Surprisingly, these days, more than just a hank of yarn and a clutch of mismatched knitting needles. I started knitting because I wanted to hold the color and texture of beautiful yarns in my hands.
Every time I visited a yarn shop I was attracted to the display cases and arrangement of yarns. The way the skeins hung from wooden knobs in cascades of contrasting or complementing colors. I didn't want to buy just by one hank of yarn (which was all I could afford) I wanted the entire display to be in my home so that I could look at it all the time.
Later on, as my confidence grew, and I progressed through my knitting repertoire, conquering mittens, hats, sweaters and socks, I found my aptitude grew in other areas as well.
Unexpected areas.
A good friend once told me there was no high comparable to the exhilaration a knitter feels after turning the heel of their first sock. She described knitting in design terms. The finished piece was a structure with shape and dimension.
A sock is a beautiful thing too; designed perfectly for its function and use. Extraordinary! I think, for all of us crazy knitters who knit compulsively, that sometimes the skill of our craft is lost on us because we do it all the time. But socks rock!
Ahem, where was I? My confidence grew in other areas . . . and I wondered what else I might construct and not just out of yarn. So, this summer I'll be starting my masters in Architecture and Sustainable Design.
Heels might not be walls and windows, but I feel that with a good pair of hand knit socks on my feet I can do anything.
An image of a pair of socks would be good here, but all I have to share with you are a few photos of some hand spun I finished this morning. Hot off the spinning wheel: our stone gray top. It turned out beautifully. I double plied it and will be making mittens out of it as soon as it dries after setting the twist.
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