Ants in pants...

it's springing outside! all the windows are open! i'm feeling antsy!

this isn't surprising, really, i get like this every year. when everything feels this fresh and new i get this gigantic burst of creative energy--the trick lies in channelling it properly while still under its spell. this is not always easy to do.

today this energy is urging me to knit socks--lots and lots of socks. new socks! intricate socks! look, there are lots of sock patterns! no, i'm not helping you decide which one! maybe you will have to buy new yarn, haha! knit socks!! (stupid energy.)

so before i let this sunny energy wheel me down paths (socks!!) unknown i figured i'd better tie up some loose ends that have been lurking (and nagging) of late.

the main one which needs tying up is (wait for it,) a sock:

this is the second of my spindle socks (so called because they're made completely from my own handspun.) i had turned the heel without a pattern and ended up guessing the numbers wrong, so i knew i was going to have to rip back. at the time this was hardly appealing (it was pre-Christmas and the heat was on) and so it got tossed INTO the stash to await repair. yesterday i re-turned the heel (properly this time) and today i finished the gusset. before i know it, it'll be time for the toe decreases, and then...new spindle socks!

the other end may or may not be tied up, since i'm happy to stuff this one back in the box (literally) and forget about it for a while:

it's the first of the Checks and Charms mittens, and i fear if i don't finish it soon i won't have a fancy pair of mittens for next winter, either. this happens every time i knit mittens--i get burnt out after the rush of knitting in the waste yarn for the thumb hole and it all goes downhill. i know i'm really close to the end and i should just finish the thing and at least have half a pair of mittens, but...what i'm saying is that i need your help. feel free to plead on the mitten's behalf.

this final one isn't so much an end but more of an incipient treat:

this is more of my handspun, evidence of what can happen to a nice Fleece Artist merino sliver (colourway: Pinata) when left in my company. i'm bad; i still haven't bothered measuring the WPI, but it's fairly consistent in weight (somewhere between laceweight and fingering.) i decided a week or two ago that a nice thin scarf in a basic lace pattern would be the perfect reward knitting. the scarf only made it to about four inches in length before it was ripped (it was too wide and the lace wasn't doing it for me.) so now i'm on the lookout for another basic lace pattern to inflict upon this yarn...or maybe on the other handspun (from another FA sliver, yet to be documented,) or maybe...

there goes that energy again...i'd better get back to work.

3 comments:

Adriana said...

The spinning is lovely! I think a simple lace scarf would be gorgeous.

Good for you for getting back to the spindle sock. You will feel much better when it's done.

If you don't want to knit the mitten then put it away. You'll feel the urge to work on it when it starts getting cold again. Go knit some fun socks!

Pick some yarn in your stash and see what pattern would work best with it. If you want to knit socks then socks you shall knit!

Heather G. said...

That mitten is definitely a fall project, though if you finished the first mitten, at least you would have only one to go come the frost...

The spindle sock is lovely, and that Fleece Artist yarn is just delectable!! What about argosy? Would that have enough stockinette stitch to adequately show off the gorgeous colours??

I know what you mean about the spring surge... I have an inkling of an idea in mind.....

(and thanks for pointing out Zokni, I might just have to knit those)

crafty_kat said...

love the handspun! Good luck getting the mitten finished