Projects to love

Sometimes I knit a thing because it is a perfect gift for someone else.  Sometimes I knit a thing because the pattern seems perfect for the yarn, or because I find it an intriguing experiment and a chance to learn something.  The things produced are useful, but perhaps not meaningful in the creation phase.  They were produced for the end result, the result of product knitting if you will.  Sometimes, though, I am smitten, and the knitting becomes focused on the process.  I have two of those on the needles right now.

Project one is the Orchid Thief shawlette.  This is my train knitting right now, and progress has been greatly slowed by my habit of spreading it out to admire the diamonds and lovely central petals and how the yarn is all shades of blue and purple with hints of lavender and this is how knitting progress comes to a screeching halt.

After working on the Elizabeth shawl, made of alpaca-silk laceweight, this merino fingering weight yarn feels much easier on the hands, if not as soft.  I'd like to think that despite the frequent pauses this shawl is progressing quickly, but that's tricky to say.  I have two repeats of the main body chart left to knit before starting the border, which means I have completed about half the rows of this pattern.  Triangular shawls get bigger on each row, though; by area, I roughly estimate I am about 25% of the way through the knitting.

The shawlette does not lend itself to bus knitting, so after a few days of reading on the bus I dug into my sock yarn supply to start a new sock project.  Since it was the beginning of June, I decided to cast on Inlay for the June Sock Knitters' Anonymous challenge, theme Knitty.  I turned the heel of the first sock within a week and got to the first toe at month's midpoint, so I am making good time.  I hope to finish the pair by the end of the month.  I would be further along if I hadn't had to rip back three times to fix mistakes.

The burgundy color is gorgeous and the yarn delightfully soft, though it is also splitty and fuzzy.  A yarn with tighter twist would show off the pattern better.  I still love the knitting, though, so all is forgiven.

Now if only my sewing projects could be so enjoyable!