Life as a Spectator Sport

I seem to have answered the question about when I will knit. Any time my hands don't have to be doing something else. The bamboo double pointed sock needles are compelling. And when each of them only has 9 stitches on it, one quarter of the circumference of a baby sock, I can work one needle's worth while I'm waiting for the next form to load on my prime contractor's website. Or while the mail is downloading, Or while Paint Shop Pro, the program I use to process the photographs, is loading. Any excuse will work. I have the cuff finished on a sock of handpainted Wildfoote, dark blue and green and brown. The effect is not striped, but a very subtle mixture of the three colors, almost like a muted tweed.

As most craftspeople do, I'm beginning to acquire better quality tools and materials. Years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of buying a set of bamboo needles from a specialty shop, when cheap aluminum ones could be purchased from the nearest five and dime—nor would I have bought premium priced handspun, handpainted wool for baby socks. What I've realized is that the act of creation is at least as pleasurable as seeing the item in use, and that it's a lot more fun to work with good tools and good materials than cheap ones. This is a cheap hobby anyway, compared to what my woodworking tools cost, or what some people spend on other kinds of activities. And what you're finished, there is a beautiful functional item to cherish for yourself or give away to some deserving grandchild.

Here's one of the first socks I made for baby Isaac, before he actually made his appearance, but after we knew a boy was expected. It's made of Reggia fingering weight sock yarn, and in this size item, worked itself into neat little stripes. The pattern is called "Little Speckled Toes" (the example sock was worked in a slubbed yarn that resulted in specks of tweedy color on a solid background, but I like the stripes better).

And yes, it's a fat little sock. Newborns have fat little feet. The socks I'm making for the older Isaac will look more like traditional socks, though they will still be short in the foot compared to the cuff size.

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RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email to liz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002