I longingly gazed at the Stitch ‘N Bitch calendar during the holiday season, informing my entire family how much I wanted it.  A friend had one last year and it sounded like so much fun and a great way to keep myself challenged mentally and knit-wise.

Thankfully, a dear friend came through.  I am here to say that I love this calendar!  It is more fun than I ever thought!  Fun factoids, featured knitters, fancy yarn favourites are just some of the things I did not expect but look forward to each day.

I began knitting as a child.  My mother taught me to knit, and we both knit “backwards” as I like to say.  No, this is not continental knitting, it is a true left handed knitting.  On the bright note, I show people how to knit and when they mirror me? Presto!  They knit “normal”!

Like most of my skills, my knitting remains in the “mediocre” range.  I can knit, but I am not outstanding at it.  Mostly I stick to easy things.  The last two weeks, however, I worked furiously at my first pattern, a pair of fancy socks. Last night I finished the first sock and I am so proud of it!  Putting it on my foot, I suddenly got excited again and cannot wait to finish the second sock!

I had no idea that sock making took so long.  I have a new appreciation for Hanes and the local five and dime.  How our fore-mothers must have rejoiced!  I am normally anti-sock and I think it is a genetic memory of the nightmarishly long and tedious process of sock knitting!  No wonder these women would darn their socks within an inch of the sock life!!! It takes far too long to make a new sock!

Working hard on this sock, I debated turning the “Sock of the Month” into the “Leg Warmer of the Month” and see if that went faster and was more fun.  Now i am not so sure.  I really liked my sock on my foot!  I showed it off in my video chat room and everyone cheered for me.  (Many thanks to my supporters cheering me on!)  Maybe I will do leg warmers, maybe I’ll do socks. I don’t know yet!

Working hard on my knitting, several people have inquired to my project.  Many express amazement due to the complexity of the sock.  Turning the heel brings a fear to a new knitter’s heart like no other.  Once I found someone to properly demonstrate the wrap and turn, I was on my way.  Now, I will admit, working on three needles is beyond awkward for me.  I like two sticks or, even better, round needles.  I am learning to adapt, and that is great!  Turning the heel turned out far simpler than I thought! (Yes, that pun was absolutely intended!)

I already have sock pattern number two waiting in the wings.  Last Friday was a Valentine’s sock.  So cute!  It won’t get done in time (obviously), but that is OK.  I think it would be fantastic as a leg warmer, so I may go ahead and make it as such.  Feel free to lodge your vote here! I welcome the feedback!  This sock has a “cut out heart” in the pattern.  So going down your leg is a line and then it is bisected with a very large outline of a heart.

My mother, bless her soul, fed my knitting addiction.  Yes, she is quite the enabler!  Someone donated yarn to a thrift store and my mother scooped up a ton and gave it to me.  Hopefully there are enough of some of these balls to do things with from my calendar!  I did notice some yarn I thought might be good for the aforementioned heart socks!

Never fear, when I finally finish my project, I will post a picture of my socks on my feet! 

In my knitting travels of late, I discovered this fantastic blog  about miniture knitting.  I thought my US size 1 neeldes were tiny?  (They look like bamboo skewers!)  I jokingly called them toothpicks.  Apparently there are people out there that do actually knit on toothpicks using embroidery floss!  Check out this blog and see the amazing miniture dish clothes and blocks, complete with patterns, this one knitter creates.  Utterly amazing!  

Have knitting, will travel!

–Lady O