fo : slide socks

Slide was a treat to knit. The non-identical but symmetrical pattern was knit using dpns, which offered a nice change of pace from my usual TAAT magic loop method. The easy flow from section to section in Cookie A’s pattern kept second sock syndrome at bay.

pattern : Slide by Cookie A
yarn : Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in an OOAK colorway
needle : US 1 [2.25mm]

size : M, 10”

These long lines were what drew me in. I was curious about what made Cookie A such a popular knitwear designer, especially for socks. The pattern was concise, with a clear and lovely layout. As a very visual person, layout is most of a pattern PDF’s value.

Little things like the inclusion of special stitch descriptions in the pattern were much appreciated for moments where I needed to remember how the hell to pull off a m1pR. Thanks to cookie’s conscientious design, I suffered no confusion or discomfort…except of course for that time that my needle just snapped in half and i had to move projects…but that’s not her fault!

I enjoyed using the zen garden yarn, it’s an impossibly soft wool nylon blend. The subtle variegation of this yarn challenged this sock’s long lines but without bossing them around too much. It felt like an even push-pull of visual busy-ness.

If only this wasn’t so plushy and soft! I would wear these around much more often if I wasn’t so sure that these would just felt after just a dozen wears and washes.

wip : ski bonnet

This ski bonnet is a stash-busting project using up my remaining Ease yarn. Lacey Volk’s striking neon hat caught me, and I wanted to try my hand at making one of my own.

I managed to make it as far as the first section, having loads of fun in the process. The last real cable project I worked on were those Charcoal Angler’s Loop Socks, so this little repeating cabling pattern was exactly what I needed to feel giddy again about the neat things knit fabric can do.

But after finishing that first portion? I got stuck. I was intimidated by the ‘pick up stitches except for 5, evenly distributed’ direction. So I left this project sitting in time-out. I plan to unearth this project this weekend to tackle that silly fear—really, they’re just a hundred or so stitches, what’s the big deal? The math? There’s hardly any!

I’m thinking, if picking up 102 stitches is scary, maybe I shouldn’t have taken on the hue shift, right? I will need to get to the massive border of that blanket eventually. So what’s the deal?

fo : ease pullover

I took the path of least resistance on this one. I decided to just accept that my third hand-knit sweater's gonna be one of my more loose, comfy ones. The color's gorgeous (not one I'd expect I'd like so much,) and the pattern was easy enough to follow. 


I'm also happy to report that a friend reached out to me, letting me know that my WIP inspired her. She started an Ease sweater of her own, with Knit Picks Hawthorne!

Knitting-evangelism +1.

pattern : Ease by Alicia Plummer
yarn : Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Superwash in Mineral Heather
needle : US 6,10 [4mm, 6mm]

size : Large

Alicia Plummer’s thoughtful design elements in this pattern were much appreciated here. The use of a purl ridge to encourage a crease on the stockinette knit fabric was a nice touch and made a pretty effect.

I used Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind-off method for the end of the body and the sleeves—Highly recommended.

After the first wash this garment bloomed…a lot. I’m reserving this sweater for days like this one in Lithia Park where bundling up and keeping warm is more important than doing my silhouette any favors.

fo : seahawk and rogue nilla socks

This pair of socks took a year to get off the needles because I was eyeballs deep in my projects at work. I still put the couple hundred odd stitches here and there to decompress when things were especially stressful, but it definitely did not progress as quickly as I had wanted.

pattern : Improvised
yarn : Manos del Uruguay Alegria in Fondo del Mar
needle : US 1 [2.25mm]
size : 10"

pattern : Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes
yarn : SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Rogue
needle : US 1 [2.25mm]
size : 10"

My rogue nillas marched at a much faster pace but I was still pretty impatient about it. I cast these on while moving across the rogue river valley. I just had to start something, sitting shotgun on a road trip would otherwise have felt like a waste of valuable knitting time.

Recalling the experience of knitting these two pairs is almost embarrassing. It’s like I’ve become this results driven careerist about something that was initially supposed to be an ongoing process to feed my soul. When did my yarn stash and project queue become such a to-do list?

While caring for and photographing these projects, I got to take in details I didn’t really notice as much when I was in the process of rushing to the finish line.

I had a chance to appreciate the little lightning bolts that took shape against the blue and lime green backdrop, like some storm on a little alien landscape.

The army-green and gem-violet spiraling up from toe to cuff remind me of sedimentary rock, taking ages to fall in line but always seeming to know the right place to sit—just like each one of these little colored stitches.

The simple texture of these knitting patterns allowed the variegated yarns to take center stage. Plain socks and multicolored yarns go together like milk and honey. No matter what you do, it pays off—it’s beautiful as a hank, and the result when knit up is inimitable.

I also was very giddy about finishing with a rounded toe tin the Magic Loop style. Anyone close to me while I was wrapping up the toe became a captive audience to my lecture about how I’m basically knitting two little hats for my toes with this method. Sorry, friends. I owe you something for that.

What if I honored these details while in the process of crafting them?
It probably wouldn’t have hurt to observe more while making them instead of rushing to mark something as done. I guess I knew that at one point in the process of crafting and documenting, I’d have that nudge again to be a little more present while turning fiber into wearables.

A little bit of yarn is left over from these socks, and instead of being an angry completionist about it (I should have made the cuffs longer!) I might store them for a scrap blanket project of some kind to be able to cherish this lesson of mindfulness one more time.
That blanket project idea is a little further off in the future since I’ll need some more sock yarn in my stash to begin, but I’m open to learning about some pattern favorites. For now, Severien’s beautiful work in progress definitely comes to mind.