Random Friday
Thanks for all the compliments on La Dolce Vita!
I'm hoping my SIL likes it as much as everyone here! I'll try to get some modeling pics once it's gifted so you can see it on a real body cause it sure is pretty and will look stunning with her olive-toned beauty!
Regarding my Veteran's Day post...I know lots of us have seen the familiar poppy boutonniere but I'm guessing many of us didn't know the origin of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance, me included.
The poem I posted In Flander's Fields, written by Canadian field doctor John McCrae during World War I is the inspiration for using poppies for remembering and honoring our veterans. He wrote it after presiding, in lieu of having no Chaplain, over the funeral of a close friend and comrade and was touched by the poppies growing amid the headstones in a small cemetery in Belgium. I think the poem is just as touching and important 93 years later...sadly.
Now for some less sobering randomness, look what I got in the mail.....
Anyone who's ever gotten an email from me knows my address is CherryRipeGirl@comcast.net. Altho many of the online losers are sure that has some deviant meaning, the origin of the name is simply that an ex-boyfriend who was an Aussie ex-pat from Perth gave it to me. Cherry Ripes are a very popular candy Down Under and it was his Aussie way of calling me his sweetie (awwww!)
Donna, knitter extraordinaire and owner of the cutest whisk broom lovin' bunny ever was sweet enough to think that I should taste my namesake and so she sent me a bag of Cherry Ripes straight from Oz!! So YUMMY!! And that purple-y black something else peeking from behind the candy is a really yummy, gorgeous skein of cashmere sock yarn from The Knittery in the colorway, Midnight! (no Beth, you can't have it!) Thank you so much Donna, both your gifts were totally wonderful!
Because I had a few requests I've added new pattern to my side bar - my
Extra Warm Kureyon Wristers in two sizes! Enjoy!
One last bit of random before I go, heh...
On Ravelry, I belong to the Sock Knitters Anonymous Group (as an aside, a very fun, active group with a cool Sockdown Challenge every month - come and join us!)
I posted this to the group and the subject still intrigues me so I'm posting it again here....
In one of the Ravelry forums there is thread titled "Not feeling the sock love?" or something to that affect...
It was a thread for people who don't knit socks and don't get sock knitting (Imagine that???? Hehe)
Some of the comments really surprised me tho -- many posters responded that they don't knit socks because "they don't wear socks" or they "don't wear handknit socks".
This indicated to me that unless the knitter is wearing the socks herself, she's not knitting them! This concept really surprised me cause here at Chez Fluffy, 90% of the socks I knit are for someone else. I would also say that at least 50% of the other items I knit are for someone else too.
So what do you all think, are most knitters "selfish"? ***
***I used the word selfish in quotes because I don't think knitting for one's self is a bad thing, it was just a surprising observation as a reason not to knit socks.
Lastly, a random pic of my favorite kitty man
Have a wonderful week, see you before Turkey Day!!
35 comments:
I,too, give away 90% of my knitted socks. I have a goodly supply of my own, but I love to knit socks and I love to give away my work. My Dearly Beloved will not wear hand knit socks because "the little bumps" (the purl side) bothers him. His mother calls him Princess.
I think I wind up keeping about a little under half of the knitted socks I make - some of that is due to knitting socks out of handspun yarn, though - I really, really, love handspun socks, so I've kept all of the pairs I've made so far. :) I'm going to try and rectify that this season, though. I'd like to spin up some yarn and knit 2 pairs of socks and then give them both away. I swear, I'm like the Handspun Sock Golem. :)
But I have absolutely no problem giving away other socks I've knit. I just like to make sure that they're going to someone who appreciates the effort gone into making them. There's no point in giving someone something that's a handknit item if they'd rather have a gift certificate from Old Navy, for instance. And I'm not saying the person who would rather have storebought over handknit clothes is a bad person, I would just like to really give people a gift that they really want and are going to use.
I'm a fairly new sock knitter.....just love making them! And all the gorgeous sock yarns.....and the variety of needles, and stitch markers, and all the glorious 'sockknittiana'.....I remember when it was grim grey wool and dpns and that was that.....and I LOVE colour.....and I just like the smallness and neatness and portability of a sock-in-progress.....just the whole process, everything about it.
so that's a wee bit about why I love to knit socks..... :)
and thank YOU for your Turkish toe-up, which quite made my day today: another new technique tried, on my new Knit Picks circs!
back again.....late at night here and I'm a bit tired: meant to say what a beeeaaaauuuuuutiful cat >^..^<
all the best from Scotland and three Scottish Persians and their Mamma :)
I am one knitting for myself mostly. Husband is kind of allergic to wool ... or more accurately, he got static shocks a lot when he wears wool, plus he only likes stocking stitch socks, or simple ribs, so knitting for him means boring. LOL! Many of my families are living far away, so knitting for them is actually quite a hassle ... so I knit mainly for myself. :)
I hate knitting socks, but, I make them now and again because I love wearing them. I just can't knit them fast enough. I very seldom give anything away because it seems to take me forever to get anything done. I need to get rid of this computer, it takes up my knitting time.
