Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Knit

This post was supposed to be finished last night when I got home from classes, but then my enthusiastic friends convinced me it would be more fun to trek to Art Hill in Forest park to go sledding. They were right. One of my friends, who is from California, had never been sledding before. She loved it. How could you not!? On the way there she asked "Oooh what's that big truck!?" The other two of us laughed and said "That's a snow plow." 

Anyway, I read in my Blogging for Dummies book that people like reading lists. So I have decided to give it a whirl.

10 Reasons to Knit

10.  It's practical. In the end, you get a beautiful, high-quality hand knit item to keep you 
       warm. Whether it be a scarf, sweater, or afghan, you can actually use your end results!!

9.    Gifts. Handmade items make fantastic gifts. Even if you make your significant other            the same scarf you made your dog, they're sure to say "Oh, that's so thoughtful of you!

8.   Charity. Similar to gifts, knitting is a fun way to give to charity. The possibilities are            endless. From baby hats to prayer shawls, from lap-ghans to animal bedding for dogs 
       or even birds! With knitting, you can have fun and give back to your community. Or              just be selfish, like me, and knit mostly for yourself.

7.   Cheap entertainment. Assuming you already have the equipment like needles and 
      stitch markers, and depending on which yarn you choose, you might spend roughly $10-
      $15 on yarn for a scarf. That scarf might take you about 10 hours to knit (guesstimating 
      here).  That's only $1/hour of entertainment! Try going to a movie for that cheap.                   Here's the best part: You don't even have to put real pants on or leave the house.

6.   Fun. Have I mentioned yet that knitting is a lot of fun? Watching a ball of yarn turn 
      into something that (sometimes only slightly) resembles a scarf is endlessly satisfying.         Sometime's you'll try a new technique and get so excited about it that you'll just 
      awkwardly stand up and jump around the room while your roommates uncomfortably 
      watch.  All this fun stems from creating something useful and (hopefully) beautiful. 

5.   Knitting is good for your brain and soul. I don't know what those science people
      say, but I firmly believe knitting makes you smarter and will prevent an aging brain. 
      It also involves concentration, persistence, and creativity. You definitely learn problem         solving and patience. And at the end you get adorable mittens.  Oh...that row looks 
      funny...what should I do with it? Well..I'll just kind of take this stitch and take it off the 
     needle... maybe no one will notice....OH CRAP. 

4.  You never waste time. Feel guilty binge watching the latest season of Pretty Little 
     Liars? First of all, don't. That's some quality TV right there. But if you do, knit! Torn 
     between doing the laundry and watching The Big Bang Theory? Well, I could get a few 
     rows done on that sock...so maybe I won't have to do the laundry...  Other places you            can knit: before class (professors think it's cool), in the waiting room, in the movie                theater, while you're listening to your friend on the phone drone on about that sensitive,      nerdy guy she's stalking at Barnes and Noble.  

3.  You get exactly what you want. No more settling for the machine-knit crap at Wal-        Mart. (Not Target, though. Target is the best.) There are hundreds of thousands of free 
     patterns online for scarves, sweaters, dresses, blankets, socks, stuffed animals, and 
     more. If you for some reason can't find a pattern you like, you put that college degree to 
     work and customize it or make your own pattern!  You can customize the patterns 
     further by picking out your own type of yarn and color. You can even go really crazy, buy 
     a few alpacas, and move to Maine and make your own yarn. Exactly how you like it.

2.  Ryan Gosling will marry you. OK, so I can't exactly promise this, but Ryan Gosling
     is just one of many celebrity knitters. The list includes Dakota Fanning, David Arquette, 
     Julia Roberts, and even Amanda Seyfried.

1.  The Knitting Community. I've never met a knitter I didn't like. I don't know if great 
     people are attracted to knitting, or the experience of knitting makes you a better person.      My guess is a little of both. Everyone in the knitting community is extremely supportive     of all your failed scarf attempts. They will to cheer you on when you master a new                 technique, and to help you when you make a mess of things. Even bad knitters are                 knitters. Once you learn to cast on, you join a huge, creative, loving, accepting, eccentric       family.

Well, that's my list! Add your own in the comments!!

Ruthie

Here's a pic of my sock so far..