Nope, not getting all philosophic, but it's just the name of my brand-new sock pattern: The Way it Goes. It is the next pattern in my (No longer virtual) Friends collection designed for a very special friend in the US.

For these socks I used a yarn I bought when I met the recipient in person last year. It is a White Birch Fiber Arts 80/20 SW merino, nylon sock set and oh my, it is the most beautiful gradient yarn I've ever used for socks! I only wish I had bought some more sets when I had the opportunity. Sigh. Anyway, here's a progress shot that show the beautful yarn

The socks were designed for my long-time Ravelry friend Patti. Over the years we’ve known each other, there were quite some incidents and changes in her life and I wanted to use a stitch pattern to reflect this and to symbolize that it is hard to predict what happens next in life. So I chose an all-over pattern, which zig-zags from left to right,  but which on the heel flap and the instep  leads smoothly into diagonal, yet straight forward lines, since there’s always hope life’s journey will follow a calmer path in the future.

And I really think the gardient yarn, changing from darker blue at the cuff to a lighter grey-blue for the toe, is a perfect match for the pattern!

The pattern is available as part as the (No longer virtual) Friends eBook and also as individual download from my Ravelry store, here.

While sorting through my stash, I've been playing around with ideas what  to knit next winter. Although, truth be told, looking at our summer weather I should make me a cup of coffee and get comfortable on the couch with my knitting this very moment. Sigh... Summer already is so short, why does it have to rain all the time? More sighs...

But enough ranting, so there I was, considering ideas and I really think I should knit some more garments. I don't do that very often and I think what puts me off is not only the darn seaming when all pieces are done, but also that there's usually a bit of math to do. Even with a well written pattern and the same yarn used for the sample, I get myself into gauge issues and/or need to adjust the pattern to fit my long arms and what not.

So the idea to knit top down (with the option to try on the garment and decide then whether the length is right), sounded very appealing. And in addition someone did all the math for me and I can use any yarn I like? How was I supposed not to add a new book to my bookshelf...

Ann Budd's Top-Down Sweaters! Four basic sweater types are explained and a couple of patterns are given for each. They come in lots of sizes and for each all the numbers for different gauges are calculated. It doesn't get any better, even though at first sight it looks a bit intimidating, don't you think?

But once you understand how to work with all the table, it is easy-peasy. I already made a swatch for the sweater I want to knit (and if the weather doesn't change I might start it before the summer is over) and look forward to working with this book! This is such a useful resource, the perfect book to help realizing my own design ideas!

I used the short break we took from painting the house this morning, to sort through my the knitting basket in our living room and deep down I found this

Dornröschen-Wolle sock yarn, in 'Bitterkalt' (bitingly cold), a greyblue colour with greenish streaks. Quite nice, you say? Well, for whatever reason this yarn has been sitting in my stash forever and I started to knit with it at least three times. And just as often I frogged everything because I wasn't happy with the result. Meanwhile the yarn turned into my personal 'you failed again' memorial. Now, today I was just a second away from throwing it away (if only to get it out of sight), when DH said 'this would make a nice pair of socks for me'... and somehow he got me going. I cast on right away and this is my progress so far

Not really in love with it (I think it's just because I'm not too fond of so light colours), but I think it's not too bad either.  So I'll plug away at it when time allows and we'll see how it turns out. What I can promise you is that there won't be any frogging this time - if this yarn isn't turned into socks this time, it won't be turned into anything at all...

Yep, I am lame... at least when it comes to self-publish patterns that were previously published in a magazine. But well, there are only so many hours in a day and somehow... sigh. Anyway, as of today, the Crossers Socks, first published in Knit Now Magazine in June 2016, are now available as an individual download.

I really love the pattern because it is so interesting to knit. The all-over stitch pattern combines different knitting techniques: textured diamonds. bordered by eyelets for a lacy look, which are embedded in stripes in Stockinette stitch which form crosses thanks to small cables. A sock pattern which crosses the ‘borders’ between different techniques, hence the name: Crossers.

... how  much I like counted cross stitch. But when decluttering the attic I came across this project and couldn't restist to start right away. :) Or maybe, I do admit it might have be a reason, it was a great way to get away from cleaning up the attic...tee-hee. Anyway, I've enjoyed it and I'm sure I'll love it when it'll be finished.

Well, it is summer and you know what that means? Not much time for any crafty things, because a lot of time is spend outdoors, doing garden work, stuff around the house, go to events and all the things you do during the warmer season. But! I did finish a  knitting project last night - after, hm, something like six months?  You must know that there is always a knitting project in the car, which stays there at all times, meaning it is there 'just in case'. The ten minutes drive that turns into a  'stuck 2 hours in a traffic jam' trip? Right? Get this project out and work on it. Some get finished within a few weeks, others take forever. All I need to consider that it should be a pattern I remember when I pick up the project without reading through lots of instructions. And here is, ta-da, my latest car socks, if I reacall it right after a pattern called 'Bremen Socks'.

I had a pair just like these, in exactly the same yarn, and I literally loved them to pieces, so when I came across the leftover yarn in my stash I knew what I wanted to knit and made the project my car socks. And I still love the pattern and the colours of the yarn and I know I'll wear this pair a lot.

And because one just can't be without a 'just in case' knitting project, here' s the one I started and keep in the car for future 'emergencies'...  :)

What have I been up to since I last posted about a project on my needles, you ask? Well, not much. The other day when I was looking for a particular skein of sock yarn in my stash, I had to realize what size my stash has and what a mess it is at present... So in a moment of zest for action I decided to sort through it and organize it a bit better. Hm. What an idea. I've worked on this for more than a week and I've got the feeling the mess gets worse. I think I'll have to look for a new home for some of my lovies, sigh.

Anyway, since I still haven't found the yarn I know must be in one of the boxes somewhere,  I worked on a just for fun project.  The other day I saw a post by Bijou Basin Ranch on Instagram and I really fell in love with the teddy bear. And snce my kit has arrived in the meantime, that's what kept me busy in the evenings. Here is my bear, half finished...

The yarn is Himalayan Trail, a blend of 75% Tibetan yak and 25% merino, and I really enjoyed knitting with it.  The pattern is Teddy Bear Stripes by Frankie Brown, available for download from Ravelry. The pattern is easy enough, but all pieces are knit flat... so not my favourite activity to seam all the parts. So I gave it a try and worked my bear parts in the round and I think, the result doesn't differ at all from the pattern. :)

Well, since my new bear is part of our family, he is supporter of our favourite team, Hannover 96, 'by birth', lol.It took us no time to find a name for him - Didi - and even in the summer he insist on wearing his fan outfit in our club's colours: black, white and green. Never alone! (Niemals allein - translated Never alone - is our team's slogan).

Most of the time, when I start with a design, I have the idea for a pattern and then I rummage through my stash to see what yarn to try it with. Sometimes, though, I see a beautiful yarn that gives me an idea for a pattern, so I purchase the yarn with a pattern idea in mind. This time though, I agreed to design a sock pattern with the yarn chosen by someone else. So you can imagine that I was quite curious what would be in the package when the yarn arrived. And it was this

Flying Goats Farm Corriedale Socks in a beautiful mix of browns and blues in a colourway called Cowboy. I loved the colours the moment I saw them but then, it was easy to tell that it is a busy yarn and that the stitch pattern had to be carefully chosen. I took it with me on holidays and swatched... and swatched some more... and some more. And finally I came up with this

... and I named the pattern Oregon Trail right away. Maybe the name of the colorway - Cowboy - was the source of inspiration?

The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route in the United States, which led through steppes, deserts and across rivers and mountains and connected the Missouri River to the valleys of Oregon. It took bends and curves to avoid any barriers and to make it accessible for large-wheeled wagons.

The stich pattern used for these socks, resembles the difficult trail: with small stripes of ribbing - the tracks of the wagon wheels - seemingly meandering between knit valleys and purl mountains.

The socks are knitted from the cuff down, with a rolled cuff. Heel flap and gusset are integrated into the leg pattern, i.e. they are formed by he garter stitch triangles  you see in the picture above, which are on both sides of the socks.

I think the stitch pattern is a perfect match with the yarn and I hope you'll enjoy knitting it.

The pattern is now availabe from my Ravelry store, here: Oregon Trail