Avoidance Tactics

I’ve been trying to clean up the WIP list to clear space on the office table where they reside whilst waiting their turn. This is a constant struggle for me and my short attention span. Who knew that such satisfaction could be gained from picking those old projects up and rendering them useful? In truth, some of the items listed as WIPs are not even started. They are commitments from long ago that weigh on my mind. Must haves that could not wait at the time, yet have been hanging around for quite some time, maybe even many years.

Consider the Year of Lace subscription from last year. That was an expensive undertaking, yet not one of the projects has been completed. And oh, how I longed to renew that subscription when the time came. Sigh. Until last week, 1 of the kits had not even been opened up, the yarn not even fondled. Starting Silver Birches, installment 3 of that subscription, felt good. Despite the large amount of frogging that was necessary last weekend, it is a lovely project that will be nice to have in hand again come Saturday afternoon. Clearing up various sock club subscriptions over the past months has also helped relieve some unnecessary guilt as well. Only 2 club kits remain to be worked – 1 from last years Socks that Rock club, and 1 from Knit-Purl.

The WIP that actually bothers me the most is Lismore. I know, I know. Just do it. It will feel good, be fun to knit, and should go well once underway. Since the weather is still cool, this should be on the top of the pile, but it’s not. Instead, it’s staunchly being avoided and any avoidance tactic will do. Such as working something else from the list. Or staring at it. Yeah, yeah. That’s it! Stare at that basket full of Lismore’s yarn. That’s sure to get it done, right?

In keeping with the avoidance tactics, the Willamette Hop socks are a nice, easy knit after the Kitri’s. No fancy jigging around to accommodate technique, no problems with the pattern that could not be lived with (there’s a ribbing mismatch issue between the ribbing and the leg patterning that does not bother me in the least). It’s a simple, near-brainless, straightforward sock. The only thing not to like is the k3tog required every round for every pattern repeat. Not impossible, not unpleasant, but just a bit of a pain every now and again. Not enough of one to ditch the pattern though, and loosening up on the tension helped a lot. The resulting sock is quite pretty. The colourway is called Microbrew and the dyer has managed a clever translation of colour from beer glass to yarn that is drool worthy.
Colour is darker in this pic than it actually is. Think wheat beer through to a darkish amber one. And speaking of beer, I think I'll get one out of the fridge. Now.