Small Town Hermit

As previously mentioned, sock knitting is my happy place, and I tend to do more knitting than finishing. So far this year I have cast off eight pairs of socks. I have completely finished — woven in the ends and washed — one pair. Last year I think I got to thirteen pairs before I did any finishing.

Finishing almost happened this weekend, but the opposite of finishing — startitis — kicked in instead. I don’t know that I can really blame this urge to start many new projects on spring because it can happen (and has happened) at any time of year. I think that there was one December where I cast on a new project pretty much every single day.

The cause varies, but this time around I am pretty sure that I can credit casting off a couple of pairs of socks in March and making significant progress on a third pair which inspired me to keep up the momentum, ignoring the fact that there are plenty of partially finished projects to which I could apply that momentum. Another cause is that while the projects which have already been started are not terribly complex, they do require some amount of focus, and it is nice to have a few projects which are simply meditative and soothing and can be knit while listening to music or watching a video.

I cast off one pair of socks made from Noro Silk Garden sock, and I have one more skein left, so I wanted to start another pair right away. I cast on a pattern called If You Know Where to Go (link goes to Ravelry).

This is one of those patterns which is not difficult — knits and purls — but the pattern is a 14-row repeat, so you do have to keep track of which row you just knit and which row to knit next. As I said, not difficult, and having a slightly more involved pattern can make the knitting feel as if it moves along more quickly than, say, knitting every row. The color changes in the Noro yarn as motivating, too. Right now, I am in a dark section of the yarn, so the pattern doesn’t show up too well. It will in other parts, and even if it didn’t, the process is still enjoyable.

Deciding that I needed something even simpler (and that I could knit on a slightly larger needle), I then cast on Seedy Ribbed Socks (Ravelry link). This pattern is a two-row repeat — much easier to keep track of. No notes or row counting required. I just have to read the stitches of the previous row to know that I need to knit the other row next. Also, for some reason this yarn just called to me and insisted on being knit right away (nevermind that it has been in my stash for about six years). Its time had come.

I am only two rows past the toe, so there is really nothing to see here but pretty colors.

Those two really should have been enough to keep me occupied for a while, but my mind wandered to some leftovers from previous projects, and for some reason it made sense that if I were starting projects with new, unused skeins of yarn, I should also make sure that the leftovers didn’t get left too far behind. Is it a good justification? Probably not, but it is what I have. Plus I had all of these empty needles just waiting for projects.

Before I knew it, I had cast on Vanilla Latte (Ravelry link) socks and Crunkled Socks (Ravelry link). I am knitting both patterns with double-stranded yarn on size two needles.

There had been a brief shining moment when I was focused on finishing existing sock projects. I had cast off a pair of socks which I started about five years ago, and I had been making progress on another pair which had been started at least three years ago but possibly four. Great! I could just keep going and get some other the other projects finished.

Alas, it was not to be, and I am once again awash in a sea of in progress sock projects. Do I regret it? No, no I do not. Having a variety of colors, patterns, and yarns from which to choose when I sit down to knit makes for a happy knitter.