As ever, life at The Knitter HQ has been busy! We sent Issue 26 to press yesterday, so it’s a perfect opportunity to do some catching up before deadline looms large again. I’m of those knitters that always have far too many projects on the needles, I may have mentioned this before… But that didn’t stop me from getting taken up in the whirlwind of an obsession on my week off.

The problem is that different projects are suited to different knitting situations and moods, and it takes more than one project to have the perfect thing for every knitting opportunity. I need something portable and interesting for the bus ride to work. I’m a morning person, so there’s nothing nicer than a complex charted shawl or socks on the bus first thing. But it needs to be small and not require lots of balls of yarn or too many different needles. Later on when I come home then I’ve used up the capacity for concentration, so at this point I need something small and portable that is mindless – a stocking stitch sleeve, or some plain vanilla socks. Again, it can’t be too big as I have limited space in my work bag, and with 2 projects it’s already quite full! On top of that I need a balance of needle sizes so that if my hands get tired of the 2.75mm circulars that the shawl is worked on, then I can swap to something chunkier. And at home in front of the TV, there is always a need for a similar mix of larger projects – some that require concentration, and some easy ones.

So the scene is set – multiple projects, and one would think that there was something for every situation. However, when I came to pack my knitting for 3 nights away, I was stumped as to what to take. My heart wanted to crack on and make serious progress on the Golden Wheat shawl (it’s sitting quietly making me feel guilty for ignoring it), but my head knew that given how tired I was, it would end in tears. Everything on the needles seemed like a long slog. The socks are amazing, but even if I was faithfully knitting on them, I would probably only finish one in the time I was away. So I started scanning magazines and looking online, when it hit me. What I needed was hats. Of course, I hear you cry! The weather was just turning, and there’s something immensely satisfying about how quickly even a 4ply hat goes from cast on to fastening off. It was the perfect solution to the conundrum. Little did I know that this would be the start of something…

I started with Community Gardens from the latest Twist Collective, paired with some lovely yarn from my swap friend, Sarah, and only a few hours later I knew I was on to something. The buzz of an interesting pattern followed quickly by the satisfaction of a finished object. I then hit a hitch – my sister-in-law fell in love with the finished hat, and proclaimed that it would be perfect for her Christmas present. So out came the needles and some more yarn, and before I even acknowledged it, a second hat had tipped off the needles. I loved its leafiness and quick knitting properties. So I went back to my pattern shelves in search of more. Before I knew it I had paired up yarn and patterns for two more hats, and then I started to notice a theme… it was all looking very green! By the end of my week off work, there was a satisfying pile of hats, all shades of green. I felt knitting renewed and ready to tackle a larger project. I wish I could say that in the ten days since I got back from holiday, I have worked religiously on my shawl… I have completed another pattern repeat, but there’s a Mystery Hat KAL being run by Woolly Wormhead, and a pretty p/hop ear flap hat pattern (Twisted Twigs), and some more green yarn in my stash…

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Thank you for blogging with us Jen. You might know Jen as TheKnitterTechEd as she is the Technical Editor for The Knitter, who kindly donated the gorgeous Chic Spring Beret by Jane Crowfoot pattern earlier in the year.

We’ve extended the blog-a-long to Friday 12th November. If you would like to join in (the more the merrier) details of how to take part are here.

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