Lately I’ve realized the importance of having a simple project on the needles. I’ve been working on two new patterns (more on them soon, I promise) that both involve multiple charts, and in my free time I’ve been working on a pair of Twisted Flower socks from Cookie A’s Knit. Sock. Love. and I’ve started swatching for Quadrillion from the most recent fall issue of Pom Pom Quarterly. Both of those patterns are also heavily charted, and while I’m totally a chart lover, I think I’m beginning to understand the importance of balancing those more intricate projects with much simpler ones. I call this kind of knitting mindless knitting – think miles of plain stockinette, or extremely basic knit-purl patterns (ribbing, seed stitch). It’s the kind of knitting I can do while I read, because I don’t have to look at it. Ideally the most attention I ever have to pay to the project is to tick another row off in my notebook when my finger hits the stitch marker marking the beginning of a round.

Craving this kind of project this weekend, I found myself casting on for a pair of basic fingerless mitts with some Noro I recently received as a gift. Initially I thought I’d do stripes, but then I decided I’d rather showcase the color change of the yarn on its own, with some texture for added interest. I divided the skein into two little balls, cast on 31 stitches for each mitt (an odd number, so that each row started with a k1 and was therefore exactly the same), and knit until there was only a little yarn leftover for the thumbs. I didn’t even have to count my rows as I went, which was wonderful. I seamed up the sides, leaving holes for the thumbs, then picked up stitches and worked 12 rounds for each thumb. Unfortunately, there were two knots in the skein, both of which landed in the right mitt, which is partly why the color shifts so much more often on that mitt, but I don’t mind. I kind of love how delightfully mismatched they are.

With this realization in mind, I’m planning to make sure I’ve got at least one mindless project going at all times, and last night I cast on for a three-color Inkling with some super lovely shades of Berroco Ultra Alpaca:

I think it should keep me busy for a little while.

—

In other news, I’m putting together wholesale linesheets this week and I finally have hard copies of several Paper Tiger patterns (including the FW 13 collection) ready to go. If you’re a yarn store or other retailer interested in carrying Paper Tiger patterns, shoot me an email at dianna (at) paper-tiger.net to request a linesheet.