Why in the World Would You Knit Socks When You Can Buy Them at Wal-Mart?

I get that question on occasion as do other sock knitters. The person asking sends a very clear signal to a knitter. They don’t get it. Knitters are cool with that. We know that not everyone gets it. They don’t have to. It’s simply information. We now know that these are not people who will receive a pair of our handcrafted pieces of foot heaven. If you’re not a fan, you’re not even going to get to sit in the cheap seats.

I believe that people need balance to live a happy and healthy life - some work, some play, some family and friends, some quiet time, some new things, some old things and some connection to the world beyond yourself. Knitting – or any hobby for that matter – adds to the quality of our life by helping us learn new skills and allowing us to express our personal creative urges in ways that are healthy and productive. At least that’s what I tell myself every time I have to rip out a sweater close to completion because there’s a huge mistake in the pattern on Row 4. (That’s one of the things I like about knitting; you get as many do-over’s as you need to get it right.)

People have a lot of excuses for not learning new skills. We hear them all the time at yarn (the store). “I’m too busy”, “I have ADD”, “I’m so uncoordinated”, “My grandma tried to teach me once and gave up”, or (and this is my favorite) “I’m left-handed”. I find it interesting that it’s adults that have the excuses. Kids – who are used to learning new skills every day – jump in with enthusiasm and are usually smoking past the adults at the end of the first class. As grownups we forget that it takes time to learn a new skill and we let our Inner Critic keep us from trying before we even begin. We also forget that learning new things keeps our brains active and flexible. There is hope. Right here in the fair city of Hutchinson there are instructors who have a stellar track record of teaching all types of women and men to knit – even those who are left-handed AND have ADD. We’re not going to ask you to knit a 16 color afghan to cover a king-sized bed as your first project. Like anything in life, this is a process. We’ll start small with say, a scarf or a dishcloth and work our way up to those things that inspire you. For some of us, that includes socks.

We knitters are glad that there are merchants that provide foot coverings for the masses but we’re downright grateful for small local shops that provide the opportunity to learn and socialize while we create our own.

---

Didn't your momma teach you to share? Share us.

Users' Comments (0)

Comment an article   Name   E-mail  Notify me of follow-up comments Enter what you see:

No comment posted