Knitting
I've been a lazy afghan knitter for several years now. I knit massive blankets that take years - and are mostly just knit - garter stitch - aka one stitch over and over and over. It's simple, no pattern to remember and I can knit without looking at my hands - a great way to make reading online semi-productive.
However, this weekend, I read Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter (her blog is http://yarnharlot.ca/) . And my blanket habit suddenly seems so pedestrian. I'm a knitter who has never attempted a sweater, sock, or slipper - and only 3 patterned blankets. I've only done 1 cable, and since it was on a big garter stitch blanket it looks like a big oops.
I have a yarn stash - and really, stash is an essential part of becoming a type of crafter - without supply on hand slowly built up over time, most hobbies are daunting in their costs... (Perhaps I should change guilt at not challenging myself as a knitter to guilt for so many cross-stitch projects that are incomplete...)
So I've looked for sock patterns - and I know it's because of the book. I found words and terms I've never read before - and the patterns I found all have abbreviations I'm not familiar with. I wonder if sock love is tied into shoe love (which I don't suffer from), and that is why I still don't understand why she and other knitting bloggers wax on about homeknit socks. Socks are great, and in winter in my house a necessity, but I'm wondering if the joy is overblown. Crafts are great, but most of the joy comes in having a product and showing it to someone else. My blankets are warm, and I have not knit any that violate my personal standard, of anything with toe sized holes. (One of the many reasons I do not enjoy crochet.)
I have the needles for socks 4 doublepointed size 4's, and I think a set or two more (have to check my craft stash) And I did buy quite a few balls of aran woolease, but not enough for a blanket. It's not the sock yarn the sites advise - but if the point is to say I've tried a sock, then it's not worth spending more money on gas to get to a yarn shop then the yarn would cost - and yarn must be fondled before purchase - it's all about the feel as you work it in your hands... And that woolease would be a bit better than the red heart acrylic I've been using for my next huge blanket...
However, this weekend, I read Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter (her blog is http://yarnharlot.ca/) . And my blanket habit suddenly seems so pedestrian. I'm a knitter who has never attempted a sweater, sock, or slipper - and only 3 patterned blankets. I've only done 1 cable, and since it was on a big garter stitch blanket it looks like a big oops.
I have a yarn stash - and really, stash is an essential part of becoming a type of crafter - without supply on hand slowly built up over time, most hobbies are daunting in their costs... (Perhaps I should change guilt at not challenging myself as a knitter to guilt for so many cross-stitch projects that are incomplete...)
So I've looked for sock patterns - and I know it's because of the book. I found words and terms I've never read before - and the patterns I found all have abbreviations I'm not familiar with. I wonder if sock love is tied into shoe love (which I don't suffer from), and that is why I still don't understand why she and other knitting bloggers wax on about homeknit socks. Socks are great, and in winter in my house a necessity, but I'm wondering if the joy is overblown. Crafts are great, but most of the joy comes in having a product and showing it to someone else. My blankets are warm, and I have not knit any that violate my personal standard, of anything with toe sized holes. (One of the many reasons I do not enjoy crochet.)
I have the needles for socks 4 doublepointed size 4's, and I think a set or two more (have to check my craft stash) And I did buy quite a few balls of aran woolease, but not enough for a blanket. It's not the sock yarn the sites advise - but if the point is to say I've tried a sock, then it's not worth spending more money on gas to get to a yarn shop then the yarn would cost - and yarn must be fondled before purchase - it's all about the feel as you work it in your hands... And that woolease would be a bit better than the red heart acrylic I've been using for my next huge blanket...