I love to knit, especially when I want to relax or am watching Netflix, but I have been lazy about it. For years, I’ve made pair after pair of socks from a pattern that I’ve memorized because they are fast, small, and portable. I know there are other small projects out there, but I resist looking for them. It seems like too much effort to find a pattern, get the supplies needed, and make something new, but it’s not. When you really need to knit, working from a new pattern can be refreshing.

I have been extra busy lately, moving out of a house and getting it ready to sell. While my spare moments are few, the stress of moving means I need a good knitting project to help me relax. Unfortunately, knitting socks has gotten boring. I just couldn’t bring myself to start knitting another pair. So when I was in one of my favorite yarn stores this spring, I decided to do something different. It was time to knit something other than socks.

Next to a rack of yarn I was drawn to, I discovered a copy of Stephen West’s ravelry pattern Spectra. I decided I would make myself a scarf, even though I wouldn’t get to wear it until fall. I didn’t want to use the yarns the sample was made with, and couldn’t find the yarns mentioned in the pattern. Eventually, I found two yarns I thought would work well*. I chose a multi-colored yarn with a slow color change so that I would get a different color in each wedge in the scarf. When I got home, I bought and downloaded the pattern, then started knitting.

This project was perfect for me. The repeat in the pattern was short enough that I quickly had it memorized, but different enough from what I usually knit that I had to pay attention to what I was doing. I got to work with the colorful yarns I’d bought and the project lasted a while. I didn’t have a lot of time to knit, and the scarf is long, which meant I got that much more satisfaction out of the project.

I’m really glad I took the time and effort to find a new pattern and buy the yarn to make it. Knitting Spectra was a joy, and made me realize I want to be knitting things other than socks. Now I just have to find the time to get back to the store to find another project.

What about you? What’s your go-to small knitting project? Any suggestions for things I should try?

*I used LGF Suris Suri Sock yarn (indigo) for color A and Wisdom Yarns Poem Sock Yarn (Cruise color 958) for color B.