Life as Geek

There is a technique, passed down through generations, which has provided for mankind’s survival since ancient times. Long ago, exclusive male-only guilds toiled for years as apprentices to master this art alongside the like of blacksmiths and carpenters, for this skill was used to serve all from the lowest peasant to the highest king. Amazingly, only the very basic sets of implements were required, consisting mostly of sharpened sticks in various sizes. Even today there is much demand for its products, and the most popular stories we tell often include its artisans – giants of men toiling in difficult conditions, for example, or underground efforts to free slaves.

Yet this incredible talent is under attack. Its very tools are banned from air travel, and men daring to learn it often do so in secret – knowing that they will be met with derision and scorn by the very people who benefit from the craft every day. Yet they must continue to work – for if it were to vanish, lives may very well be lost. It has won wars, but the masses ignorantly mock its name.

We call it “knitting”.

And though the above is a little over the top dramatically, it is all true.

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Knitting is one of those social hobbies that most people don’t learn from a book when they’re first starting out. Usually what happens is you see someone else knitting and think “Huh. I wonder if I could do that – it looks kinda fun.” And you either go ask that person to show you a little of what they’re doing or attend some kind of official event and have someone teach you there later.

I knit in public fairly often, so this happens to me a lot. I’ll talk with the person about how anyone can knit and no, it’s not as complicated as you can fool people it is, and hopefully when they leave they head straight to a yarn shop. ::grin:: Sometimes a person even has time to sit down and go through a few stitches with me. But what happens then? How do you actually get started? Here’s a few things to keep in mind when picking out your first project or guiding someone else choosing one. » Read the rest of this entry «

I haven’t updated my knitting progress in a while…mostly because I hadn’t made much. I’ve been working like crazy and also buying a house…which means I’m stressed out and should be knitting even more, right? » Read the rest of this entry «