see if the recipient is of the kind likely to be dressed up in purple lace.
Not being able to work a simple lace repeat on the baby sweater should probably have stopped me from starting these but they’ve been on my mind since I first saw them: Ironwork Socks from Kelp Knits. It doesn’t look like much now but I have faith that they will block nicely to show the pattern in all its glory. The yarn is a new deliverance from A Piece of Vermont, handdyed merino/bamboo/nylon in an amazing grey tone named Darkness Falls. You know I’m a sucker for grey. Throw in a few hints of brown, lavender and purple and I’m sold. It is such a subtle nearly-solid and impossible to take a photo to make it justice. The pattern is…challenging and amazing. Why the stitch that was a purl stitch on the last row should be a ktbl now and a plain k the next row again is beyond me but wow is this a study in stitch direction and definition. There are some serious cable and lace action going on at the same time but I’ve figured out where to look for the yarnovers I miss all the time. I have now placed markers and am ready to start the heel chart.
The other project that survived into a WIP is yet another amazing yarn, Little Knits Indie II lace colour Burgundy. While the Ironwork socks demand my full focus and attention, this yarn will become the Seraphim shawl, where the upper portion is just stockinette. Laceweight TV-knitting. Yum.
There are more WIPs in shelves and corners around here and the next stage in my knitting cycle is to work on all of them at the same time, not making progress on any. I’m trying to break the spiral here, I’ll never be one of those who only have one project at the time. But a three-project knitter maybe?
Hey – check your email. i’m sending the tweaked version of the Yarni/Lace Baby Sweater, maybe you can test that one with the purple yarn!
OOOh combination of coffein beer and yarnwinder! but be carefull…..