Ein Klein Knit Magik

Apologies for the lame cultural reference, but do you ever get a post title in your head and nothing else will replace it? What, that's just me? Whatever.

I had one of those magical knitting experiences last night, comparable to the Miracle of Emily's Socks. I wanted a summery, quick project to break up the cabling, cabling, cabling of Willem's sweater, and I'd just finished a pair of socks. Here:
Pattern: Flame Wave Socks by Ann Budd, in Interweave's Favorite Sock Patterns
Yarn: Sandnes Garn Mandarin Petit in Red


I'm so-so on them; they're a little loose at the top and a little tight on the bottom for Emily, but Jacob looooooves them, so I may just make new ones for Emily and be content with that.

Anyway. The magic? I wanted to make a simple summery bag out of dishcloth cotton, and I have a couple of large balls of it from a recent chain-store sale. So I picked needles pretty much at random (size 8 US), and cast on until it seemed about long enough (75 stitches), and started working in linen stitch. I wanted something without much elasticity or looseness to provide a sturdy bottom on the bag. I figured, like with any other variegated yarn, I was taking my chances on the specific color arrangement, and expected a random display. Instead, I got:


How cool is that? The vertical stripes were unplanned, and in fact I don't think I could have done it on purpose.


Sometimes it takes very little to make me happy.