Knitting Socks or Learning to live with Addiction

The Purple Stocking by James Jebusa Shannon

"There may be a metaphor in creating something for the feet that in turn inspires all kinds of mind wanderings, or it may be that the Zen 'beginner's mind' works perfectly with socks so that I am just there, observing and seeing what occurs. For every time I do knit socks, some new pattern of thought emerges."

~ Jane Brocket, The Gentle Art of Domesticity 2007

As a knitter, I had never quite been able to grasp the attraction of knitting socks. There are knitters on the internet who devote entire blogs just to the knitting of socks. For the life of me I just couldn't justify all that work, and expense, (most sock yarn is $15 a skein which equals one pair) when you could just go out and buy them in bulk. And four needles? All tiny, and double pointed, and no matter how I tried I couldn't seem to get the hang of using them, and what about this fifth needle that came in the pack, what was it for? Loss prevention? Lacy socks, cabled socks, socks with incredible designs. Why? I figured they were all nuts and swore I'd never do it. I resolutely refused to give in to the lunacy that was sock knitting.

And then a good friend wanted help with her knitting. I helped her get back on track, and she was soon able to complete several stagnating projects and some new ones as well. But, I kept avoiding that pair of half finished socks languishing in her basket. More than anything, she really wanted to knit socks. It came down to a choice of upholding my principals and the all-mighty dollar. She was eager to learn to knit, and I had the ability to teach. Avarice won out. On the sly I began to examine socks and sock patterns. I shyly asked for help from one of those "crazy sock knitters." I was welcomed with open arms into the fold. With the click of a mouse button I purchased and downloaded a highly recommended beginners sock pattern and my first ball of sock yarn.

Sweet Tart Socks, Lana Grossa Meilenweit Fantasy #4833, US size 0 dpn

As I cast on that fateful first sock I kept telling myself I would not succumb. I was doing this for educational purposes only. Turns out that's like saying you only use alcohol medicinally. Half way through that first sock I had to admit it was rather fun. Turning the heel was downright euphoric. After picking up and knitting the gusset I was hooked. The second sock and then the second pair were cast on without a second thought.

Juicy Citrus Socks, Trekking XXL #158, US size 0 dpn









Elliot loves them too

My complete fall from grace came when I uncovered the dirty little secret of the sock knitting world. Self-patterning yarns. Those socks of intricate designs and multitudes of color I'd been admiring were fake. They were not painstakingly knit in a minute fair isle design, the yarn did it all by itself! Color after luscious color rolls off the ball as you knit. Every row brings new designs; new color combinations. What rapture. What wild abandon. I couldn't stop. Just one more row. Just one more color. What entrancing design will happen next? I've never been a knitter so attached to my work that I carry it with me. Now I carried it everywhere. I couldn't bare to be separated from it. Those four little needles became natural appendages. All my other knitting had been cast aside in favor of socks.

The Frozen North socks, Opal "Berries" #195, US size 0 dpn

The hypnotic rhythm of that endless spiral round and round. Complete peace and relaxation of the mind. Is this ZEN? The mind travels to exotic lands where the air smells of spices, or a damp sandy beach where rollers break at my feet. Sock knitting also allows me to indulge in my favorite hobby, watching films. It also keeps me from eating, because I can't let go of the needles long enough to put anything in my mouth.

Balls of sock yarn began to arrive in the mail and my knitting basket began to bulge alarmingly. Trekking XXL, Meleinweit Fantasy, Kaffe Fasset, Socks That Rock, Opal, Lana Grossa. Brown paper wrappers covered in German. I ordered yarn from the UK and even France. The family was beginning to ask questions. I started stashing the boxes of yarn and opening them in secret.

the sock stash

"Sock yarn may be the knitter's version of methadone. It's what you buy when you don't really want to buy a lot of yarn, or when you just need to take the edge off. It's dangerous, easy, and comes in irresistible self-patterning varieties that make you feel clever."-Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Knitting Rules, 2006


I reluctantly began to admit to myself that I had a problem. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. I had become what I had once abhorred. A SOCK KNITTER. The real problem was, I didn't want a cure, I didn't want to stop. So, like any junkie, I did exactly what my dealer had done for me. I hooked another innocent.

I drew Beth in with my tantalizing descriptions of the thrill of heel turning. The orgasmic rush as the colors ran through your fingers and twisted themselves into kaleidoscopes of color before your eyes. As bait I bought her first pair of sock needles and a ball of yarn. I gently lay the Doctors Without Borders sock yarn from The Unique Sheep in her lap, and then I set the hook. "Fifty percent of your purchase goes to Doctors Without Borders", I mewed innocently. I used her free trade tree hugging environmental activism against her. Elisabeth received gift cards for yarn as birthday gifts (my suggestion, of course) She spent every dime on sock yarn.


Beth's Frank Miller socks, The Unique Sheep Verve-Doctors Without Borders, US size 1 dpn



Beth's Greek Socks in progress















Yesterday, Elisabeth showed me the new sock yarn that had just come in at One Planet Yarn..."it comes from a small family run farm, lovely happy sheep, everything is organic...don't the colors look just like hibiscus flowers?"

