I am that point in my 50’s where I’m constantly looking for the good light to knit in. And darker yarns, especially when knitting cables, are a real challenge.
But Black is (Still) my favorite color and sometimes, you’ve just got to knit cables. Airplane lighting can be pretty good, and I got a nice start on Aspyn, in The Plucky Knitter’s newish Sweater Aran yarn, while flying. But it was a bit more of a challenge in hotel room lighting, although the view may have made up for that a bit!
I’m currently knitting my way through breakfast, apparently to the amusement of the servers. They gave me the good natural lighting by a window.
And a fabulous, healthy breakfast to go along with it.
Power breakfast for a burst of knitting this morning, before I get to work.
Aspyn is a great choice for “hats for today” kind of knitting. At this Aran gauge it goes fast and you’ll have the pattern memorized after the first repeat. The smaller cable uses an approach I haven’t seen before, leaving the stitches on the needle but knitting them out of order. Trust the pattern and follow the clear directions. What looks like a mess for the first few rounds turns out to be a thing of beauty. But consider knitting in a color other than black if you want to go easy on your eyes.
I use light color needles, such as bamboo or stainless steel one, if I have to knit dark yarn. Every little contrast helps when we age gracefully.
Wow. Right on point. I rarely knit for myself, because that would mean working through the challenge of knitting with black yarn in less than perfect light. Now, I’ve moved to a house in the country with light abounding and would like to pick up a black cashmere project that I dropped several years ago. And its cabled. Unfortunately I can’t find my original notes and don’t know how to figure out where I left off. Any suggestions. Rebecca
I learned this lesson a LONG time ago. I tried to knit a sweater from the book Cables Untangled with a really dark navy yarn. It’s still waiting to be finished. It was super frustrating. My LYS owner set me on the right track with that idea! What a yummy breakfast you had there!