Accio - yarn and needles!

I went up to MN for the Knit Out and Crochet Out at Mall of America. It was great fun - and I got a ton of free yarn and needles.

So "accio yarn and needles" and "accio patterns" from Patons, Lion Brand and others.

Lion Brand is coming out with a sock yarn! I'm so excited - it will be great if they do Harry Potter colors next year!

Voodoo Scarves

Anywho, I've been busy knitting away since meeting the Berwyn Knitting Guild (now the Berwyn Knitting and Crochet Guild).

I started doing some stash busting because I want new yarn, damn it!

This is a super easy design and though my husband thinks these scarves look like Swiffer pads, I actually think they're kind of cute. If I didn't have so many I wouldn't be donating them to charity.

That's right - I went to a Jaycee meeting. And found out about the winter gear drive. And decided I'd do some stash busting and knit some stuff to donate, plus get rid of some of my older creations that I don't necessarily want to keep around because I want the chance to design new stuff.

So here's the Voodoo Scarf pattern, without further ado:



Supplies:
US Size 50 knitting needles (aka "Speed Stix" or 25.00 mm needles)
6 skeins of Patons Voodoo

Directions:

Take three skeins of Patons Voodoo and holding as one, cast on five stitches.

Knit garter stitch until complete. A typical adult sized scarf will be about 2 skeins long, because they make these ones darn skinny. Good thing that they were at the Dollar Tree.

Socks. What's up with that?

I made a post over at craftster because lately it seems like socks are EVERYWHERE.

And yet, I just couldn't give a damn about them. I like the stitchwork, the lace, but it just doesn't seem worth the effort to me.

Legwarmers? Sure, people actually see those. Slippers? Great, and comfy! And knitable on needles and looms.

But socks? I just can't see the time and effort involved in doing something on size 1,2,3 needles with a lot of complication to them.

I do realize that they do work up fast for a lot of people. But it seems like I could just do a cute cloth, handkerchief, headband, amiguriumi, or something better with my time!

I have to say, this is what makes them sound a bit intriguing, but then my mind decides against them:

A post by iameannis at craftster in response:

"If you are at all an impatient knitter, socks are the greatest project.
If you are new to knitting, socks are a great way to master a bunch of techniques: increasing, decreasing, picking up stitches, customizing fit, using dpns, ribbing, cables, lace patterns, kitchner stitch. It's also fun to play around with how you knit them (two circs, magic loop, toe-up, top-down, etc.)
Socks are kind of like the knitter's Choose-Your-Own-Adventure pattern."

What got me was the:

"Socks are kind of like the knitter's Choose-Your-Own-Adventure pattern."

That's what I love about knitting - some simple items that you wear can be changed in an infinite number of ways. But why apply that theory only to socks? Why can't other items be just as quick and fun?

Socks. I just don't get it.