I am what you can call a Good Intentions Knitter. I have the know-how, the proper tools, and the requisite interest in transforming string into a range of knitted items using pointed sticks. I read a plethora of knitting blogs. I love yarn of all sorts and have invested in lots of it, making sure to store it all carefully in dust-free/smoke-free/pet-free containers around my house. I appreciate hand-knits and understand just how much time, work, and love goes into their creation. I also feel immensely satisfied giving hand-knits of my own to people I care about, imagining how they will be loved and worn until it there is nothing left of them to love or wear.
Despite all of these characteristics, I have to admit there is a shocking lack of knitting content posted here. In fact, I think the last thing I knit (and actually blogged about) was a baby gift for a coworker who just came back from her one year maternity leave! Ahem. Clearly, my good intentions to knit and blog about it are paving a certain road to hell: a fiery, plastic-y, 100% Red Heart acrylic version of HELL!!!
It seems I am suffering from a rare form of a Knitterly Fallacy, in which I believe (delusionally s0) that simply thinking about knitting is akin to the actual doing of knitting. And (conveniently perhaps), as soon as I declare it Time To Actually Knit, my tendonitis comes along and demands another few months of knitting hiatus. Will the cycle never end?
This summer, I was fortunate enough to complete not one, not two, but three whole pairs of socks for (who else?) Marty. This might seem like a drop in the ocean to some people, but by my standards, knitting three of anything in three months is cause for celebration! So without further adieu, let’s celebrate already!
Pair 1 of 3, knit with Berroco Sox yarn, colour 1421. A lovely assortment of blues, greys, and browns.
Pair 2 of 3. Knit with an altogether awkward combination of colours- DGB Confetti, #07.001. I have to confess that this is my least favourite pair of socks ever, but had they changed that cadaver shade of grey-brown sludge, these could have been winners! Better luck next time, Confetti!
Pair 3 of 3. Knit with glorious Schaeffer sock yarn in a variegated colorway I forgot the name and number of- whoops! This yarn was won by Marty during the grand opening of Make One yarn shop in Calgary. In order to appease the mass of knitters who weren't lucky winners (and who were foaming at the mouth at the indecency of a non-knitter winning something at a yarn store), he had to promise Amy & Sandra he would learn how to knit in order to win. He did, indeed, learn how to knit but 'let' me make these socks on his behalf a few years later.
Now that we have duly celebrated my knitting accomplishments for the summer, I regret to remind you that it is September and that my tendons will not be able to handle working and knitting at the same time for another… four or five months. (People wondered why I was knitting with wool during the sweltering summer months– it’s because I’m simply not capable of knitting anything from September to January or February each year, until (or if) I ever find myself another reliable, non-keyboarding way of making an income.)
That said, R.I.P knitting (for the time being, anyway): Gone too young and too soon; loved and missed dearly by yours truly.
You know what? I’ve been known to knit in the summer too. In fact, there may have been sightings of me knitting ON THE BEACH. Plus – if you knit in the summer you get in on the best sales! All the shops have sales when your knitting season is beginning, not ending!
This SUCKS about your tendons, like it isn’t bad enough that a) you’re working hard and b) it’s winter but you have to deal with that too? Crappy.
By: Jabba on September 15, 2009
at 9:35 am
When I took that knitting ergonomics course, the physiotherapist (who’s a knitter), said that you should knitting various projects at one time. And the various projects should also be varied since different needle sizes AND different fibres will make your muscles work differently (animal fibres being best since they have a natural spring to them and won’t make your muscles work as hard like with non-elastic yarns ie. cotton).
So, although those socks for Marty are beauties, knitting socks isn’t actually that healthy for your tendonitis. Too thin yarn and too small needles – all the time – make knitter’s tendon’s sad.
By: Mary on September 15, 2009
at 12:09 pm
Sigh… I know. I just love me some sock knitting, even though too much of a good thing definitely makes my tendons sad!
To be fair, I also knit a worsted weight mini-scarf on size 7 circs and a hat for Lily on 8s this summer– I just never took photos of them to post. I think it’s mostly the keyboarding that does me in each year, and there’s no real way of making that any different, day-in and day-out (though I’d love somebody to prove me wrong!)
By: Dana on September 15, 2009
at 12:38 pm