Knitting project preferences...

 

Hello there loves!

 

 

Yay- it is Sunday! Time to sit, relax and chat with my peeps. Being able to sit and catch up with you all it a huge highlight of my week. How was your week?  Hope you are all safe from these crazy Summer storms the U.S. has been having. Other than dealing with unrelenting heat, I have no room to complain in comparison.

 

 

What does one do when they need a travel project, they cast on some vanilla socks of course. Traveling means for me work. :)  So I scooped up this yarn that my sister bought me for Christmas last year. A conversation between my mom, my sister and I got me thinking about how some of us gravitate towards particular projects and how others do not.

 

 

 

It is no secret that I like knitting socks, for a number of reasons. They are something I can wear for at least 4-5 months of the year in Arizona. The portability factor of sock knitting is always a factor for me. Socks are the first thing I learned to knit and the love affair has continued.  While I have knit blankets, stuffies, cardigans, shawls, scarves and hats, I admit 85% of my completed projects are socks.

 

 

The conversation that I mentioned went a bit like this. Mom and me~ During a phone call she asks me what am I knitting on. I say socks. She says, you should knit something else, you are always knitting socks. Sister and me~ Tell sister Mom tells me that I should knit something other than socks. Sister tells me, " Well, it is kind of weird that you just knit socks.".

I think my first reaction was to be defensive, but then I realized I do knit a lot of socks. Of course I know I knit socks predominately, I just had not ever thought they it may come across as odd to some people. Do you feel you have unintentionally typecast yourself into a certain type of knitting project and what is it about that particular type of project that keeps you coming back for more, (by project I mean shawls, socks, sweaters, etc.,).  Inquiring minds wants to know. :)

On to the giveaway that we had a couple weeks back. I have drawn a winner for this beautiful skein of Dyed In the Wool Yarn Co's skein of DK weight yarn...

 

#37-

Beautiful colors! I see fingerless gloves done with it.

Posted by: Joanne 

 

 

Congratulations, Joanne.  Thank you for all who entered. I will leave you with a wonderful maker video from Etsy and wish you the best day today!

 

 

 

 

 

XO,

andi

Comments

[Sanja]

I swear reading about your sock knitting has turned me into a sock knitter too:). Sweaters seem too hard and there are only so many hats and shawls and scarfs that one needs but socks, one can never have too much socks!

[Frances]

I love your sock-knitting adventures! I'm an avid sock knitter myself. I like their portability and versatility. I love wearing them, and I love just looking at them. Also, I have family members who are always hoping for more socks. I knit both ways-- toe up and top down, but I really prefer the way I learned -- top down with a heel flap and gussets.

[Sue J]

People just think I'm weird because I knit. ;)

[Leah Wheatley]

Oh but knitting socks is so addictive and you can go wild with colour if you so wish. So here's to socks!

[Stacey]

“It’s unapologetically socks!” to quote a good sock knitting friend. I find myself wanting to knit socks more than anything else (although hats are a close second). It’s the challenge, the joy, the portability, the semi-instant gratification of a complicated but short term project, and the myriad of yarn choices!! Thanks for all the ideas and inspiration you provide the sock knitters with your blog!

[Heather]

Even though I have knit for a long time I have never knit a sweater. Mostly I knit (or had knit) scarves. I don't like knitting anything difficult and I dislike picking up stitches A LOT. So I got to the point where I got sick of knitting scarves (and how many scarves does a person need? Not that many) and then I started knitting baby hats for one of the local hospitals. And then I discovered that you can make socks on 9" circulars (because I hate double-pointed needles and magic loop A LOT. I knit the baby hats on a 12" circular) and I've started doing that now. Because knit socks are something I can actually use! Even tho they do involve picking up stitches it's only a few and it's giving me practice. So now I knit socks (and baby hats)

[Raychel]

I am definitely more of a shawl knitter, however, I have always wanted to master socks so that they were second-nature and so I could always have a project going for the portability purposes. Your blog has really helped inspire me to knit socks! I love seeing your sock pictures and getting ideas for color combinations. I love that you knit so many socks!

[Meghan]

Socks fit the bill for so many reasons. I compare it to eating potato chips. If someone sat down to watch tv with a bag of chips no one would think it was wierd. If you knit socks instead while watching tv the time is not lost and you haven't gained the chip weight:). Finding calm while using time productively is always a winner no matter which project t brings peace.

