SoCal Knitting

There really isn't any real need to knit when you live in SoCal. It never really gets so cold you'd need anything other than a sweater to live comfortably here. Even sweaters should be light, since the coldest I can remember it ever being here was 32 degrees, and that was late night/early morning only. And only a few times in my 62 years of living here. Mostly, our winters here, which begin in December and sort of peter out in early Feb, run around the 50s, with dips into the high 40s at night.

So, cowls, hats, scarves, mittens, etc. have no real use, here. And yet, I really want to knit cowls and small shawls, a few scarves, and even a few hats. And fingerless mitts, too. (Those I can use, since it gets really, really cold on my hands when sitting at my computer in the winter. My computer sits in the direct path of a draft.) I love knitting sweaters, but almost always I love the big, complicated sweaters, with cowl necks or turtle necks, long sleeves -of course-, and lots of cables or complex stitch patterns. Just the sort of sweater I don't really need, living in sunny SoCal. The very first thing I ever knit was an Aran, cables front, back and on the sleeves. (I didn't know they were considered hard, so I just thought it was fun.) I wore it for years.

I get discouraged, though, limiting myself to sweaters all the time. I love knitting them, but there's no instant gratification available, and I find that as I get close to finishing my interest just dies. Like with my latest sweater. My own design, based on a stitch pattern I found in Up, Down, Around. It's been sitting in its bag for weeks, with just the last few rows of the back and the sleeves to go.

I've made myself a promise that I will not start another project until that one is completely finished ~ wearable finished, not just the knitting. And I'm finding it incredibly hard to keep that promise. I've bought new yarns, new patterns, gone through my currently owned patterns, and I keep wanting to cast on for a pretty cowl, or interesting small shawl, and even a couple of other sweaters. I have done swatches for a bunch of the yarns I have, to get an idea of what they may want to be. I haven't cast on, yet, but it's becoming more and more difficult to stick to that promise. And why don't I just pick up the sweater on my needles and finish it? I don't know. I just don't feel like it. I look at it every day and think, "I really need to finish that", but I just don't. I like the sweater, I like the yarn, and it's not a difficult project, now that I've worked out all the details (neckline, armholes, sleeve caps), but I just haven't picked it up and done it.

The last thing I knit to completion was a tank, back in July. Simple, fast, and wearable.  I tried to knit another tank top, but the pattern for it had too many problems in it, and I got too frustrated trying to solve them to even want to knit it. So then I played around and finally decided to design my own, which is now sitting in time-out, reproaching me daily for ignoring it. And the siren song of a new project is whispering in my ears daily.

May your knitting bring you joy and happiness, whether it's through the process or the product.