Having knitted most of a sock in early December while on a long weekend in France, I managed to finish knitting it a week later - and then progress stopped. For some reason I always put off grafting the toe of socks; it's not a complicated step, and it isn't particularly time consuming, but I never just crack on with it once I reach that point. Maybe because the next step is my absolute least favourite - casting on the next one and doing the first few rows of rib. So the sock has sat in my knitting basket, unloved, unattended and unfinished until now. Last weekend I finally gave in, borrowed a suitable needle from my mum (because of course by the time I decided to do it, I couldn't find the large needle I normally use!), and finished it off. Grafting may take a little more effort than just casting off the edges together, but it's well worth it - it gives a seamless join between the top and bottom of the sock, so is perfectly comfortable and looks beautiful.
The first couple of rows of the second sock took me two attempts, which is about normal for me, and then I settled into it again. By the end of an evening chatting with my parents I had the rib and the first inch or so of leg done, and by the end of the next evening I had about a dozen rows to go until it was time to work the heel! A couple of peaceful evenings this week and I'm on the home straight now...
While I have the sock for mindless, easy knitting, I'm still working on the 'twisted leaves' shawl for the Teen. This is a much bigger project, currently taking around 25 minutes per row, so has to wait until I'm awake and focussed enough to pay attention, and have enough time to complete at least one row. I'm getting through it steadily, but there are still a good many hours to go before it's complete. I'm already wishing I'd bought a longer circular needle for it - 80cm sounded like plenty, but around double that would be needed to let me actually lay the shawl out properly!
Crafting is definitely an important element of my self-care; I think it's a combination of demonstrating that I'm making time to do something I find relaxing, and the relaxation in the actual creative process. Having been brought up without a television in the house, my mum was always knitting, and I grew up having some sort of needlework on the go. Although I only remember doing much sewing in school holidays, the habit of spending time productively is deeply instilled, and I far prefer knitting while watching TV in the evenings now, rather than just scrolling mindlessly on my phone. (Don't get me wrong - I do plenty of that too; no false superiority here!) Through my teens I did a large number of cross-stitch embroideries, with a couple of crewel work pictures and occasional longstitch pieces for variety. The one and only half cross stitch 'tapestry' I've done was enough to put me off that kind of needlework forever!
I do still have a cross-stitch picture part-done - as it's been for probably nigh on 15 years now... It's a beautiful picture which my sister gave me, as the cat in it bears a definite resemblance to our Maxxy when he was a small kitten. I've definitely done some work on it in recent years, as I was surprised to see how much I'd done before putting it away all those many years ago. I keep toying with the idea of finishing this as my third project for Advanced Crafter, then wimping out of the commitment! But I suspect without any such incentive it'll never progress. So maybe watch this space...
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