[Diane Flindt]

Shawls. Shawls are my downfall, my go-to, my comfort.

I like a project with some size, so I don't have to make those start-up decisions too frequently.

I like learning something new and then using it for a good while so a technique slips into my muscles and bones. It never seems to slip into my brain--I always have to look up a technique later--but my muscles recognize the moves instantly, and like magic I can make that double-cross-cable-slip-knot-back-post-ssk again.

I confess I like a shawl because I don't have to swatch. If it turns out too small, it's a scarf! Too big? It's an afghan!

But I love looking at everyone's socks. I save the glorious pictures on Ravelry and Pinterest, and think someday when shawls cease to be so satisfying, someday....

[Cheryl]

Thank you for sharing that video, it was such a beautiful little short to watch.

Another avid sock knitter over here! At this point I have far more socks than a person could ever possibly need, but they're so useful and perfect for on-the-go knitting! And I justify making more because they are by far the most worn handmade things in my wardrobe :)

[Kay]

After over 300 pairs of sock since I started my knitting venture with them in 2007, I can truthfully state that the majority of my knitting after that until 2015 was socks. My family and friends do not think it’s wierd since my own sock drawers only have 79 pairs in them: the rest are in theirs and they like it that way. My knitting mojo seems to have vacated the planet in mid-2015 so very few items of any kind have been finished since then. Great looking socks Andi!

[karen]

you should knit socks if that is what you want to knit - I knit what I want to knit and I go into different waves of what I am knitting. Right now I have three long projects (what was I thinking) and then I will pick quick projects. I tend to like shawls and cardigans. I knit hats and mitts as gifts to give.

[Jane]

I so enjoy seeing and reading about your beautiful socks. I say knit whatever makes your heart sing. We have some cold winter days so I knit socks, mittens, fingerless mitts, shawls and now and then a sweater.

[Aimee]

I mainly knit only socks too and have a friend mainly knits shawls. I don’t think there’s anything weird about that at all.

If you were a painter and only painted landscapes, would they say that was weird? No, they would say that’s your style.

[Debbie Kuppusamy]

Socks are not weird, it's how you show your personal creativity. I always have socks going and usually a sweater or shawl,too. Socks are perfect projects!

[Cortney B]

All the time! I knit a lot of socks too, and I get a lot of "How many socks does a person need?" or "When are you knitting me socks?" (asked by any random person that I know) - I'm feeling a bit burnt out on socks at the moment, but I think that's because a new obsession is taking hold - sweaters!

I'm not sure why makers draw the comments that make you feel like you're typecast, whether it's cross-stitch samplers, quilts, or socks. Perhaps because you end up with a tangible lasting thing, that isn't consumed but remains in your "collection?"

At any rate, make what makes you happy! And I'll keep enjoying it, because your socks sure do brighten up my Sundays! :)

[Christelle]

I just finished two shawls and went back to a pair of socks I had set aside. I really realized how much I had missed knitting socks and how much I love them. If something brings you joy, why would you have to justify yourself?

[Kat]

I don't know if I've type-cast myself to a certain kind of knit or not. I tend to go on streaks, though- knit a bunch of hats, then a bunch of sweaters, then maybe some shawls.

[Lisa]

That is funny, family always tells us like it is. I switch around to keep variety but have knit quite a few socks. I agree socks are easy for travelling. I have started loving knitting fingerless mittens too which I found easy travelling with this weekend, they are tube shaped when knitting them just like socks.

[Wendy]

lol I crochet lots of mittens (fingerless) and hats....great gifts to family and friends....if I knit more often then yep socks too xoxo

[Katherine]

I love all your beautiuful sock projects!

I like to think I'm mostly a garment knitter, but then I'm very slow to finish garments. If you totted up what I knit, I wonder what I'd have to the most of? Maybe hats or shawls ...

[Diane]

Andi, next time you're doing a swap at your Ravelry group, could you give me a heads up -- I think I might like to try again.
I've finally ordered a new ball winder so I can get my skeins into cakes, so that they can be split in two for making socks. Going to get back knitting, finally.

[Stefanie]

If you like to just knit socks, why the heck not?! Sheesh, give a sista a break.