Darn Socks

Two things.

Thing one: I knit.

If you know me, even if you have only known me for a short while, you know this. You know that I knit like a fiend, and I am not ashamed. I knit at home, and I knit in public. I knit alone and in a crowd. I knit in meetings, I knit at meals. I knit where it is quiet and where it is loud.

Thing two: I knit socks.

When I started knitting, I really did not like it. I had started with crochet early in my life (my grandmother on my dad's side taught me when I was 10-ish), and I was a master at making yarn bend to my will with a small hook. When I first picked up needles, I was frustrated at my lack of control over the yarn and the fabric. Then...socks. 

One day, I realized that I could knit socks. Just like generations of women (and men) before me, I could make something practical and wearable with yarn...something necessary and also beautiful. I was enamored, and I dove in!

Unlike many generations that have gone before me, I do not have to knit socks in order to have socks. I know this, yet I still knit them. Factory-knit socks are cheaper, easier to launder and readily available around every corner. Still, there is something primal and connected for me about knitting my own socks. I am connected to previous and future generations of sock knitters. I am connected to the story of the yarn, and to the process of choosing and knitting the pattern, just as each stitch is connected with the last and the next. 

That is why I sometimes darn (mend) my hand knit socks. It is not because I am out of yarn and cannot get more. It is not because each pair of socks has its own purpose and must be saved. It is the connection. It is remembering on laundry day that this is yarn that came from a friend who is a local dyer (Jeanne at Destination Yarn). She made this colorway (America the Beautiful) when she was just starting out, and I am so proud of her success and the company she has built! I love wearing spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountain majesties, fruited plains, seas and shining seas...even if they are a teensy bit faded after 10 years of wear and washing!

Every time I wear these socks, I treasure the times I have spent with Jeanne, her family and our knitting group. And every time I take these out of the wash and notice that the heels should be darned again, I just get my needle and yarn ready. I am not ready to give up on this pair, and all the joy it brings me!

All of my hand knit socks, whether knit with hand dyed or commercially colored, hand spun or mass produced yarn...each pair gives me the warm fuzzies when I wear them. And when I run the darning needle and yarn around the stitches that are worn, I also reinforce good memories...hours of entertainment, social interaction and great vibes...even if my hand knit socks never come out of my shoes. Of course, if you ask to see them, I will gladly oblige, and I may even tell you their story. Stop me if you've heard this one...lol!

So yes. I knit, and I knit socks (and sometimes I darn them, too).

Oh, one more thing: Bacon. 

Because...well...bacon!

Happy Saturday, friends! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!