If in doubt..

..get the garter stitch out. That's a motto I ought to keep in front of my nose at all times. Luckily I gravitate towards the squishy comfort of garter stitch when I just go with my instincts and don't over think my knitting. If the window onto appreciating every day beauty is the best gift that blogging has brought me I sometimes wonder if overthinking knitting is the worst? Ha! To be honest I don't think I can blame the blogging, just my nature, onwards with the seeking balance!

Happily, lovely things still make it through the brain mincer without being analysed to death. This purty project was just a random whim of a choice and how nicely it is working out for me. Sunstruck and its associated KAL came up as a pattern suggestion for me on Ravelry and despite having never had all that much inclination to knit a big colourblock shawl I bought the pattern, joined in the play of making colour selections from the sock yarn stash and have been gently knitting away on it since the start of April, soothing me right through the overwhelmingly busy part of the year at work. I'm way behind the KAL curve but I always knew I would be and from here I think this is one of those knits that I'm going to miss so much when it's off the needles that I'd be amazed if don't just instantly begin another. Anyway that day is a while away yet as there are twelve colour sections and a border to the construction. I'm sticking with the four colours in play here as I think I have enough yardage and they are a pleasing mix to my eye, but there are many, many lovely variations of this, more and less shades used to great effect. So much fun to be had in the choosing of the palette for a project like this.

I'm currently knitting on the second section of KPPPM and it's just the most magical yarn to knit with, slightly heavier than the other sock yarns I'm using and oh. the. colours! This yarn is a special stash treasure since I was gifted it years ago and I always meant to pair it with a tawny-grey I bought at Imagiknit to go with it but when I pulled from the stash this multi had to be part of the Sunstruck set while the grey didn't quite work. (Ah well just another reason to do another shawl I so that one would fit in!) This yarn - with the dull-o number of P112 rather than an inspiring name - produced what I declare is my favourite row of knitting ever when I joined it in the first time. While Koigu may lack in the fabulous naming skills there is of course no lack in genius dyeing. Every single stitch is a different colour, a constantly shifting spectrum. I couldn't go a big project in all over variegated yarn but slices like this seem like a wonderful way to get the enjoyment of knitting with colourplay without being overwhelmed by it.