wip: seahawk nillas, garter squish blanket

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Here's what I find are hands-down needs for me as a knitter, at least for right now anyway.

  1. I absolutely need a pair of socks in progress at any given time.

  2. I need a mindless scrap-eating blanket knit going on in the background.

These are two such WIPs I've got going on to preserve the natural and right order of life in this apartment:

This would be a pair of plain stockinette socks made from my first-ever purchased skein of Manos Del Uruguay yarn that I bought a year ago in my new favorite LYS, The Nifty Knitter. It's in Issaquah, WA which is decidedly not local for my Los Angeles-based self but the pleasant, inclusive spirit of that shop is enough for me to hold off on certain purchases until I make the flight/drive up there. I LOVE the place.

The hank of Alegria used

was full of surprises. I initially bought it as sort of a joke. In Seattle, I show myself up as an Angeleno in a lot of ways, like calling it The 405 instead of I-405, or sporting the accidental tan that one gets just from working so close to Venice Beach.

My plan was to make a Seahawks cowl or hat or something with this squishy yarn to help camoflauge me a little more effectively while in this city. I liked the concept for this fun little knitting project but wasn't really in love with this yarn at first--it looked cute as a hank but...as a sock or hat? I...dunno.

But then I had it wound into a skein. and then I casted on.

As someone who's a bigger fan of more muted looks, even for things like socks, I might have to eat my mean words about yarns like these. Variegation and stockinette go together here like --this project is gonna be really cute, and when done and worn, I might pass as a Seattleite from 100 or so yards away in them (but not much closer than that).

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This guy over here is a Garter Squish Blanket in progress, right now being made with a combination of gifted red heart worsted, and some other big-box craft store yarn. It feels really hypocritical to cast on such a thing after reading something like Slow Knitting, but I don't know! They're gifted! I'm filled with knitter's guilt, and they need to be something!

On top of that it just feels good to have something mindless to work on while watching something in the living room. This blanket will probably need to have the crap kicked out of it in a dryer before it's amenable to touch, but I respect and value its role in the WIP rotation. The mindless trash blanket will probably be here to stay.

wip : stranded show offs ii

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I'm about to turn the second heel of these Stranded Show-Off socks in a Zauberball. It's hard to put it down now that I see how lovely these colors look in this pattern. The Regia Hand-Dye Effect really did the pattern an injustice to me. When the yarn's a dream, the whole sock knitting experience is a dream as well.

I also finished Hannah Thissen's Slow Knitting. I like what ideas and values that this book fosters. As a long-time lurker of knitting blogs over the years it was exciting to see the profiles of names I recognised (like Bare Naked Wools, Brooklyn Tweed, Jill Draper Makes Stuff, etc). It was a little difficult reading this book in the format that I did (I'm talking about on a Kindle app, on an Ipad), but it's a recommended read if you're interested in source-conscious, sustainable wool and the mindset of slow knitting.

The book wasn't enough to completely assuage my knitting-related impatience--I look at my stash feeling anxious excitement about seeing what they'll look like knit up. Sometimes I stay up late knitting something just because I want to make some arbitrary knitting 'checkpoint' so it can be further along. The concepts resonated with me, though. After some digestion (and a few completed projects) I might be a Slower Knitter in due time.

wip: hue shift, bt beanie

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Less talking, more knitting, right? A wip post, at long last.

On the circular needle was (was! finished it recently and haven't taken it off yet!) an improvised beanie using the Brooklyn Tweed loft yarn Nick bought me at Knit Purl..back when we braved unsalted Portland roads last winter for some yarn tourism.

The yarn is lofty and fluffy. The crunchy bits of dry grass between the plies add a touch of..authenticity I guess. I would consider shelling out for a sweater quantity someday, when I think I'm worth it.

I've had the yarn for this Hue Shift Afghan project for almost a year now. It's nice to finally cast-on and see what the fuss was about. This is my first mitred square project and I'm happy to know that I had little reason to feel as intimidated by the method as I was all this time.

My concern currently? Mostly, running out of yarn before I make it all the way through this blanket. A lot of knitters on Ravelry have complained that knitpicks cut it a little too close to the yardage for comfort. I'm doing what I can by avoiding breaking the yarn as much as possible but we'll see.