there's something about garter stitch

I find myself knitting a lot of garter stitch lately. It's an "in between" activity for me: in between more complicated knitting projects, in between the stuff of daily life when I'm looking to make a transition from one activity to the next. I mean, I love KNITTING (meaning knitting as a hobby), but I also love the knit stitch. It's easy and mindless and I can just go on and on and not have to pay attention to what I'm doing.

So I've undertaken 2 garter stitch projects recently. One simple and quick: the wham bam thank you lamb! neckwarmer designed by insaknitty. I think it took me 3 hours to knit. This neckwarmer will be a gift for my daughter's kindergarten teacher. This would have made a better gift in December but I hope she enjoys it next fall and winter when it gets cold again. Let's not even entertain that idea.





The other project is simple and not so quick: the Moderne Baby Blanket. I'm giving myself 5 months to get this done! I've wanted to knit a log cabin blanket for quite some time now, and our family's newest little niece or nephew is the perfect reason. Just yesterday I got the first 2 blocks done: that's 4,320 knit stitches. Only 8 much bigger blocks to go!



Not only do I love the process of knitting garter stitch, I love the effect: the simple way that the knit stitches and purl bumps combine to make ridges that look like little waves. And these rows of waves create a fabric that is pleasing and calming to the eye, at least to my eye.

Knitting garter stitch is perfect when I want something to do with my hands and not my brain.