The Weft and the Weave

Being that I wasn't feeling all that great today, I stayed home after Mass and decided to pick up some knitting.  What most people know as knitting is actually a type of weaving - interlocking threads to form a piece of cloth.  The kind of weaving I do involves two straight needles (though I've recently ventured to learn how to use circulars) and one or two strands of yarn. Most knitting is made up of two basic stitch techniques, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. They are opposites of each other, and when used alternately or in combination they produce different textural effects.
In the past, usually I have made scarves and a stocking cap, no socks or mittens which require changing needles. I must confess that I only have one pair of straight needles and one pair of circulars... however, circular needles can also be used in place of straight knitting needles for large projects for which the material would be heavy, so the cord connecting the two circular needles could hold the weight of those stitches.
My adventure today was to combine the various patterns I had learned with some stitch variations that I made up on the spot. The thing is, when you use multiple patterns in succession you get a patchwork sort of look, not completely haphazard, but something resembling the different pieces of a quilt. Using variegated or self-striping yarn as well as two colors at the same time can make the same pattern look totally different than when only using a solid color yarn. At the moment, I'm just practicing so it looks mighty interesting with a dull beige colored two-ply worsted weight yarn.
Here's what I have so far: a few rows of brick ribbing (my own design) which is basically k4, *p4, k4*
and then the next row is p4, *k4, p4*. the row which follows is exactly the same pattern of stitches, to provide a contrast and stagger the "bricks". Then I went into a bit of straight garter stitch (k one row, p one row) for a few rows, and differentiated into the brick ribbing again, then switched to k2, p2 ribbing.  Thinking of adding a raspberry stitch soon... after doing a section break (aka more bricks or a solid purl band in stockinette stitch on the RS - right side).  The main idea when switching patterns is to make sure they start and end cleanly, but I'm also playing with how well they could possibly blend.
My upcoming knitting projects include a cowl in deep variegated blues, a heathered green textured purse (which is already knit but must be seamed and lined and decorated), and some sort of knit cap. I always dream up potential projects, whether they be knitting, sewing, painting, needlepointing, woodworking, calligraphy, watercolors, sketches, all sorts of things in which I might not be very skilled, but which make for nice hobbies. Then there is always something to do! After all, life is too short to die.