A Proud Knitting Achievement

I started knitting almost exactly two years ago. As I have said before, I hate relaxing. I find it very un-relaxing. Now, that doesn't mean I don't like to sit down. I just hate sitting there doing nothing. I am even wound up enough that during the first 24 hours after having a baby when the midwives force me to stay in bed and rest, I am dying to get up and at least go downstairs where all the action is! Knitting allows relaxing, for me, to be relaxing because I am being creative and productive while I am doing it.

Two years ago, I decided to learn to knit specifically so I could knit socks. Handknit socks are beautiful, useful and very portable. My purse almost always contains a small work-in-progress bag housing a pair of socks I am working on so that I can whip them out anytime I have a few minutes to fill. It makes unexpected waiting around very pleasant.

When I first started to learn to knit socks, I knit 'plain vanilla' (meaning just stockinette -- or for non-knitters, that means just straight knitting around and around) socks which were jazzed up by the use of self-striping sock yarn. Self-striping yarn changes colour all by itself giving the impression that you have done a whole lot of fancy colourwork. It is terrific for anyone, but particularly for beginners. Two years ago, I tried to learn everything I could about knitting socks. I used to look longingly at other people's complicated projects, sighing as I realized they were so far beyond me that I would probably never knit like that and would always just knit plain vanilla self-striping socks. I can remember, specifically, looking at several people's Twisted Flower socks such as these or these (this one is the designer's blog). I knew I would never be able to make them.

Well, guess what?! A few days ago, I finished up my very own pair of Twisted Flower Socks! And, after two years of knitting, I can honestly say they were a breeze. I didn't feel stressed out or even overly challenged while knitting them. I feel as if I have truly arrived in the sock knitting world. If you are a new knitter, I want to offer you a huge round of encouragement. It doesn't take long before you will be knitting things you never dreamed you could knit.

My very own Twisted Flower Socks

(For those who are interested, I knit these on 2.5mm needles, magic-loop, two-at-a-time, using KnitPicks Risata in the Dusk colourway. I really love the feel of the Risata yarn, which is a cotton/wool/elastic/nylon blend. It is very cushy feeling and my socks fit perfectly.)