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!

A Terrible Thought

Did you ever have a terrible thought? You know, you're just going along, everything seems great, then Bam! A terrible thought enters your headspace, and you realize that it only takes a moment for things to change drastically. 

What if that driver loses control and swerves into my lane?

What if I didn't lock the back door before I came to bed?

What if my friends really are laughing at me, and not with me?

What if I don't have all the answers?

What if I'm just not good enough?

No? You don't have those thoughts? It's just me then? Hmph. I don't believe you. I think we all have a terrible thought once in awhile. Maybe yours are more along the lines of things you think you could get away with, or things you'd like to do (if only these things were not illegal). 

Terrible thoughts come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them unfortunately turn into terrible actions. If you are the victim of those actions, they seem to come out of nowhere, and can leave you battered and bruised in many ways. If you are the "actor," you still may bear self-inflicted wounds as a result. We have likely all done things, or said things, that we regret in response to a terrible thought. 

So, what do you do with that? What do you do when you have been hurt? What do you do when you have hurt someone (including yourself)? How do you recover from the terrible thought?

First, acknowledge it, and allow yourself time to feel the feels. Too many times we rush ourselves past painful feelings, sweeping them under the rug, only to trip on them later. Give yourself a minute...an hour...a day...or longer...to feel it and figure out next steps.

When you are hurt by someone else, even if they have not apologized for the offense, forgive. Holding grudges only hurts the holder. Now, I am not necessarily suggesting that you declare, "I forgive you!," with a smiley face to that person. In fact, depending on the injury, you may never talk to him or her again. Still, you have the power to forgive, let go, and move on, as a wiser person. If you do this well, you will not likely be hurt in this way again, because you will have learned how to judge this kind of character.

Lastly, if you are hurting yourself, stop. Whether your thoughts are leading you to negative self-talk, or thoughts of physically harming yourself (or someone else), just stop. As a thinker of terrible thoughts, especially about myself, I know that this advice seems trite and impossible. I know that you may not know how to stop, and in this case you must get help. I won't dwell here, for I have talked about this in other posts, but you must not hurt yourself verbally or otherwise. Email me at PrettyKnittyJewelry [at] yahoo [dot] com if you have nowhere to go for help. I will help you find the care you need to stop hurting yourself.

Why all this terrible thought talk? This is normally such a Pretty blog...

It is a yarn thing. Ever since I learned how to make yarn (side bar - I MAKE YARN!!!), I am called by the siren song of fiber waiting to be spun into beautiful yarn! My latest fiber acquisition is named "A Terrible Thought," but the yarn I have made is anything but terrible. 

A luscious two-ply in happy pinks, corals and orange, with a thread of dark brown and gray (the terrible thought) running through it. I have been spinning this for the last two blog posts, and I have often let my mind wander during the spin time...how many terrible thoughts have I let get away from me? Plenty. But spinning this yarn has led me to let go of some of those thoughts and share with you. Oh, and the yarn has turned out so pretty, even despite the terrible thought running through it!

Our lives can and should be beautiful, because we are God's masterpieces! He has created us to live out loud, to experience joy, and to share our lives with other masterpieces! If you are not treasuring yourself and others, you are missing out. So, join me in being kind to one another, and to yourself. It is what you were made to do!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!