My latest knitting project is coming along about as quickly as one might expect when knitting with sock needles. Fortunately, I enjoy the process and am in no rush to finish. It's very pleasant to have a little indoor project to turn to when outdoor projects have left me chilled to the core and feeling not at all productive or energetic. Every row of knitting - each stitch, even - has the effect of making a knitter feel one step further along a little journey.
Sometimes the journey is so enjoyable, and/or the destination so satisfying, that one decides to take that same trail again. That's why I am revisiting the Waving Lace sock pattern by Evelyn A. Clark.
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| Waving Walnut, June 2011 |
In 2011, when Violet and Lily of the Valley were just 10 days old, they helped document some handknit socks for my ravelry project page, linked above.
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| Violet |
I was pleased with everything about these socks, not just the fit. The "lace" stitch pattern (which, in knitting, means there are holes in it on purpose) struck a nice balance between simple and interesting. I had made a successful modification, which felt quite bold at that point in my knitting "career." And the yarn was the result of one of my first experiments in botanical dyeing.
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| Black Walnut - still my favorite. |
On the topic of patterns...
There are many wonderful knit designers out there,
and I admire and follow many of them.
But to be honest, I rarely buy a pattern.
I hasten to add: I never steal one.
It's simply an economic decision at this time, and if I knew the meaning of the phrase "disposable income," I would gladly support more designers. I'd like to.
As it is, for every pattern I buy, I probably download thirty that are offered for free. Available and easy to locate, thanks to ravelry.
But sometimes I just feel such an urge to make a particular pattern...
which was the case with Waving Lace and with the Embossed Leaves sock pattern by Mona Schmidt. So I bought the book that includes both these patterns and several others.
It's a very nice book, and I don't know why I later gave it away.
What was I thinking?
Possibly it was February.
Good news!
I recently discovered the digital version of this pattern book is available through interlibrary loan! Huzzah! And bonus: the new socks are being knit with a skein from "deep stash" - which I recently decided qualifies as "housecleaning."
Because I'm "decluttering" one skein of yarn, you see.
Also because: February.
I am now cutting myself a break at every opportunity.
The original socks and the new WIP:
The yarns are very similar - no really, they are -
but you can certainly see the difference in a "lace" sock that was been washed and blocked, and one still on the needles. I think the Waving Lavender socks will also open up and soften.
But we'll see!
Knitting is full of surprises.
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How about you, fellow makers of things?
Do you often make the same thing slightly differently?
Do you ever revisit a trail?
Right now, I'm dreaming of revisiting this one:
Probably wearing handknit socks.
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