It’s funny how you can form an attachment to a skein of yarn. I’ve been holding onto a special ball of wool since 2008, when I purchased it during a fundraiser in the Knitters for Obama group on Ravelry. Black Bunny Fibers dyed a special colorway for the group called Unity. As I look at it now, I love it every bit as much as I did when I first saw it.
When I first got this smooshy blue ball of gorgeousness, I hunted around for a pattern. The yarn is really beautiful – a calm glacial lake dyed into soft wool – so the pattern had to be as special as the yarn. Though he hadn’t yet been elected, my intention was to have a pair of socks done before Obama’s inauguration day.
In 2008, I never did find a pattern and added the yarn to my stash. But, I did find unity – it was everywhere I looked. Our country was amazing that year. Despite the financial crisis on Wall Street and our real estate markets tanking, we banded together as a nation and tried to put things right again.
Every once in awhile, I’d pull this skein out and say to myself you know you really ought to do something with this yarn.
I don’t know why out of the piles of yarn I own, this one ball of sock yarn feels so sacred. It’s been with me longer than Smalls has. It’s been with me through a marriage, a divorce, and a marriage, four houses, and three jobs. One president.
Our country needs piecing back together even more than it did when Obama was elected. I’m terrified in a way I have never been about an election. I know I’ll be glued to the news reports all day, praying and hoping that we do well by this country.
To keep myself occupied, I will knit Unity.
I started searching around for patterns again, and I’ve narrowed it down to a few. Would you please help me decide?
Knitty Vet’s cable and lace socks look a little challenging for someone who hasn’t knit a pair of socks in almost ten years. BUT, they look complex enough to keep my attention focused on the happy yarn!
Cooperativepress’s Pegwhistle socks are knit with worsted weight yarn! I love how rugged and smooshy they look. I know I am working with sock yarn for this pair, but I don’t want to rule out the possibility that I chicken out on using this yarn. (It’s a weird emotional attachment, I know.)
The hearts in this cute pattern from Knits by Jo Designs are so sweet! These socks would look awesome peeking through my Mary Janes, and hearts are a nice motif for the occasion.
SC Handmade’s waterfall socks remind me of alligator hide for some reason. Maybe it’s because they’re green? This pattern looks tricky but the end result is so pretty!
Elsa’s socks are really pretty. Let it go! Let it gooooooooo! This might be a good pattern just to remind me to let things that upset me go. The cables are chunky enough that a variegated yarn like Unity would still work.
Wearable Art Emporium’s twisted mesh socks have a cool cable running down the side. I love that detail! This pattern looks like an easy, quick knit.
Anastaciaknits’ stripey socks are really speaking to me right now. I don’t know if I am ready to incorporate more than one color into one sock. I love this pattern and I have plenty of yarns to pair with Unity, but I don’t know if my skills are there yet.
Soooo hard to decide! Which one would you knit?
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