Scarves and socks and why I don't buy stash

In the four years I’ve been knitting, I’ve tried almost all there is out there to knit – bags, sweaters, lace shawls, scarves, washcloths, socks and probably a few others. Oh yeah, even felted flowers. It’s kind of funny to me that after trying everything at least once, I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to two favorites – socks and scarves. Pretty basic things, but the things that make me the happiest to knit. And since this is my hobby and therefore pretty much all about me, I guess I’ll knit what makes me happiest. I do have an affinity for lace shawls as well, but let’s be real, how many places do I go that these are even somewhat practical??

Having just finished a pair of socks and started a new scarf, I was musing over what about these things I like and I came up with the following:

Socks

1. They’re portable, which is my #1 craft priority.
2. They’re full of little victories – getting the leg done, the heel turned, the foot…
3. They can be pretty mindless – I’m partial to stockinette.
4. They have very little finishing.
5. They’re a huge hit as gifts.

Scarves

1. I absolutely love wearing scarves in the winter, especially squishy ones – like the Clap.
2. Also portable.
3. It’s fun to try out new patterns/yarn/techniques.
3. They’re also pretty mindless.
4. No shaping and very little finishing.
5. Also a popular gift.

Seems like I have a few prerequisites overlapping here. Funny thing is that I love stockinette socks, but don’t think I could handle a whole stockinette scarf.

The new scarf I started is the Ribs & Ruffles. I actually started it with some of the called for Misti Alpaca I had which has made it through all of my destashing (it’s just soooooo soft), but I want to get a pair of knitpicks size 13 needles (they’re on their way as we speak (or write). I will have to make it a little wider though, since it was pretty skinny as written.

Right now I’m working on this:

It’s the same pattern (with a few tweaks) in Classic Elite Wings. This yarn is why I don’t buy stash. I bought it a few years ago at a Webs sale with no project in mind, and it’s been bugging me ever since. Everything else I buy has a purpose – at least to begin with. Very rarely does the yarn and the original project actual coincide, but I can handle that (see above re: this being all about me). Non-earmarked yarn just makes me twitch. I’ve tried a few projects with it, and haven’t really liked anything. Hopefully this will be “the one”. I like it so far – it’s very squishy and sort of ribbed, but involves no purling (win-win in my book).

I tweaked it by adding 5 garter stitch rows before each decrease to make the ruffle longer and started with 124 stitches which gave me 31 stitches for the body, so it’s a little wider.

In other news…catching your kid’s summer cold really stinks.