The Golden Iris

Tonight, I sat down to knit on a sock - it doesn't matter which one - only to discover that several inches back, I'd made a mistake serious enough to warrant ripping it out. I like my pairs of socks to match one another as precisely as possible, so out it went. Two steps forward, one step back, and suddenly I'm in a place where I can start moving forward again, more perfectly. That is kind of how life is these days, both with knitting and, well, life. I think I've gotten myself somewhere only to stop, take a step back, and start again. Things aren't working out and I'm moving. In two weeks I'll be in another city, with other people. Closer to my family, closer to old friends for the holidays - but back to bad weather and, inevitably, unemployment. It's a gamble, but how can I not make the choice for happiness? For [astronomically] lower rent? For getting to see my parents and everyone else at Christmas? So I'm packing. Chicago or bust!

I voted, did you? The lines were short when I went to vote here in Northern Virginia (a.k.a. "Communist Country" or "Fake Virginia"). If you're in the USA and haven't yet voted, make sure you get to the polls today! Now, back to your regularly scheduled knitting....

Sometimes it's the littlest things that matter most. Waiting for flowers is a wonderful kind of waiting.

Seems like everything I start these days has to be torn out and begun again. For Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous October Sockdown, I started some toe-up Honeybee Socks, which were cute... ... but impractical. Toe-up socks drive me crazy and I should know better by now than to try them. They never seem to fit me right in the instep and heel. So now they've been ripped out and turned into something entirely different by the same designer, these Komet socks. Much nicer! I've also decided that the rib and cable sock I made was also no good... Ugly ribbed heel... Ugly wonky toe... Disappointing everywhere... I don't know what to do with these. Certainly I'll have to rip them out. But will I have to go so far as to overdye the yarn? I don't know if I want to go through that. Ugh.

Looks like it happened again... I fell off the Internet. Never fear, I'm still knitting. It's simply that many of the projects that I was knitting in the interim were samples that I was unable to show off. At least I have something to show for my time away: yet another pair of socks! Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous and their monthly Sockdown knit-along has inspired me yet again to actually complete a project. I had wanted to knit Cookie A.'s Hedera Socks ever since the pattern was first published in Knitty. While admittedly the pattern is a bit boring, the effect is lovely. I picked up the yarn, some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Lucky Stripe, on my last trip to Chicago. It seemed a fitting souvenir (as Lorna's is Chicago-based). Not usually a fan of their "Stripe" colorways but the two colors were close enough in tone in this colorway that they blended well in the body of the sock and made nice stripes at heel and toe. I love the way the colo...

My vacation last week included some not insignificant travel time on buses and trains, so I was finally able to finish a project for myself! These are the Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd, available via Knitting Daily. I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Cool and US 1.5 needles. I'm really pleased with the way these turned out, even if the knitting was a bit tedious. I'm thinking I should knit up more socks at a slightly looser gauge instead of as tight as possible - they feel a little finer and less clunky. These were also my project for this year's Ravelympics, in the WIP Wrestling event. I have too many languishing projects that I need to see through to completion, and I was hoping to get more done, but one finished project is better than none. Back soon with more sample knitting news!

There is nothing like coming home after a day at work to three big boxes at the top of the stairs, each one filled with lovely, lovely yarn. Of course, one box I had to send to myself because I bought too much yarn on my vacation - but the other two.... I have lovely yarn for socks and a top as payment for some sample knitting a while back, and more yarn for more sample knitting! So exciting. Excuse me, I'm going to go play with my yarn now.