My love for gray is a real thing. It matches everything as easily as my favorite pair of blue jeans. I’m a little bit OCD, so things that match without effort have a special place in my heart.

When Hunter Hammersen asked if I wanted to knit for Curls 2, I leapt at the chance. (spellcheck says I leaped, but I’m pretty sure I leapt). My response was something like, “Gray? YES, PLEASE!”. Hunter mailed the yarn and I cast on as soon as it arrived. She included a swatch and the size needles she’d used. I went up something like 5 needle sizes to get a fabric similar to her swatch. I may have been wound a little tight. I’d never knit a Curl before and didn’t want to mess it up. So I cast on with US size 9?!? needles. A few repeats in, I remembered that I know how to knit and swapped out for 7’s which seemed a bit more reasonable. One more repeat in, I settled into the thing and found myself on 5’s. A season (or two) of Vikings later, we had a lovely wrap.

Pattern: Mendacity by Hunter Hammersen
Book: Curls 2
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Rastita
Colorway: 43 Plomo

Sometimes, when my knitting doesn’t go smoothly, I end up hating the socks (it always seems to be socks). In this case, my knitting did not go smoothly, due to knitter error, mind you, the pattern is lovely, and I still LOVE these socks.

First, there was the issue with me not paying attention while knitting from a chart. Then, I knit the toes of the first sock too soon and would you believe I cut the yarn to start the second sock without leaving any extra? I knew they felt snug and that I might redo them and still didn’t leave some extra. How silly of me. Either way, I finished the second sock lace patterning, knit two rounds as per the option given in the pattern, then started the toe decreases. Sock 2 fit like a gem, so I ripped the toes of Sock 1 and redid them and now they fit well too. I think that’s the happiest I’ve been to have to weave in ends a few rows from the end of a sock. But, there you have it. They fit great, they feel great and I LOVE them!

Pattern: Polypodium vulgare Socks by Hunter Hammersen
Yarn: Malabrigo sock
Colorway: Violeta Africana
Needles: 2.25mm Signature Needle Arts
Ps. Check out what others have finished at Tami’s Amis and Wisdom begins in Wonder and Natural Suburbia

before a fall….or in this case before I spent 3 days trying to figure out what in the heck I was doing because it sure as frack wasn’t reading the chart (you know, from the pattern I thought was pretty easy).

One of my sweet friends suggested that maybe there was an error with the pattern. Sure, an error where the ninth time you read a chart, suddenly, there’s an error? Yea, that’s probably it.

By the time I quit diagnosing, picking up stitches, dropping stitches, picking up different stitches, being unappy with how the lace looked and sucked it up and unknit all the way back (6 rows) to the spot where I lost all reason, several days had passed. This is the point where I told myself that I’m 50% process knitter and unknitting is sort of the same as knitting. I think we all know it’s not.


I was finally able to finish the first sock and am working on the second one….and you can bet your sweet arse I’m paying attention to the chart.

Ps. To see what other folks are working on, go check out Tami’s Amis.