I've started a new project, much to my own surprise. After many years of looking at the merino/tencel blend "colrain" I ordered a cone of it, and have cast on a project: a plain tube using size 0s..
I think I may be crazy.
The thing is, I got one of these neck tubes a month or two ago, and it's the most amazing thing ever. Looks good with most things, not weird, very comfortable, etc.
So I'm making myself one...
I'm calling it "Ballstown" after a tune in the Sacred Harp of the same name. The tune is named after the town in the capital region of New York State, now known as "Ballston Spa." Why? Because I cast on 217 stitches.
It turns out, I've really rather missed plain knitting that you can just knit on for hours without really thinking about, or can knit on in the dark.
One of the reasons that I've not been knitting as much recently, other than available time is that I've found it difficult to actually wear or use the things I knit. Sweaters, even finer weight ones are too warm to wear inside, and not windproof enough to keep me warm outside without substantial jacket.
The answer is to knit finer fabrics, of course, but this has been easier said than done, for me. Mostly I've stuck to fair isle sweaters, which are great fun to knit, and reasonably wearable, but difficult to knit on casually: lots to lug around, and starting to knit something with a pattern requires some "spin up time," as you remember where you were and what you're supposed to be doing.
In most ways this plain tube is the perfect answer to this problem....
I'll blog more about this (or not,) as I progress.