There is something about fall that makes me want to knit. My craving for yarn seems to hit about the same time every year. Is it that my hands are cold? That I'm feeling the chill in the air, but can't grow a winter coat, so I start wanting to make one for myself? Or just that quiet settling down, nestling in, preparing for the long dark months when I'll be more still, have more time for quiet, contemplative pursuits?
I'm still working on the sweater for Lisa that I started in July, but miles and miles (OK, 17") of ribbing does get a bit boring after a while so I've been switching out that project with others. I needed a smaller project for traveling in September, and splurged on this extravagant silk to make an extravagant floral scarf from the Vogue Knitting anniversary issue (the magazine photo and the shop display were so decadant, it wasn't even fair. There was no resisting). To make the flowers, you knit the same pattern over and over (and over) from the three different yarns, and also it is on tiny needles that make my hands tired after a while. So I'm not flying through this one either. And really neither of these is filling my desire to make my own self something warm.
So I've been considering these spiral knee-high socks to wear with my new favorite Frye boots. My store-bought knee-high socks keep falling down, and I suspect that socks custom-shaped to my calf would help that problem. But although I have several projects worth of sock yarn already, I do not have enough of any one color that would work well in this pattern. And careful reading tells me that the pattern is sized quite a bit too small for my calf measurements, so some reworking is in order before I start. I do know how to do that now, but it takes some time and attention, both of which have been in fairly short supply lately. And also I picked up a copy of the fall SpinOff magazine, where I found an article about spinning sock yarns, so now I'm thinking about spinning, rather than buying my sock yarn. Yeah, like I have time to do that...
Or perhaps I should make these pretty lacey cashmere mitts. These would keep my cold hands warm. And I know I have some cashmere fiber in my stash somewhere as well, so I could spin the yarn for these, too! But it is undyed, so I'd also have to dye it. Yeah. I don't even like to deal with dyes. I do love the colors of natural dyes, but I haven't found much patience for it in the past. So that's a recipe for a stalled project.
Of course, I also already have several projects already waiting on me - yarn and pattern all neatly bundled together, which includes a shawl, a sweater, and several pairs of socks (just not knee-high, though I could probably adapt them).
I realize that I have a distinct lack of focus where yarn-related projects are concerned.
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