Great Minds Think Alike

Yesterday, as I was packing* my bags to head out for the weekend (*read as: going around the apartment and shoving useful-looking things in my bag) I made a decision.  I decided that W would drive.  Why? So I could knit, of course!  

Then another decision faced me.  What would I knit? I've got a few projects on the needles right now.  One is a KAL which I am doing horribly on, I must say (that's a post in itself.) That one would never do: I need my computer to read the pattern!  The other is on hold, awaiting a yarn needle (since my cheap plastic one snapped in half - twice! - on Thursday.) The third option was to work on the sample of Borneo, but that also required my computer to take notes on.

Which option did I choose? Of course, I made up my own! I tossed a size 2 circular into my purse, a measuring tape, and some mystery varigated yarn (if anyone recognizes this, let me know!) and went to town! I think that after a week of knitting and non-knitting stress, I needed a bit of seat-of-the-pants knitting, and this project really helped! I worked the whole hour drive yesterday... casting on, not being satisfied with my cast on, and ripping out. 

Normally, this would be frustrating for me, but yesterday it was extremely satisfying.  There wasn't a pattern for me to follow to the T; I didn't have to write down any notes to refer to when writing up the pattern; I didn't even take measurements.  I think that this sock is a spur of the moment sock.  Later, I'll measure it and find an owner Cinderella-style. If it fits, and they like it, the prince or princess can keep it!

Then, when we reached our destination, I put the knitting away. After a lovely dinner and a peaceful sleep, I woke up at 6:14. I had a cup of coffee and some toast and made this! It's the very first picot edging I've ever done. I sort of winged it.  I cast on 64 stitches and knit for a while, then did a round where I just K2tog, then yarn over... over and over! Then I knit until both sides were equal, then I slipped the purl bumps onto the needle and knit them together to make a kind of hem.

I have no idea if I did things the right way, but after the last crumb of toast was gone, I started on the pattern of the sock, which I decided would be a kind of free-form. I thought of doing a variation on the armwarmers that I test knit, only picking up just one lag at a time, to make a more checkerboard-like shape.

I worked until I went to my first ever formal yoga class. (I may have done yoga during gym class in high school, but that doesn't count.) Then, I knit on the ride home with my brother and father.

 

Then I got home, proud of my work thus far, and decided to blog about it. Hmm, maybe I'll look through my feed and see what everyone else is doing...

... Then I saw this post by the Yarn Harlot. I thought perhaps through some sort of psychic act, I plagarized the Yarn Harlot.  She did post this yesterday at 1:10 PM. Have I been on my feed since? No. Also, the post was unread.  Did I have a conversation about the Yarn Harlot's blog since 1:10 PM yesterday? No, definitely not. (Not that her posts aren't worth discussing... it's just, I don't know anyone IRL that follows Steph as religiously as me.)

Eventually, I gave up on the investigation and just decided that great knitting minds do, in fact, think alike. I'll think I'll go get some festival food from the Church Festival down the street, sip some lemonade, and marvel at the fact that I'm channeling the Yarn Harlot.

(P.S. She's working from a pattern, the Leyburn Sock, and after reading her post I'm wondering if I should buy the pattern, rip back, then work from it...)

(P.P.S. - The reason I'm thinking about changing mine is that I think hers is better. In every way.  Better yarn, better pattern, toe up... But this ball is rolling. Maybe if it loses momentum, I'll frog back and make some Jaywalker Socks. Whenever I see varigated yarn I want to make Jaywalker Socks.)