Friday, April 27, 2007

On the needles

T. called me last night and asked me what I was knitting. At the moment she asked, I was not in the act of knitting. This is shocking. Knitting is my enabler. It allows me to watch TV without the guilt of wasting time. It's what fills up my lunch break when I'm finishing eating. It's how I wait for a meeting to start. Knitting is what I do in the car when I'm a passenger. It's like breathing. Basal knitting, necessary for life.

My current projects are very different. I'm usually knitting a pair of socks, usually for a birthday or if I'm really good, stockpiling for Christmas. Boy, that is optimistic. I say I'm stockpiling but really I'm just knitting for me. Secretly, I tell myself I'm testdriving the patterns and then if I like how they turn out, I'll knit them for someone else as a gift. Not even I believe that one. So on the DPNS (circular needles for socks isn't something I've tried and while I like the name of the magic loop, I'm an old fashioned girl at heart), are the dreaded Pomatomus.
Who knew that this pattern was basically knit 1, purl 1 with some fancy stuff for shaping the scales? Well, I guess I would have if I'd read the pattern before diving in. These socks are going slowly. I'm not the fastest knitter ever and all this ribbing is dragging on. And this is only the first sock.

Fortunately, I have some mindless knitting that I've been working on. T. mentioned that we're playing with Knitpicks Cotlin. I'm making up a sweater. It's my first attempt at designing and I have used a couple of books as resources and inspiration. I've only just recently discovered Barbara Walker's Treasuries and they are an amazing reference for stitch patterns and ideas. AND some brave souls have organized this online library of knitting stitches. It's brillant! And as ever, Ann Budd is indispensable in having already done all the math for me. Thanks, Ann. Let me buy you a latte sometime. So, with the help of Barb and Ann, I present to you....
this WIP (work in progress). It's got potential, don't you think? I'll keep you updated on its progress. If you never see it again, you'll know I've failed miserably and didn't want to admit it to you, my loyal reader. (T. , I'm talking to you. I don't think anyone else reads this thing. Except Leo. Nice to meet you, Leo.)



Now if only some kind, knitting fairy would come and finish this sock so I could move onto other things, that would be great!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, I really like the butterfly! Looking very spiffy so far - it might be nice in a tunicy style dress for your knitting fairy too if this sweater goes well. It's always nice to see what other people are up to - makes me remember why I sould pick up the needles staring at me reproachfully from the lump of soon to actually look like something wip. Besides knitting is a much better prescription for my stress-induced, anxiety-laden, why-does-the-world-keep-dumping-more-stuff-on-me state of mind, than heavy duty antidepressants. And much nicer side effects I would think.. What would you prescribe , oh knitting pharmacists?

J. said...

Your prescription for stress is relief depends on the patient. Some individuals respond best to very simple knitting, like garter stitch dishcloths. Others need a challenge to distract themselves. These people need to see a specialist. I recommend Cookie A. Let us know how you are progressing and we can adjust your dose as needed.

Anonymous said...

I like the butterfly too - Can't wait to see the finished project. I also reccommend cookie A but not if you're already tired and can't focus - much ripping involved