Knitting with fine yarn. Knitting large swathes of stocking stitch. Knitting big garments or blankets. They all take their time, and to ensure I don’t get bored, I like to knit other, smaller projects at the same time. Which makes the large ones take longer. But I don’t mind. I’ve appreciated the slow, repetitiveness of my wips lately, like when the landscaper found a leaking gas pipe which led to some expensive plumbing work being done (though hopefully they didn’t charge us for repairing the water pipe they broke and had to fix).

I’m still enjoying building the Mitre Vest, building it block by block like a soft knitted wall.

I’ve left a space for the diamand that will go in the centre back.

By knitting ten rows a day on the green blob, I got through the stocking stitch. Then I knit a garter stitch end, grafted at the middle. This made me feel very clever. (I’m easy to please.)

Now I have to decide how to proceed from here.

All the talk in the Aussie Knitting group on Ravelry about bags led to talk about string bags. Someone recalled a crochet string bag pattern in Crapacious Creative Knitting way back in the early days, where the bag is stuffed within a little pouch. I dug up the pattern and started to play, using the leftover Regia Surf I used for the Sock Yarn Hat.

And because I can’t help it, I immediately began modifying the pattern. In particular, I thought the gaps of the stringy part of the bag were too big. Things would fall out. And instead of stuffing the stringy part into a side opening between the two discs, I left a hole it the centre of a disc. Since I’ve changed almost everything, I’m thinking of writing up a whole new pattern. And maybe put it on this blog as a freebie.

In anticipation of my next Knit From Your Books project, I swatched some Cleckheaton Country Silk I bought at the ACS mill shop. It kept suggesting itself as a substitute yarn for the Jo Sharp Ribbed Wrap Jacket, and I’ve learned that when the yarn talks, you listen. The RWJ requires an aran weight yarn, so I thought I might try knitting a larger size.

Turns out the Country Silk knits up pretty close to gauge. I have enough for the body, but I need to buy it in a contrast colour for the collar. I’d love to use black, but it doesn’t come in black. The colour range is here. (The grey is no 9.) Orange doesn’t suit my skin tones, and I don’t like pink, but the rest are all interesting possibilities. What would you suggest?