Southern Girl Knits

 

Yes, I knit. Obsessively. I buy yarn. Compulsively. I make things with sticks and yarn.

If knitting conjures up images of heavy fisherman sweaters, cold winter days, and snow in your mind, you may wonder why a southern girl would knit.   Yes, it it rarely cold enough in the south to need a scarf, hat, gloves, and overcoat. But I did live in Northwest Indiana for almost 15 years. I experienced snow--a life time of snow! And it was in Valparaiso that my true passion for knitting began.

I learned to knit originally in my twenties, but went on to other needle crafts like counted cross stitch and needlepoint.  In my thirties, I tried to pick it back up again. Sadly, the carpal tunnel syndrome that I developed while pregnant with Dylan flared up. Numbness and pain kept me from knitting for any length of time. Eventually the carpal tunnel became so severe that I was forced to have it surgically repaired. One of the very first things I did after healing was to pick up my knitting needles again. I found local yarn store (Sheeps Clothing) and a great community of knitters to share tips, pattern, techniques, etc. with (Sandi Pettit, Mary Rybak, Lisa Sandberg to name a few). I have never looked back. 

Over time, I have accumulated quite a collection of knitting needles. Straights. Circulars. Double pointed needles.  Cable needles. Metal. Bamboo. Plastic. Needles that have lighted tips so I can knit in the dark. (No, I'm not kidding.) I bought my first interchangeable needle and cable this week. I'm in love. If you see Santa, please tell him I want a set! Specifically Knitter's Pride Dreamz Deluxe Set with needle sizes from 4 to 11 and 4 cables in 24", 30" and 40 inch lengths.

Knitter's Pride Dreamz Interchangeable Deluxe set

I also have quite a stash of yarn. It used to be in a bunch of different boxes in closets and under beds until I purchased a extremely large plastic storage bin. Seriously large, as in big enough to hide a dead body in. It's only half full, but I limit its contents to previously used yarns. The full skeins are in the two bottom drawers of my knitting cabinet. The picture below was used in an earlier blog on making a twisted yarn cord. This is my yarn cabinet.

 If you look to the left, you can see the large blue plastic bin that houses the rest of my yarn. 

Of course, I also have a large collection of knitting books, magazines, and printed patterns. My favorite knitting magazine is Knit Simple. I have subscribed for 4 years and have used their patterns many times. They are well designed, well written, and never so "fashion forward" that I can't follow the pattern. After years of hoarding patterns that I run across on the internet, I finally organized these  into nine binders and labeled them: blanket and afghan patterns, purse patterns, sock and slipper patterns, hat patterns, toy patterns, scarves, shrugs, and shawl patterns, children's patterns, adult garment patterns, and a miscellaneous binder with knitting tips and technique info.

 With all of these knitting supplies, I have more projects in the planning stages than I will ever accomplish. I usually have about 3 different projects on my needles at any one time.  Currently, I am working on a short sleeve lace bolero sweater for myself as part of an online knitting class. I'll model it for you when I finish it.



Recently, I finished knitting some baby booties for our next door neighbor who just had a baby. I want to do a quick hat for the little one too and give them to her as a set. And I also have a blanket that I am working on. It is made of small diagonally knitted squares of random colors of yarn. It is a stash buster project, designed to use up the leftover bits and pieces of skeins that were used for other projects. (Really, it's a way to whittle down my stash so I can buy more yarn.) 

And I usually give my finished projects away. I like doing for others. It's who I am.  Did I knit something for you? Let me know in a comment if you liked it or still use it.