I was knitting on my current sock this morning, and I held it up for Bob to see; I kind of thought he would like it, because it's red, white and blue, but he sort of rolled his eyes--he isn't a fan of my wild colored socks.

I said, "yeah, I know, but," and he interrupted me and said, "It's therapy, I know."

I know I've said before that I'm a "process" knitter, i.e., I'm not so much interested in the product as I am in the process. I love sitting down and turning yarn into something, but while I see sweater patterns that I think are lovely, I'm honest enough with myself by now to realize that I will very seldom stay interested long enough to knit one. I think I'm a hardcore sock knitter (at least right now).

And it's not even that I'm all that crazy about the socks themselves; if I was actually knitting socks that I truly wanted to wear, I would probably be knitting much less wild ones than I do now. I choose sock yarns based on what looks interesting to knit. I do wear them, and love them, but honestly, I could probably just put them in my drawer and never wear them, and I would get just as much enjoyment out of them.

Why I like knitting socks for myself

• Portable - can be stuck in my purse
• Easily memorizable pattern - can knit anywhere without a pattern
• Quickly finished, i.e., immediate gratification
• Interesting, fun colors
• Mindless parts (leg, foot)
• Challenging parts (heel)
• Don't have to think of anyone else's tastes or size
• Only need one ball of yarn (or at most, two) for a pair, i.e., don't have to worry about dye lots or running out
• Don't need a lot of equipment, only the yarn/sock and needles
• I'm proud of the fact that I learned to knit them, and feel proud of my accomplishment every time I finish one
• It's soothing--it both calms my mind and frees it up to think
• It gives my hands something to do while I'm watching television
• At the end, I have a sock!