WIP Wednesday: Couer de Lion

It might be hard to believe but I still knit things other than socks. I'm 95% sure that the sock affliction is a produce of California because before I moved here, I had no interest whatsoever in knitting socks. I knit socks because I can still wear them and they're pretty much the only knitwear I can stomach wearing in 70-80 degree heat.

Plus they're great little compact projects I can throw in my bag and we all know that I love those.

It should come as no surprise that I currently have 2 sock WIPs, like I usually do, but the other project I'm plowing through is a SHAWL. Yep. A SHAWL. I've knit quite a few shawls in my day, but I wouldn't say they're one of my favorite things to knit. Every so often I'll get it in my mind that I need to knit a new shawl and then it just gets out out of control because I love it so much. Which is exactly how I feel about my Coeur de Lion.

Coeur de Lion by Nadie Cretin-Lechenne 

This was my Ravellenics project for the year and I failed horribly at it. Most of this shawl is garter, which is simple enough, but after knitting all of the socks I just couldn't stand it. Especially when each row only adds one stitch, so I really didn't feel like I was getting anywhere at all. So I parked it halfway through the garter section and didn't pick it up again until the Olympics were almost over. I reached the lace section a few days ago and became obsessed with it all over again; I finished the first chart repeat in an afternoon!

The yarn is Studio Sock by Neighborhood Fiber Co. and I swear I lunged at it when I saw it on the shelf. I bought these skeins at Windy Knitty last time I was home in Chicago, but I've bought skeins from this company before. The color, though amazing, it also ridiculously hard to photograph properly. In real life, the skeins are electric purple, not as royal blue looking as in the photo above. The yarn is a joy to work with, but I'm second guessing my decision to use this yarn for this pattern. Studio Sock is definitely a sock yarn: it's tightly wound, springy and doesn't "cling" together. I'm a bit concerned about the lace "hearts" being lost in the FO. We shall see in a few days because mama is getting this thing done!

The socks of the week? More toe-up vanilla socks in yarn I dyed last fall/winter. This time I'm trying something new and doing afterthought heels! I finished the first of the green pair last night and immediately cast on with my Sushi Roll yarn (yay!) afterward. I think knitting two different socks at the same time inspires me to get them done faster, because then I don't just have a single pair to look forward to.

First afterthought heels! 

Sushi Rolls

I've been anxious to use my Sushi Roll sock yarn since I dyed it. I handpainted this skein (like the others), but I painted it in a different pattern than my other skeins. It's working up in a different manner, but it's not as splotchy as I had expected. I'll have to try a speckled skein next :)

What are you all working on this week? Don't let those (neverending) WIPs get you down!