The Usual Shift

As has become customary in the past with my knitting, in times of trial or heightened activity, the knitting swings back to its roots, and garter stitch projects starting sprouting up like little winter flowers.

For me, it comes down to the question of how to continue making projects that are smart and interesting while running on much less fuel than I'm accustomed to. And where garter stitch is concerned, no one is safe, including my lace-weight stash.


This slinky little number is a whole lot of fun, and perfect for countering temporary feelings of knitting inadequacy. There will be lace incorporated into the finished piece, but for now, it's knit knit knit. The great thing about garter stitch with such a lightweight yarn is how fluffy and airy it becomes, while still maintaining the squish factor that I so shamelessly crave. The fiber has a lot to do with it (always) - Silky Alpaca Lace is a relatively new yarn from Classic Elite and a total treat to work with. Sort of feels like it's made of butter... and I mean that in such a good way.


And for the slightly better days, when I want something to bring my A-game to (or pretend I have an A-game with)... there's a sweater of similar sensibility. I call it my "Yes-I'm-In-Grad-School-But-Still-Want-A-New-Sweater" Sweater. Simple simple, but with some interesting shaping and construction things that I'm having fun playing with. Not to mention the edible yarn (doesn't it kinda look.... food-like? I'm thinking... Oreos.) (Or... have I finally gone crazy?)

You may remember me starting a new sweater design with my Kathmandu stash a few months back. Well... I finished it. I liked it well enough, but wasn't absolutely floored by it. And the nagging question of "is this really good enough for this awesome yarn?" was proving to be quite a nuisance. Well, giving it time, which is the only thing to do in that situation, the illumination did come - a dear friend of mine was caught working up a Tomten Jacket in the same yarn and once I felt the soft, tweedy garter-squish of it, I knew what had to be done.

Instead of taking the time to rip out the entire sweater (always a bit depressing), I just pulled out the bind-off and started making a new one straight away. A nice trick to employ when searching for some sort of redemptive experience to erase our non-brilliant knitting moments and transform them into (*cross your fingers*) something better [See below for new sweater being harvested from old]


And if I've learned anything from my knitting, it's this: a good yarn deserves the right treatment. If that means biting the bullet and re-knitting a sweater, then so be it. (I should remind you that it usually takes a couple months for me to say that.)

But enough of my soapbox jabbering. In design news, I have a couple new patterns coming down the pike this winter, which I'm so happy to get out to you. And speaking of winter, we're down to 40 degree temperatures over here - the big woolies have been busted out and that means giant, happy smiles from me. Enjoy your knitting, it's finally time!