After all

After last weeks busy knitting, this weekend was a little more laid back.  Not laid back really, but I didn't complete anything.

I had hoped too.

Sunday morning, I was down to 4 rows to bind off on the Lilia Hyrna shawl.  I made an error somewhere on the row, so I ripped it back and re-knit, and still had the error. Just before this row of patterning was a plain knit row and two plain purl rows, so the error, if it exists is somewhere about 5 rows below.  I set it down.  

Just didn't have the heart to go on right now.  Sometimes, when faced with the awful power of the number 2, or in my case the number 3, the best option is to set it down and think about it for a while.

I did think about taking apart the sweater that I need to finish for son2 but though I am ready for knitting on it again, I didn't have it in me to start the ripping back for it either.

I thought about knitting something new, but I slapped myself upside the head and told myself quite sternly that I really needed to finish something before I started another project, or that big WIP basket would be overflowing once again.

I could have knit on a sock, but ...I have no idea why I didn't do this.   I really have no idea.  Instead of knitting on a new sock, I choose to do a little of this.  

I knit some patches for some older socks that were way past darning.  There were 3 heels repaired in all.  In the same yarn.  I thought about doing a more matching repair, but if I ever want to use all my sock yarn bits for something more substantial, I'll need the bigger bits. I used a wee ball of something left over from one of Mr. Needles socks instead.  

It wasn't a weekend of massive knitting accomplishment but my fridge is clean and the kitchen is just a glance away from spit polish.  Two pairs of socks are back into service.  In the grand scheme of things, two pairs of socks, a clean kitchen and a clean fridge are nothing to sneeze at.  

And a Wee Bit More

I'm taking it to Friday with last weekends knitting!

As I mentioned, I did a good and deep dig in the yarn stash.  One of the things that struck me was how many lone balls of yarn I have.  I don't mean the sock yarn.  I mean the stuff that is 100 metres at all kinds of weights.  I have some very lovely yarns in this category and though some of them were bought for mittens or hats, many were given to me.  For many of them, 1 ball is all I will ever have.  Such is the land of the discontinued yarn.  I suppose I could search Ravelry for some, but really, there are so many other good things out there, that if find a pattern I just have to knit, I'd start with new yarn choices, or choices where I have plenty of yarn in the stash.  I wouldn't even consider these.  These loner balls are just going to have to be  small things.

When I get and idea, I'd like to use them up.

So as I said I was digging and came across some Chunky Misti Alpaca.  My fingers, it seems, much though they love working with simpler types of yarns, wanted to knit some buttery soft slippery yarns.  Out the 3 different loner balls came.

And turned into these...

First off, the basic unshaped tube Cowl.  It is really wonderful in this kind of yarn and it shows off the soft colours perfectly.

And a plain ribbed scarf, just perfect for filling in necklines of coats on cold winter days.  

I didn't finish the third, but there isn't any rush.

Since winter gave it a miss here this year, I will be waiting for next year to use them...

I have to make this quick.

One of my sisters is coming to dinner and to stay the night.  

There was yet more knitting last weekend.  

I finished a pair of socks.  Finally one pair for the year.  Its is a darn good thing that I am not doing one a month this year.  Yaaaaaay, me.

I started another pair too.  

This is one of the Regia line, I forget the name, but it is the one that was knit into a scarf like thing ready to be what you wanted it to be.

Most of the fun of that type of thing is that they are usually dyed after they are knit into a tube or flat piece or, in this case a scarf.  You get interesting little variations of colours when you do that.

This one is not.  It is just a sock yarn, dyed, then knit for packaging reasons and Regia thought that it was the packaging that made it cool.  

Hah.  No. In this case, Regia didn't get the message.  It still is nice yarn and will make a fine pair of socks, but they won't have that cool factor I was hoping for.