The yarn just did not want to be SOCKS!!!

Every knitter knows that sometimes yarn talks to you. You fondle a lovely yarn, feel its loft, its softness and immediately your mind is full of potential projects to make with it.

I bought some lovely Imagination sock yarn from Knit Picks in a colorway called Looking Glass (as in Snow White and the 7 Dwarves). Its all blues and cool and soft and relaxing. It is an alpaca/wool blend and very, very comfy. I was going to knit a pair of socks for myself as part of the Knit Picks sock knit-along.

I chose my pattern and cast on. I worked on it for a while but it seemed like the pattern just was not working the way it should. I checked the pattern, checked my gauge, checked my stitches. Check. Check! CHECK!! Everything was exactly right, but the whole thing was...wrong!

Undaunted, I tried another pattern. Again, it fought me. I've knit enough pair of socks that these should have been a piece of cake. No go!

Ok, this yarn does not want to be socks even though it is fingering weight and should be perfect for a nice pair of toasty warm socks. I got tired of fighting it. I wound it back into a ball and let it sit in a box and think about its transgressions while I moved on and used a different yarn and made socks.

This is Knit Picks Bare yarn that I had tie-dyed with Kool-Aid. I like the way it turned out.

Then I went back to the Looking Glass yarn and just petted it for a while. Eventually it spoke to my and told me it would behave if I wanted to try that SpiroGyra pattern from Knitty.com. You know the one....the beautiful fingerless mitts in the over-lapping lacy, spirolling fans pattern. I had been wanting to try it, but since I am not an experienced lace knitter I was a bit hesitant. The yarn, on the other hand, was quite compliant (perhaps sitting in a box and contemplating its poor behavior made it want to co-operate a little more...). So, I plucked up my courage and knit a pair of SpiroGyra's.

The yarn was thrilled...Iwas thrilled. It reveled in the soft lapping of the pattern and gentle spin around my wrists and hands. Its lovely shades of blue flowed coolly through the pattern. The mitts knit up with surprizing ease. The pattern is much simpler than it looks and the yarn was becoming just what it wanted to be!

Now these are my favorite pair of fingerless mitts. I wear them at work when typing. The cubby where I sit tends to be a bit on the chilly side and the SpiroGyra's along me to type away, unhindered, on the keyboard and my hands are warmer.

If you want to try out a small lace project I highly recommend the SpiroGyra pattern by Lynne Vogel from Knitty.com.

I have made other, more simple fingerless mitten patterns (see the next photo), but, hands down, I love the SpiroGyra pattern.

Sometimes, it pays to listen to the yarn! (Just don't tell the yarn I said that! Please!)

Have fun knitting, crocheting, spinning or weaving, just listen to the yarn.

Hugs & Prayers

Serene Knitter