The Porch Postscript

 Knitting is very cathartic, meditative, and soul-soothing. When I put it down for long periods of time I often forget that. I walk away from projects and leave them in a WIP (work in progress) state, often for years. Knitting projects often get finished, but on occasion, they get frogged (torn out).  A couple of weeks ago I picked up one of the WIPs in my knitting basket. I finally finished a cowl that’s been on the needles for in the ballpark of a year, maybe a touch longer. The knitting mood has finally struck and I’ve reconnected with the joy it brings me to create with two sticks and some yarn. Upon completion of the cowl pictured above, I cast a new project onto the needles. I pulled some yarn from my stash and after doing a rabbit trail of a pattern search, I pulled out my much loved Gradient Shawl pattern. Gradient Shawl by Ola Grefling is available on Ravelry if you’re looking for what I’d call a relaxing pattern. It’s very beginner-friendly and perfect for knitting w...

When I say my first pair of socks, I'm not talking about fancy knitting on double-pointed needles.  There is no toe or heel to construct with this pattern.  It's an easy pattern that creates a basic tube sock.  The pattern comes from  Teach Yourself to Knit the Easy Columbia-Minerva Way publication from 1967.   My mom has made this style of sock for us over the years, we generally wear them as a house slipper of sorts.  She shared the pattern with me ages ago and I am finally getting around to making them. I had some Lion Brand Baby Wool, worsted weight, in my yarn stash and decided it was the perfect yarn to try out this pattern.  I used two skeins to make one pair of socks.  I also followed my mom's suggested adaptation of using the magic loop method for knitting the sock, which eliminates the seam in the finished sock.   Since the yarn I chose was a variegated one, I got some funky striping or maybe we should call it color block...