A new year of socks.....

I just finished a pair of socks....a Christmas present for my sister so I decided I would start another "Year of Socks" and call these "January". They are made from a Baby Alpaca wool, very soft to the touch. I started finding other yarns besides the designated sock yarns to experiment with and some work out and some don't but these worked great for comfy bed socks. I'm sure they wouldn't last walking around in a pair of shoes but very soft and warm to the touch. I'm still having a problem with fitting. Can't quite make myself do the extra two or three rows that would make the difference but I'm getting better. Nothing like the thrill of starting a new pair of socks...wondering if they will be the "perfect" ones. These pretty much are about the most perfect I've made yet. Just wondering when I'm going to get tired of making these little critters.

Another validation as to why I knit....

I ran across this article on the internet and felt it was worth posting to my blog. It was written a while ago but still holds true as to why I believe I knit. I especially loved the part toward the end where it talks about all the benefits of knitting and that it possibly can "stave off Alzheimer's" and that ".....all those bags of yarn are for a good cause." Click HERE to read the article and see if you agree. I would love to get a knitting program going in a school but I don't think I'd want it to replace recess. In New York where this article was written, there are days when the children can't go out to play and I think knitting would definitely be the answer to calm the children. I don't think knitting is for everybody but I do think everybody should be given the opportunity to learn it. That's what I would love to do; teach those that would like to learn. It certainly has added a new and different dimension to my life and when I find a good thing, I like nothing more than to share it. Anybody out there want to learn to knit?

A year of knitting....

Yes, 2008 was my year of knitting and it has been fun to improve my sock-making skills. I wish I could figure out why I love it so but it has become quite an addiction as has collecting my "stash". I decided to gather all my yarn from every nook and cranny of my house and put it into one place. It's really quite disgusting how much I have collected through the year but part of the addiction is the "stash" and I will admit (first step to recovery) that I have a problem: I love yarn. I must join "Yarnaholics Anonymous" and have already made my commitment: "I will buy no yarn in 2009". You will see by the picture that I have a problem. Someone asked me if I had enough yarn to last through 2009. My reply...."I have enough yarn to last a lifetime".....and I do. I want to continue making socks but I also have a vest I need to finish and other projects I'd like to try. Also, I hope to continue learning to tat this year. It has been said that ........"the life of the creative person is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes." Since discovering my knitting skills again after over 40 years......I can truly say.....I'm never bored. If I'm not knitting, I'm anticipating the hour that I can knit again. I look forward to airport delays, long commutes (that's why I've come to love traveling on the shuttle) and waits in a doctor's office (and the books that I read are about knitting). Here's to 2009....I will knit my stash and try to avoid my favorite yarn stores.

August "Sock of the Month".......and contest!!!!!

I finished Lauri's birthday socks with yarn she bought for me (actually, for her) in Bath, England which makes these socks pretty special....come to find out, I bought the same yarn in the states so have plenty to duplicate the August "Sock of the Month"....They turned out great and it would be fun to make socks for each of my children for their birthdays. Maybe I'll give it a try but until then, I need some incentive for myself as I keep pumping out these creatures and I'm never quite sure who to share them with so.....I'M HAVING A CONTEST. Here is the rule....

1. E-mail me at wells@infowest.com with "I'm in...." followed by your name in the subject line. That's all you have to do. The drawing will be on October 1 and if you win, you will receive them hopefully by my birthday, October 31. These will actually be my "Birthday Socks" that I will award to the lucky winner, $200.00 socks. If you read my blog about my "non-stop socks" then you will know what I'm talking about. The regular pair of socks actually takes me more than 20 hours but as far as I'm concerned, I'm usually multi-tasking and it's time not wasted in my book so yes.....making socks is ridiculous....and I still don't know why I do it but I do so come on along with me and join in the fun. You may be the winner. The drawing will be in the presence of two other people so really, it will be fair. One entry per person but each member of the family may enter with the same e-mail address just let me know the name of the person entering in the subject line. Thanks....hope to hear from you and good luck.....

It's here....."Sock of the Month" for July.....

The socks have it......

I really am enjoying making socks.....I've made so many by now (some don't have a match yet) that I've decided to try and pump out a pair a month so I call them my "Sock of the Month" and I'll post the ones I've taken pictures of and try to add the new ones as they are complete. I have discovered that it is easier to do two socks together, then if they get done and they aren't perfect, they are at least a pair. I found myself making one then not liking it and the other one never gets done. Oh, and I have given a pair away. I gave a pair to Mandy to wear when she was in the hospital having her baby. I know I would always hate having cold feet in the hospital. But....some people are just not "sock" people. And that's o.k......

Kindergarten Knitter

I decided I needed another blog.....yeh, excessive I know. There should be a limit, one per person, maybe 2 per family but I decided I wanted to document my knitting adventures. Interesting that I would blog about it today because I haven't really felt like knitting, thus...as the title says....this isn't a really good day, yet. I still have a few hours left but I've been analyzing this new fascination with knitting and I've decided "I just don't like to finish projects" and I have so many UFOs right now that I can't justify starting anything else. I love to start projects. I love the excitement of choosing the right size of needles, the perfect pattern and then open my yarn closet and rub my hands together wondering what lucky ball of fuzzy stuff gets to make itself into a wonderful pair of socks to keep someone's feet warm (probably mine as I have yet to make a pair of them gift worthy).....nevertheless, this is my favorite part.

I am a beginner, a kindergartner so to speak in the world of knit. I'm not sure I'll ever graduate. When I finally get a pair of socks that I'm satisfied with I'll call myself a 1st grader and then when I try a different pattern, a different stitch or something harder or even something other than socks, I'll move on to 2nd....but, until then I remain in kindergarten and proud to be there. I remember in Kindergarten I loved show and tell and I do love to show off my finished socks. I'm usually the only one really impressed so I've kinda learned to keep it to myself but that's what blogging is...one big "Show and Tell"; even if there's no one to show them to I can pretend my blog is actually read.

I learned to knit in Primary. The first year (I think we were 9 years old) we learned to do cross stitch. I still have the sampler I did and I'll post a picture of it. Then at age 10, we learned crochet and then age 11, it was knitting. I never did like knitting but I really took off with the crochet thing. My grandma taught me how to do loops and I made all my friends really pretty loopy ski hats and then I made loop rugs and on and on....However, a few years ago while in Kentucky, I saw a little shop. Carma's Yarn Shop. I ventured in and they were kind enough to remind me how to "cast on" and I just took off and made scarf after scarf....and really got caught up in the art. Then I learned to make "dishcloths"......easy.....this is all pre-school stuff but it was time to be off to Kindergarten. Socks. I'll learn how to make socks. A kind lady named Kelly at Heindelsman's Too taught me how and I've been at it ever since. I'll post more later about what I've learned from my yarn and how I love my DPNs (Double Pointed Needles) and my "stash"; it's become my addiction. It's a good addiction though....it's become a friend (and an enemy) but something I must conquer. Others run, do yoga, paint, scrapbook, but "I knit".