Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Summer of Socks

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Yes, I signed up. "Why the hell not?" I thought.  I mean, there's contests and stuff but you certainly aren't obligated to take part in those.  And these days, with my head swimming with statistics and sensory systems and other such nonsense I really can't muster up the energy to get competitive.  (So Hat Attack 2 is not looking so likely for me.)  In the end, it just comes down to spending a couple months knitting socks and checking out all the other socks that people are knitting.  And isn't that what I'd be doing anyway?

Because the sock knitting sickness...it has taken hold of me.  Last week I was gifted with a stack of back issues of Interweave and Knitter's and my first act was to skim them for sock patterns. I roam the project pages of Ravelry checking out people's socks.  I have exited some of my less active groups to join and enthusiastically participate in sock knitting groups. I have reorganized my queue, the socks are now listed at the top. I find myself lusting for the Simply Lovely Lace Socks, craving the cables of Brigid, and now I think I need to do Nutkin too.

Even before I began knitting socks I had sock yarn.  Certainly not in the quantity that most people do - but I did have a few skeins.  A swap, a gift, a couple contests, a purchase or two - leading to a modest starter stash of sock yarn.  (I know, I know - Sock yarn is not stash, sock yarn is not stash, sock yarn is not stash - I can repeat the mantra all day.)  So as the incredibly cheap thrifty person that I am, I had decided that as a new sock knitter I should knit through what I have before purchasing more sock yarn.  Good Plan.

Good Plan fall down and go boom.  Here is where I suck - matching the yarn I have already to the patterns I wish to knit.  The glory that is Ravelry allows me to check out all the others who have knit those patterns and see what they used.  I can also look up the yarns I have, and see what other people are knitting with them.  Marvelousness!  But what if I don't like what other people are knitting with the yarn I have?  (Do NOT say Monkey or Jaywalker please. Nothing personal.) And what if the patterns I like don't work with the yarn I have or might look better in a different yarn?  Ummmm....does that mean I get to go buy sock yarn?

3 comments:

Wendee said...

Yes, as a matter of fact it does :)!

Logan said...

Wheeee, I joined! My sock knitting has been almost dead lately...well, all of my knitting has been almost dead lately.

SeattleAmy said...

Well, I've put myself on a $$$ budget because house expenses always seem to go up in the Summer around here.

Try putting up what you have up for swap or sell. Then you can swap for what you are looking for or take the proceeds from a sell and buy the yarn you need!

Good luck! Amy