Yarning"....

"Mommy are you 'yarning" again?"

" Did you 'yarn" that?"...

Mary Beth calls knitting or crocheting, "yarning." And I did quite a bit of yarning over the holiday vacation. I still need to take some pictures.... though much of it is gone in gifts.

I made 10 hats...three of them cute baby hats with ears... at least 5 scarves, one poncho type thing, lots of coffee cozies....

Fun fun. I found a new yarn store in Rocklin, compliments of dear Rebecca...and bought some lovelies there!

And I found a new website I love, blog actually, from a fellow "yarner": http://a-friend-to-knit-with.blogspot.com/

I love both knitting and crocheting, and on my poncho, used both in the same item. Crocheting is quicker, but to me knitting is more soothing...and well, yummy. I was thinking how funny that I am moving to technology on my scrapbooking, going digital, and then loving knitting, which is quite the opposite. Both creative though, just different.

On Leslie's blog (A friend to knit with)..she had this questionaire about knitting..and I just wanted to answer it.

::how does knitting make you feel?

Relaxed. Connected, somehow, soothing, most of the time, and focused. I start knitting and don't want to stop. (Many 1 am and 2 am nights during the holiday break.) I feel connected to generations past and women around the world who choose to knit. Creative, too. It is soul food.

::is it the start of a project - the execution- or the completed item?

All three are appealing, although I think the execution and progress is the most soul-satisfying. The start is excitement, how will it be, can I do it, will it turn out... the end is either joy, I did it, or ah oh, oh well, that did not turn out as I thought! :)

::do most women/men like to knit in groups? or alone?

I knit alone, because most folks I know, do not knit. But I love to knit together, if someone else wants to..and just chat. I feel unconfident of my skills, and slightly embarassed, so I don't think of knitting with the groups I see at the yarn store, or a knitting guild...I am too intimidated. My friend Rebecca is fun to knit with, because she is a beginner like me and thinks I am good! lol.

::do most women/men learn from a mother/grandmother, or learn on their own?

I learned on my own. From a book. I remember, though, learning some knitting as a child in girl scouts, but I had to re-learn, when I picked it up again recently.

::what are the easiest items to begin with?

A scarf.....although, when I picked up crocheting again, I started with four funky hats. My kids loved them. But knitting, I started with a scarf.

::do you knit all year round, or just when it is cold out?

Well, I just started a couple months ago, a fall thing. But I am hoping to knit during the summer too, it will be odd to see if I do...Maybe start early on the Christmas present thing.

::do you always knit from a pattern or do you tend to make your own up?

Both... Scarves, I do on my own, hats, both, I start with a pattern and modify it. I have yet to do my first sweater, and I have a pattern, so we will see how that goes.

::how long does it take you to knit a pair of socks? a sweater? a scarf?

I have yet to do a sweater or socks...haven't figured out the circular needle yet, or multiple needles....but a scarf to knit, in about two days....

::do you think it is expensive?

I am not sure. Since the yummy yarn I like, seems to be the pricier stuff, it probably is....but I do it anyway. Hey, if I can spend 3.80 a day on a latte, and I buy some yarn!

::what has to do with the resurgence?

I am always the last to know about things...is there a resurgence??!! Just like the cupcakes. I have been getting so into cupcakes lately, and then someone told me it is the new "in" thing, cupcakes. So, maybe my draw to "yarning" is some collective push toward...something not fast, non-tech, handmade....

::who is the coolest knitter you know? Well, here is a picture of Ingrid Bergman knitting. That is pretty cool, huh?