July 2017 - Woollen WildernessWoollen Wilderness

I want to start this post by pointing out that, contrary to popular belief, I do not only knit socks. Do I hardly knit anything besides socks at the moment? Pretty much, but sometimes I do! And now I’m proving it by showing actual progress on my powder snow shawl. It is a lovely shawl and all, but not a fast knit. At the moment I am somewhere around 450+ stitches and a single cable row takes me approximately 30 minutes to get through. The end is in sight though, I’ll only do 2 more cable pattern repeats (8 rows each) before I’ll start knitting the ribbed border.

I did not exactly envision this year to be the year of socks (I had high hopes for mountains of sweaters), but alas, the other WIPs on my needles are socks. I won an instagram giveaway hosted by brand new sock blank dyer Joyance Fibre arts (check out her Etsy shop here!), and as soon as the PINEAPPLE(!!!) sock blank arrived I had to cast on. Seriously, how cute is this?? I’ve actually never knit a sock blank before, but I’m definitely seeing what makes it so much fun. I’m foreseeing much more of this in the future.

I’ve also reknit my Mash Potato sock, and although by now it looks considerably less fun, it fits. I put in a fish lips kiss heel, most importantly because at the moment I know the pattern by heart so I’m putting it in all my socks out of laziness. Then I worked the back of the leg in stockinette and voila, a perfectly fitting sock. I’m still madly in love with the fun Spectrum Fibre yarn, so cheerful (especially given the very autumnal weather we are experiencing at the moment).

Summer is truly and fully here, and its arrival has brought many feeling along with it. The week before last I was in Greece for a summer school (which was very lovely and inspiring), but coming back has catapulted me into PhD related stress. There’s a sudden realisation of time ticking away. Where did the last 4 years go really?

I’m trying to keep calm and take things one day at a time. This weekend I calmed myself down a little, by taking deep breaths and doing what works best, knitting. My projects are progressing one stitch at a time, and I’m enjoying the process. The rhythm. The mindlessness.

I’m working on a mint green shawl for which I finished a textured section and am now working a cable section. With well over 350 stitches on the needle there’s nothing fast about this.

I’ve also finished a sock that pretty literally puts hearts in my eyes. The only problem? The pattern across the leg is way too tight and it’s a massive struggle to get them on. They’ll be frogged either way. Then I’ll either make the back stockinette or maybe I’ll go for a new pattern entirely. Who knows, I’m definitely not worrying about it.

I’m simply taking my knitting one stitch at a time, while I will finish my thesis one day at a time.