The P-man is adorable and really into that head scratch.
Sheri in GA
It's not been photo'd for the Ravelry stash but there might be some of that yarn in a slightly different colorway living here. No worries, your yarn is safe. :)
I always wondered where the CherryRipeGirl name came from.
I'm one of those who doesn't knit socks because I don't wear socks. I find it interesting that I've been asked by customers at Michaels (I teach there) to teach a sock knitting class. I know how to knit socks and so I taught the class. The sock we did was a toddler's size 2 sock. It was fun to do and I began to wonder if I'd like knitting regular socks. But I have no one to give them to and I don't wear them so what's the point.
On the "selfish" topic, I give away a lot of what I knit. Most of them are baby gifts to the new mothers at my church. My relatives don't want handknit gifts. Since they don't appreciate them, I figure why bother.
Charlotte
I make my socks mostly for me. My sister has three pair --- one because they didn't fit me and two pair because I didn't like them when I was done and she liked them. So they became hers.
I knit one pair for my best friend and I knit one pair on consignment. The rest are all mine!
Dishcloths I knit for everyone and anyone, but I have a lot for me too.
Clothing (if I ever knit some) will be for me. So, I guess I'm mostly selfish with periodic self-lessness.
P-man looks very happy with the head scritching.
The P-Man sure looks like he's enjoying the headscratch! What a cutie!
Hi Debi, What a darling Mr. P-Man he is. Mine like their heads scritched also but don't always get that darling expression. Miss Princess and Madame Cookie just stick their tongues out when they're very, very happy. That is a cutie thing too. Mr. Peach is working hard to perfect the Puss in Boots begging look from Shreck II and III. He's doing quite well at it too. Aren't they a joy, well, most of the time.
Auntie Ann and the Furherd in Dallas
I'm pretty new to knitting socks, so I have only been knitting them for myself. I have yet to convince anyone in my life that they might want to try wearing them too (which is a little hard after I complained about my first pair that I knitted up) LOL.
P-Man really looks like he's enjoying himself, hehe.
A lot of my knitting is selfish, although I do knit some gifts. I've given my mom at least 3-4 pairs of socks. She seems to really like them. My bf likes his okay, but he likes stockinette socks in black or a solid color and I get bored with solids, so he hasn't seen too much sock love. Although my stepsons likes the handknit socks I make and could care less about colors and he's 14. I use a lot of Opal and Regia printed yarn for him, because he's easy to please with his socks and he likes them short.
I've tried very hard to "get into" sock knitting but after making about 10 pair - the hub has 5 pair and I have 4 plus one that got felted (sigh) - I can honestly say that I'll make 'em, I have enough sock yarn for years, but I don't really enjoy them. It takes too long.
I end up gifting about 40% of my output - big projects though are for me, Me, ME!!!! I'm not spending weeks on something that may not be appreciated - point, period, end of discussion :)
I'm a pretty "selfish" knitter but I do knit socks and things for others occasionally. It's just that no one appreciates my handknits quite like I do. :-)
I'm not sure I've ever seen a cuter picture of the P-man! LOVE LOVE LOVE that face.
Socks. I have made one pair for my mom and one for my husband. Truth is that if I'm not going to get to wear them, I have little incentive to knit with such tiny yarn. So, yeah, for me socks are all about self-knitting. Come to think of it, I only knit for me 98% of the time.
I have gifted some of my socks but a good amount I keep for myself. I think I've gifted more socks in the past 6 months than I have in the entire time I've been knitting.
Lately I've knit so many that I'm thinking of taking a sock break. Plus I'm thinking my blog readers are starting to wonder if I can knit anything else. HAH!
Kisses to the P-Man!
I've never done the math, but counting CIC socks I'm guessing I give away about 75% of the socks I knit.
The first socks I ever knit were out of knitter curiosity to see if I could do it. They didn't fit very well but I could immediately tell I wanted more. Prior to that first pair I couldn't imagine why anyone would knit socks.
Most of the people who now beg me for socks didn't think they wanted the first pair, either. You just don't know until you give it a try.
I only knit for myself and occasionally my Mother. I always tell people I'm a selfish knitter. If they ask me to knit them something, I offer to teach them to knit! My knitting time is limited and I'm not spending it on someone else.
