Mindless Knitting Crisis!

My Stonington shawl has been one of my Mindless Knitting projects. I usually only have a couple in progress with the rest of my WIPs being more intellectually stimulating.

Well, this weekend I finally finished my other simple project – the Angora Socks! Hurrah!!

I left you in suspense with my last blog entry and the analysis of what I thought was a small mathematical miscalculation.

I had to leave you in suspense because I was left speechless!!

It has taken a couple of days, and a scheduled dinner out with friends tonight, to shake me from my stupor. I have no viable mindless knitting! Yes, I could start something new but the Stonington Shawl “situation”, “mishap”, “disaster” ….. has completely knocked me out of the game. Seriously! It was a simple trapezoid but, NO, that was just too much for my math-challenging little mind. Suddenly I was back in school looking at yet another dismal grade on a math test.

I couldn’t find the will to start anything else until I had faced down my inner math demons! Well, if not face down, I could turn and run. Run and find a brand new shawl design that would be truly mindless.

And, ripping out the entire Stonington Shawl was wonderfully cathartic. I have cast on 8 stitches – using Emily Ocker’s circular cast-on and I am going to make a simple square shawl. With paired increases at four points on every other round, my square can be knit on circular needles going around and around and around.

Besides the obvious math problem, I didn’t like the way the Stonington Shawl looked with my beloved Bayou yarn. I thought about how much I liked the way the slipped stitch pattern on my Ric Rac Rib socks looked with the Imagination yarn. I did a little bit of stitch pattern research and decided that the Bee Stitch would fit my mindless criteria nicely and would make the most of the hand-dyed colors in my Bayou colorway.

I will use the Bee Stitch in the triangular sections between the paired increases. A simple bit of texture.

I can do this!

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Comment by June Swanson on April 7, 2010 at 9:26am: I love the socks! What a nice way to pamper your feet. Where can I find that sock pattern or the stitch you used for them? and what type of heel did you use? I just can't get the hang of short row heels. I always loose my place . It would help if I wouldn't try to multi-task so much. If I talk to someone or watch tv I always goof. June

Comment by peoplelover on April 6, 2010 at 9:48am: The sock are wonderful! They make my feet feel warm just looking at them. And I'm glad you found your new mindless knitting project, we all need at least one of those around!

Comment by HavetoomuchYarn on April 6, 2010 at 9:17am: Those socks look so beautiful and comfortable! I found the beestitch here last night ( or at Knitting on the Net). It can be found in the Harmony Stitchguide #2 (out of print?), or 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Perpetual Calendar.

♥L
who learned the K1B is knit-one-below and KB1 is knit-into-back-of-next-stitch...

Comment by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on April 6, 2010 at 5:03am: Kelley, Love, love the socks! I knew they would look fantastic when you first started them. I sure wish I could afford some of that yarn - out of my price range for sure. Your new shawl pattern sounds a lot like the baby blanket I knit... it was a wonderful easy knit... hope you enjoy yours! Love that bee stitch... I'll have to go looking for that! ♥♥♥ in knitting! --S

Comment by cherylbwaters on April 5, 2010 at 3:50pm: Those socks are awesome. Seriously! I'm going to have to find something to do with the Bee Stitch. My dad raised bees in our backyard when we were growing up. Even though I knew where the bee graveyard was, I still stepped on many a dead bee while barefoot. Ouch! I think that "Blue" Bayou will be perfect for it. I can hear it singing to you! Seriously!

PS, I'm having such a good time with the word "seriously". Thanks for putting me onto it.

Comment by cellogirl on April 5, 2010 at 1:03pm: The Bee Stitch is a lovely texture--what's the source? That's the reason I've pushed Stonington to the back of the to-do list--it would take some very lively yarn to create something interesting. You might have saved the center and put some lovely lace on the outside--oh well, lesson learned--we tend to retain those lessons learned the hard way--at least I do!!

Comment by Amy Green on April 5, 2010 at 10:51am: Ooooo, I'm loving the socks! And I completely understand being mathmatically challenged. I started a sock in Imagination and don't have enough for the 2nd sock...lol!
Anyways, off to KP to place an order :)

Comment by Carrie Armbrecht on April 5, 2010 at 9:46am: Kelley, those socks look so soft and comfy. Enjoy!

Comment by Peggy Stuart on April 5, 2010 at 9:18am: Kelley: The "bee" st looks interesting and should be good with any hand-painted or tonal yarn. How do you do it? I've thought about ripping out my Stonington, too, but I'm not nearly as far along as you were. It's just so...boring. I would be a nice FO, though! --P