I know, I know! I promised you an update on the knitting. Then Son went back to school and I puddled up for a week. And this week I’m fighting off a cold. I know what you’re thinking. “Didn’t she knit an entire cabled sweater the last time she had a cold?” Yeah, I did, but the meds don’t always affect me that way. Sometimes I just have a very long, very loopy nap. Which is the case this time. Unfortunately, that means a crash in productivity too.
So…road trip knitting. What sort of projects lend themselves to knitting in planes, trains, and automobiles? Small projects like socks, hats, mittens, and shawls. I have a purse with a roomy center pocket that is perfect for stealth stashing small knitting projects like these. The muggles don’t know I’ve brought my knitting along – until I pull it out to knit a row, of course.
For this summer’s excursions I decided on socks. I pulled a pretty wild skein out of my stash and wound it up into two little balls. Two balls, instead of one, because I work my socks two at a time from the toe up on two circular needles. It makes for some interesting conversations during a plane flight, though probably not as interesting as the ones with knitters who work using five double-pointed needles per sock. (Porcupine anyone?)
“What are you knitting?” “Socks.” “Oh that’s great! I’ve always wanted to learn to knit socks. But you are doing them differently…multiple long needles. That looks confusing.”
vs.
“What are you knitting?” “Socks.” “Oh, but there are so many points. That looks scary!” (Runs away, looking back at the knitter suspiciously.)
I cast on during the flight to Memphis, knit a little bit during the week at the lake, then more knitting on the flight back to Seattle. The socks still weren’t finished, so I took them with me to San Francisco and back, finishing them up at a knit night later that week. There were car rides and train rides interspersed in there as well. Lots of prime sock knitting time.
I used up as much of the yarn as possible. This meant that I didn’t stop the cuff just under the bulge of my calf, as I usually would. Instead I worked a few increases to accommodate and kept right on going, working the ribbing when I felt like the yarn supply was sufficiently low to warrant an ending to the socks. Along the way I marveled at the short color changes and the difference between the tiny stripes on the foot and the large zigzags on the legs. In my opinion, socks are allowed to be crazy. They’re stuck in shoes most of the time, hidden away. I would never wear patterns/colors like these nearer my face.
As usual, the new pair of socks are my new favorites. Now to sit patiently until boot weather comes along so I can wear them!
For the knitters:
- Yarn:Â Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight, colorway Rawkin Sockin Knitters
- Pattern:Â none, I used a vanilla sock pattern with the stitch counts adjusted for my foot measurements and knitting gauge
- Ravelry project page:Â here