My knitting is usually 80-20, with the latter percentage falling to the "me" side - at least that's the plan. Never quite works out.
By the way, *love* the gifts from Oz and the blissed-out pic of Mr. P!
Dude! The P man is totally loving that scratch! :) Made me smile.
As for the "selfish" thing, I think maybe this "new wave" of knitters has learned by now that not all handknit gifts are appreciated, so perhaps they are sticking more to knitting for the one who will appreciate it the most, themselves! I generally stick to that myself, but there are a couple of people I know will love what I make for them and they are mostly immediate family. To each their own I guess.
Since John McCrae was from Montreal IN FLANDERS FIELDS was a poem that was very familiar to all of us when we were growing up. This spring I had the good fortune to visit Belgium and see the many tributes to the fallen soldiers from WWI. Overwhelming to see how many young men died in the conflict. So young and never found to be buried just a cross stating that he was killed "nearby". WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET!
Most of my knits are given away, but I'm trying to remedy that! Thanks a million for the mitt recipe, I wanted to make a pair for someone(s) special ;) P-Man looks like he's in Heaven getting loved like that, so I won't bother him ;)
You know...I started one comment. And deleted it. Turns out, I'm probably not selfish. But I thought I was. But I have lots of stuff OTN for others...Still, I've only knit one pair of socks for anyone else. I have another pair planned.
But till I really thought of it, I'd have said I WAS selfish...
lolololol
P-Man is in BLISS!
(((hugs)))
I must admit, I often wondered where that email address came from. I'm glad for the explanation. Hee.
I'm a selfish knitter. I rarely knit for other people. Mostly because I'm not confident enough in my skills to make sure that my garments will fit other people. I am starting to give away some of my shawls though. :)
What a fantastic picture of the Pman. Dont you wish that you could be as content as a happy cat?
Hmm interesting discussion - I know most of the socks for my hubby who greatly enjoys hand knitted boot socks. The rest go to friends and family with the occasional pair for me.
The P-man is really darling in that photo.
Okay, I hate to admit it, but it has become abundantly clear to me, while completing the project profiles on Ravelry, that I knit about 98% of my projects for myself.
I'm a slow knitter, particularly of socks. Socks are just the kind of thing that you can buy 10 in a bag at Target and therefore no one appreciates them fully until they are addicted and I knit too slowly to satisfy anyone else's addiction but my own.
I admit it, I'm a selfish knitter. I've knit a few items for other people, but mostly it's all for MEMEMEMEMEME!!! :o)
Love the kitty man pics! I too give my handmade socks away. Though I really do plan to make more for ME this year. :o) Heck I give most of what I make away, socks, blankets, fingerless mitts, you name it. BTW...made a pair of mitts using your pattern for my daughter! See here ~~> http://www.wickedstitchcraft.com/
Thanks for sharing the pattern!
I don't often knit for others. In most cases the would be recipients either would not take proper care of a hand knit item or would not understand the effort and time and love put into the object. The only exceptions to that rule are if somemone in my immediate family asks for something specific. But right now, they all take back seats to design work.
I have to apologise for assuming that you would have already tasted Cherry Ripes! Gotta look out for those Aussie fellows and their cute nicknames which tend to stick! I have one or two silly ones myself (which I will NOT reveal in a public forum such as this one!)
Anyway, any time you want more cherry ripes, just say the word! Why should Donna get to be the one who sends you stuff all the time?!
I have always wondered what the name meant, I never figured it was anything deviant, I just wondered, now I know.
PUmpkin you are too cute.
My Thanksgiving food coma is wearing off, and I'm catching up with blogs, so am coming late to this party, but I just have to chime in. Great question.
Overall, I think knitters are incredibly generous people. Whether we're giving a fellow blogger advice on eye of partridge heels (thanks!), or donating to (insert knitting endorsed charity here), or knitting (insert item here) for charity, or making a blankie for a friend's new baby, our concern for others is evident.
And most of the knitters I know personally knit predominantly for others, so I'd have to say that most knitters aren't "selfish."
For me, the knitting process is 100% a selfish act, but 90% of the things I make are given away. You know my beginner sock knitter travails, so I've yet to actually give away a pair of socks. But now that I've finally figured out sock construction, I understand why people like to make them so much. Still, they're fiddly and use a lot of math, so I can understand why people don't like to make them...you can make and gift anyone a scarf that will fit, but gifted socks might not fit, disappointing both maker and giftee. So it's tricky to some of us, sock knitting.
Hmm, now I have to go check out this thread... *being sucked into the Ravelry void once again*
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