Finally, some knitting content
Having spent a lot of November and December on secret knitting projects with significant deadlines, which ended up being posted off before I managed to photograph them, I haven't had any knitting to share for a very long time. I've also found that January has not been a very knitting-heavy month – partly because of how much knitting I was doing in December, partly because I finally got hold of some fabulous fabric and the lure of the sewing machine was too great, and partly (as ever) because the choice of knitting projects was essentially a series of arithmetical choices: work out the modifications necessary to transform a short puffed sleeve into a more fitted long sleeve; decide on the heel treatment for a sock design; problem solve a very old project in 'time out' because it needs to be ripped and started again... The temptation to just start something new was great, and I did find myself buying cardigan patterns on Ravelry (there was a sale; I have the yarn – I have fantastic justifications for it all) before reining myself in and noting that I already have a sweater on the needles that needs finishing.
And then there was a weekend away looming, and a need for something bright, simple and cheerful that could be shoved in a project bag and started... and the Knitting Parlour happens to be open late (to 7.30pm) on a Wednesday, which means that I can pop in after work on my way home... So I found yarn, dug out needles, picked a project bag, and a sock was begun.
This is probably the least 'designed' pair of socks I've ever knit – socks being so portable and suited to commuting, they've tended to be the canvas for more complex patterns, like Shur'tugal, Clandestine, Scylla, or Devon [Ravelry links]. This time, I felt I wanted something more simple and straight-forward, so a vanilla sock it is... or nearly: I threw a Noughts and Crosses cable in for some interest. I'm planning that the cable panel will be asymmetric – so run on the outside of each sock – and the simple knitting of the rest of the leg has ensured that it's sped by (by my standards), and that I had energy and concentration left for an Eye of Partridge heel that makes the most of the colour of the yarn.
So, my final challenge? Not only to finish this sock, which will probably be done by the end of the week, but to actually start the second one – my single Devon languishes, over a year after it was finished, in the Second Sock waiting room. Time to start again?
And then there was a weekend away looming, and a need for something bright, simple and cheerful that could be shoved in a project bag and started... and the Knitting Parlour happens to be open late (to 7.30pm) on a Wednesday, which means that I can pop in after work on my way home... So I found yarn, dug out needles, picked a project bag, and a sock was begun.
This is probably the least 'designed' pair of socks I've ever knit – socks being so portable and suited to commuting, they've tended to be the canvas for more complex patterns, like Shur'tugal, Clandestine, Scylla, or Devon [Ravelry links]. This time, I felt I wanted something more simple and straight-forward, so a vanilla sock it is... or nearly: I threw a Noughts and Crosses cable in for some interest. I'm planning that the cable panel will be asymmetric – so run on the outside of each sock – and the simple knitting of the rest of the leg has ensured that it's sped by (by my standards), and that I had energy and concentration left for an Eye of Partridge heel that makes the most of the colour of the yarn.
So, my final challenge? Not only to finish this sock, which will probably be done by the end of the week, but to actually start the second one – my single Devon languishes, over a year after it was finished, in the Second Sock waiting room. Time to start again?
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