And Then?

I'm working on finishing my pair of red wool socks, and thinking about what to make next. I bought some (ok, a lot) of yarn the other day, and am very excited about it. I can't bring myself to start another sock, though, after having just made four.

I bought some blue gray - brown yarn to make Mike a hat out of, but he doesn't really like the yarn, and it's not hat season anyway. Eventually, he's going to get some bicylce helmet ear warmers (from Men Who Knit), but I don't have the right yarn now. Plus, it's not ear warmer season anyway.

Which got me thinking... why are there no good summer knits? I don't like short-sleeved sweaters, and I don't have enough yarn for a cardigan or anything useful. Just socks, scarves, and hats.

The answer I think, has to do with the harvest and winter. In the winter, you sit inside all day, eating canned vegetables from the root cellar and keeping the fire going. In the summer, there are crops to hoe and soe and tend. (And vegetables to can). So, knitting is a wintertime project, when you have free time and making wool into wearable objects makes sense.

I don't have a garden, or canned vegetables, or a fire to keep going, but I do have winter (sort of). And I definitely have summer. But I still have springtime knitting doldrums.

Plus, we're moving next week, and SS leaves in just a few days. It's very, very sad.