Knitting socks is like crack cocaine. One hit and your hooked.

On the needles: Bird Nest socks (the yarn reminds me of pale blue eggs and twiggy nests), Trekking XXL #82, US size 0 dpn

"Socks are a miracle of engineering. When you knit a sock, you're doing it the same way it has always been done. You're connected with knitters over the last 700 years, all making socks and watching them wear out."

-Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Knitting Rules 2006

-Tigerlily

Peace Weavers

Beth and I were on our own one night last week, and having watched Eastern Promises found ourselves in a Viggo Mortenson aka Nicolai cold, brooding, Russian mood. Since we're short on Viggo movies, and it was cold and snowy outside, Dr. Zhivago seemed like an appropriate substitute. With blankets to fend off the harsh Russian winter, we curled up with our knitting and steaming cups of tea to sniffle once more at the romance of Yuri and Lara. I'd been saving a recipe for Cranberry Pavlova for just the right time and what is more Russian than Pavlova? Ok, the dessert comes from Australia but it was named after a Russian ballerina. The perfect choice for a night spent in Varykino. The crimson tide of juice and cranberries ran down the sides and into the crevices of the meringue like the folds of the Russian flag. The meringue lasted just long enough for Sarah to make it home from work for her share and then dissolved like cotton candy.

Ever since she wrote her senior thesis on the role of women in Anglo-Saxon literature, Elisabeth has been calling me a peace-weaver. In Anglo-Saxon, "fri'webba" means peace-weaver. The term was used to describe a woman who married someone from an enemy tribe in order to establish peace between her family and his. The marriage was a political arrangement to hopefully end hostility between warring tribes. Some historians think peace weaving was one of a woman's most important roles, and that men consulted them about preventing war. Women were the weavers of all the fabrics used for clothing and furnishings, and word weavers, the diplomats responsible for weaving the fabric of society. They used words and gifts and acts of kindness to weave peace. I like that very much.



Our little house of peace weavers has been very busy weaving its own kind of peace. Our free trade baskets (got them at Sunflower Market) are full of yarn and overflowing all over the family room. The end tables hold pattern sheets, pencils, scissors, post its for counting and coasters of tea cups. Needles of every shape and size are rolling loose, stabbed into balls or stuck in couch cushions. Baby booties, scarves, tea cozies, socks and shawls grow from our knitting needles each evening while we three peace weaving women watch movies and weave away the winter evenings.


A friend of Elisabeth's recently had a baby girl. Her Daddy is a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so what could be a more appropriate gift than Hobbit feet? Knit from an obnoxious peach pink for skin color and topped with long brown hair, these proudfoot booties can't help but make you laugh.



Hobbits are alive and well and living in America.

The Shoalwater shawl is finished at last and spends most evenings hugging my shoulders and keeping out the chill.





The undulating pattern of waving scallops imitate the soft ripples of water. It was knitted with sea wool from Fleece Artist in the Capri colorway. Sea wool is actually a combination of wool and sea cell, a fiber made from sea weed.

With all the peace weaving going on, politics naturally come up in the discussions. Health care, the environment, and the war in Iraq loom large. We need a change but who to choose? The front runners are no choice at all in either party. Too many carefully chosen words, no real answers, and they all sound the same. We became intrigued with Dennis Kucinich. If you haven't heard of him, it isn't surprising. We found him through Viggo Mortenson's web site, Perceval Press, http://www.percevalpress.com. If you've never been there, you owe it to yourself to visit. Artists, poets, photographers, current events, its all here in a softly focused, quietly powerful site.

You can find out about Dennis Kucinich on your own without my help. The part of this story that really bothers me, is that he was banned from the televised debates. First ABC, then MSNBC followed suit. Even after a Nevada judge said Kucinich should be allowed to debate, the network insisted on taking the matter to the supreme court. Since the man has little chance of making it onto the ballot, let alone becoming president of the United States, why go so far to quiet his voice? Unless that voice is one you fear being heard by the American public. Just as the newspapers print only what they want me to read, the networks televise only what they want me to see and hear. It is my right as an American citizen to choose, not the media. The networks say the smaller candidates don't have the numbers. They can't get the numbers if they can't be heard.

This kind of behavior is a blow to democracy. I urge you to write to NBC (letters@nbc.com) and MSNBC (letters@msnbc) and voice your displeasure. Leave comments on the New York Times article. Don't do it in support of Dennis Kucinich--do it in support of free and unbiased press and an open election.

In Truth there is no News, in News there is no Truth

Please take a moment to visit Knitters Without Borders. You will find the link at the upper left corner of my main blog page. Donations go to Doctors Without Borders. If you can buy yarn to knit, you can donate. I also highly recommend Heifer International, http://www.heifer.org.

A few dollars buys chickens, plants trees or you can buy a knitting basket which represents 2 llamas or 2 sheep. From shearing to spinning, weaving and finally selling woolen goods at market, the gift of a Knitting Basket will help entire families and entire communities break free of poverty.

Peace Weaving indeed.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

-Tigerlily