All Fingers and Thumbs

I was delving in one of the many pockets in my massive handbag earlier this week and along with the memory stick I was searching for I found these little stitch markers. Funny little, oh so familiar to me, things that my colleagues didn't understand. It made me so happy to have them in my hand, these little pieces of ephemera from my life, tucked into my bag at some point for safe keeping. So representative of what rests on the ledge by where I sit most every evening. An example of what is in all those little pots around the place where stuff shifted on in some effort at tidying rests, holding pens before being returned to proper homes. Samples of some of the prettier detritus at the edges of the room with the cat fur and other scraps of life waiting to be swept up. Holding them in my hand I felt more like me and I thought about how some of the smallest, seemingly inconsequential, things I leave in trails behind me say the most about me. I think this may just be an elaborate

What would the collective noun for a gang of gorgeous garter stitch projects be? As I cruise softly along the rows of my Sunstruck many other colourful garter stitch accessories are catching my eye and auditioning for the role of the next project to be cast on. Veera Välimäki is possibly the most popular proponent of the stripey garter stitch shawl or scarf design, her Color Affection and Stripe Study have thousands of renditions to pore over on Ravelry. The smaller Bolt which she has designed for the latest Wool People collection is definitely calling to me: Bolt by Veera Välimäki   The Brooklyn Tweed yarns perform well in these simple, graphic designs which really showcase the yarn you use and I'm still hankering after my first try of that woolly goodness and these scalloped lines: Aranami Shawl  by Olga Buraya-Kefelian The designer of my current shawl is tempting me with other designs such as this stole: All the Shades of Truth by Laura Aylor and this shaw

..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