Works in Progress: vol. 1

Gee, it seems like it's been a little while since I've posted about, you know, actual knitting on here, amirite? *insert teeth gritting emoji**

*that's my favorite emoji

Whilst I encourage and welcome cozy images of newly shorn lambs, crisp piles of knitting needles, and brightly colored yarns all the year long, I do personally find it harder to make time for my own personal (or shop-related) knitting during the months of April through August.

Living in California has very few downsides, one of which being exorbitant costs of...everything, and another of which is the perpetual sunlight. While my friends in the Pacific Northwest tell me of their seasonal affective disorder during the gloomy months, I have the opposite conundrum: seasonal knitting disorder.

I prefer an overcast morning to a bright blue sky. I prefer the sound of the wind whipping past my window than bluebirds singing a springtimey tune. I prefer hearing rain pattering on my rooftop and breaking out three layers just to run to the corner store than a day lying on the sands of any beach.

(That's not to say I wouldn't willingly partake in any beach days or trips to the clear blue waters of Fiji...if you're heading that way, hit up my celly!)

So it may come as little surprise then that, on top of my day job (or what my mother refers to as my Number One Priority in Life), very little knitting gets done when the summer months are in full swing. It's hard to get into the snuggly mindset when San Francisco is shockingly hot and all I can see out my window are clear blue skies and I daydream about iced cold lemonades.

But, there is a little thing I love called June Gloom, and now it is turning into August Gloom, and reminding me of what I fail to remember each year: that I need to start making as fast as my little fingers can move for the fall/winter season, especially if I plan to participate in the SF Etsy Indie Holiday Emporium once again - which I hope hope hope to do! I love that show.

This year, I'm trying to branch out a bit further into smaller cowls. I am a huge fan of chunky knits, large stylized scarves and thick fingerless gloves and pom pom hats. But there are others who like a more classic style: delicate gloves and fitted beanies and smaller neckwarmers rather than voluminous lengths of yarn around the neck. I aim to please all possible customers!

I used to knit a lot on circular needles, but I am loving this set of smaller straight needles. It creates a more noticeable seam when you stitch the top to bottom but I still find it lovely, and seeing the progress of the scarf is almost more satisfying when you finally bring the ends together.

Above are an as-of-yet-unnamed seed stitch cowl made from Purl Soho's Worsted Twist yarn, 100% merino wool which feels so luxurious to knit with. This is the Dijon color, which actually arrived as more of a lemongrass.  I can't wait to stock up on some more in other colorways.

Also shown is my not-yet-finished mint green experiment. I'm trying a new pattern with ribbed edges and moss stitching down the middle - I may have just enough yarn to make this into a full infinity scarf, and I'm really tempted to do so. Otherwise, I could make two smaller cowls. What do you think I should do?

I love the calming pattern of seed stitching/moss stitching, but I also can't wait to make some more simple scarves with little pops of texture. I need to learn the popcorn stitch next!