Welcome Back Old Friend

Some people can knit sweaters. I am not one of those people. Right now, I have two sweaters on the needles. Tilia and Viking Turid, both beautiful designs by Elsebeth Lavold. The designs are lovely, the yarn is a joy, its the gauge that gets me every time. No matter how much I swatch, the pattern dimesions come out all wrong.

It is just so frustrating, certainly not feeling like the “meditation” or “new yoga” that we all know knitting has become. So I’ve come back to my old friend, sock knitting. And I’m using an old friend of a pattern, Child’s First Sock in Shell Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks, by Nancy Bush.

Isn’t the trekking yarn 105 just perfect for a chilly autumn morning?

Sorry Lilly

Showing great restraint, I did not buy a single skein while on vacation.

But Saturday afternoon, I broke my fast and visited my LYS with the sole intention of buying “a little bit of baby yarn” to make something for my boss’ newly arrived granddaughter Lilly.

While searching through piles of bins of soft and downy baby yarns, something beautiful sparkled just out of view. It was the Elsebeth Lavold Book Eight. I realized that Tilia must be mine. 7 skeins of Silky Wool later, I convinced myself that Lilly could wait.

A Way to Numb the Pain

Some people drink. This is what I’ve been doing to keep my sanity while watching the Red Sox get spanked repeatedly by the Yankees. Sigh.

It is the Viking Turid by Elsebeth Lavold from Arans & Celtics: The Best of Knitter’s Magazine, done in KnitPicks Elegance, Fawn colorway. The pattern is simple and soothing, with just enough cablework to make it interesting. And no nasty hangover in the morning.