I feel like I have been consistently sick, under the weather, or allergy-ridden for the last six months. I’m not sure if my immune system has just decided to give up, or if my students’ germs are getting stronger. Either way, I am in no shape to be learning new stitches or doing complicated math.
So instead, I’m going to sit on the couch and think about my favorite Soup Patterns. (I would say “Chicken Soup Patterns,” but I’m vegetarian.) These are patterns that are tried and true, with simple construction and excellent instructions. Patterns that I’ve knit over and over again.
Patterns like the the Hitchhiker, by Martina Behm. Just learn a handful of rows, and you’re set. You can use whatever yarn you’ve got on hand (a skein or two is plenty), and whatever needles you can reach in your Sudafed-addled state. Before you know it, you’ll have a lovely, comfy scarf with almost no thought required.
Or, you could make the perennial classic, the Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmermann herself. This tiny sweater is a perfect way to use up leftover bits of sock yarn (stripes!), and a great excuse to go button shopping. I like keeping a couple completed BSJ’s in my stash, in case I get asked to go to a last-minute baby shower (which happens more frequently than you’d believe).
The last one is kind of cheating (or at least tooting my own horn), but it’s totally a pattern I go back to over and over again; Socks by the Numbers, by me. It’s so totally simple to make socks of any size you want. And, this pattern is so plain that it’s easy to modify. Stripes? Lace? Cables? Yes, yes, and yes. In fact, everyone in my family got socks last year, and they were all knit up following these basic instructions.![Finished_Sock_medium2[1]](https://ontheneedlesdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/finished_sock_medium21.jpg)
What are your Soup Patterns (Chicken Noodle or otherwise)? Why do you keep going back to them?
![tinybabybunnies2[1]](https://ontheneedlesdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/tinybabybunnies21.jpg)
On the Needles 