My Sister, The Knitter

Last June, I wrote this post about my lack of knitting abilities, and how my sister, The Warden, took right to it and was knitting away. (She's not really a warden in the literal sense; that's her blog handle.) My last sentence was, "Maybe she can make me some really swell socks for Christmas."

Well, she did! My mother and I each got a pair of the red-striped socks pictured above. Even in this not-so-chilly winter, I've worn them as often as possible. They're my favorite socks. And since The Warden knitted them from a supreme Alpaca/Merino blend wool, they're much softer and luxurious than the socks I'd knitted previously from your basic craft store wool yarn. 

She's continued to develop her skills and fanaticism, and now she's sharing her creations with the less fortunate. She recently knitted a dozen glorious hats to send to an orphanage in Kiev (read about in her blog post here). Not that such activity is anything new. The Warden has donated countless crocheted afghans to such charities as Project Linus. However, now that she's a knitting devotee, I seriously doubt whether she'll ever pick up a crochet hook again.

Am I jealous of The Warden? Hell, yeah. It's rare for me not to become at least basically proficient in a needle art. Even bobbin lacemaking, which turned out to be beyond me, yielded me a blue ribbon at the state fair for a yard of lace. There are several things I do well, such as tatting, that I tend to avoid, and several things I do well but neglect, such as rug hooking, needlepunch, and needle-turned applique. And there's quilt piecing, which I flat out won't do because of the potential for brain damage due to confusion and angst; no harm done there. But I was able to do just enough knitting to know I'd never be accomplished. Come to think of it, I once won a state fair blue ribbon for a length of knitted lace, but still--knitting is a struggle for me.

So, I bow to The Warden's ever-increasing skills in knitting. And if I get a luscious pair of socks out of it once in awhile, I can take my jaw-grinding jealousy in stride.

If you'd like to see more of The Warden's work, explore her posts at The Warden's Log, and also check out this page on the Roving Acres website. Roving Acres sells the gorgeous hand-dyed wool my sister has used in so many of her best projects, especially gifts.

Here's a photo of our mom, Lillian of Lillian's Cupboard, wearing the cowl The Warden knitted for her birthday last September: