Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I'm obsessed...





...with knitting. My stepmother knits all the time and gives us beautiful hand knit socks as gifts. A dear friend always carries her knitting with her. I used to knit (try - 30 years ago!) It was time to throw myself into the knitting scene again. But, my goodness, how things have changed! Yarn is NOT the same! I feel like an alien on another world when I browse the local yarn shop (LYS for those in the know). So, true to my nature, I have taken on the job of getting up to speed.
Now, keep in mind that I DO NOT have time to "get up to speed" with the knitting world, let alone spend hours clicking needles. However, I have never let something like that stop me. Copious books have been reserved from the library, my Amazon/Chapters wishlist has grown, brown boxes have begun arriving in my mailbox and a few weeks ago I found myself knitting in Tim Horton's. Yes, I am now a knitter.

So far most of what I have done is abstract. Reading, poring over sites on the web (what a treasure trove of information and patterns!), looking at patterns. But...I have knit a few items as well. Two pairs of socks for myself, a pair for my youngest son and part of a shawl that I ripped out because it just wasn't me. That yarn will probably become a hat and scarf - it really is beautiful.
Two sock books that I drool over and hope to one day knit from now grace my library shelf.

A lesson in frustration

Blogging is a exercise in frustration. How many days have I said to myself, "Today is the day I'm going to update my blog." And then it proceeds like this:


1. Get camera because I MUST share my latest hobby creation - a pair of socks. Hmm....out of batteries.


2. Look for batteries. Can only find one even though I have bought numerous sets of rechargeable batteries to make sure that I never am at a loss. OK - forget the picture, I'll just write about them.


3. Sit down at desk. Look for note I wrote with blogging ideas. Desk is VERY cluttered. OK...


4. Organize desk. Find receipts that I thought I had lost that should go to MIL. Put them in an envelope in purse.


5. Find other important papers that I need to keep. Put them in places that I will NEVER forget where they are (hmmm.....have I heard that before?)


6. Notice that someone has spilled something sticky on the desk underneath all these papers. Go to kitchen for wet cloth. Clean up.


7. Decide I really need a small container to hold all those little "things" - paper clips etc. Back to kitchen.


8. Make piles of... library stuff to go back, hair clips to go to bathroom, notes to self that can't be thrown out, knitting notions, books I'm reading, bills to pay, SS papers, school schedules...


9. Finally the desk (in front of me, anyways) is clear. I can begin.


But you know, my stomach is growling. It's telling me that it hasn't been fed yet.


So...maybe breakfast first and then later today, when I get a break, I'll write about that pair of finished socks. And maybe by then I'll have tracked down the other battery for the camera and can share their beauty.


Maybe.