:-)

My blog mojo is back!

Much to my surprise, Adrienne Martini, the author of my new favorite book, Sweater Quest, responded to the last Knitwits blog post. She commented, " I can't wait to see how your own "Quests" progress..." She also sent me a message on Facebook. If I had read Sweater Quest on a Kindle or iPad, I would really feel technologically with it.

Blog, Facebook, Kindle and iStuff-phone,pad,pod and tunes?
Ten years ago, these words and concepts would be too confusing for my techno-challenged brain to grasp. Yet today, they are readily available and I'm keeping up with IT. What's next?

With all of these technology advancements at our fingertips, why do we continue to practice the ancient art of hand knitting? According to Adrienne, it is these very resources that have saved knitting by connecting knitters to other knitters and the wealth of information that they are willing and able to share.

We can have internet "friends" (like Adrienne) that we may not have met yet but share conversation, common interests and connections. We know their vitals-marriage status, hometown, interests, favorite songs, blah,blah,blah and we can follow their lives and current knitting activities 24/7 through blogs, Facebook and Ravelry.

We continue to knit because we enjoy the pleasure of creating something with our very own hands and a few simple supplies. We enjoy transforming strands of yarn into something tangible and totally different and we enjoy sharing our creations with others that can appreciate the effort. Like Adrienne, we enjoy the process.

Technology has opened many doors to the knitting world and transformed knitting from a solitary activity to a collective one. We now use knitting terms like Tink, Frog, Clapotis and Mr. Greenjeans in our everyday knitspeak. The endless possibilities of yarns, patterns and ideas that are shared on Ravelry cause my head to spin and wish my hands could knit faster.

My treasured MacBook and the internet may connect me to the world of knitting, but there is a deeper, more meaningful bond that occurs within the walls of your local yarn shop. While technology has made knitting exciting, there is no substitute for a LYS --they nourish the knitter's soul. LYS is knitter-shorthand for local yarn shop or local yarn store. It's good karma to support local businesses.

In the age of the Internet, it's difficult for your LYS to make a compete on price and selection, so when you're planning a project and don't have a particular yarn in mind, check your LYS. The sensory experience alone is well worth it. There is something special about touching, feeling and smelling the yarn. Seeing shelves full of endless possibilities of color, texture and fibers and rooms overflowing with knickknacks, notions, samples--now that's exciting. The feeling of "Being a kid in a candy store" can not be recreated while on the computer.

Another big thing that local yarn shops offer that isn't as easy to provide on the Internet is a sense of community. LYSes connect knitters and the community by participating in charity events and doing all the teaching, helping and handholding that many knitters require.

While the internet is full of possibility and potential, Knitwits is a live community. The experience is sensory and personal. There is no substitute. I love my Ravelry, Google and Facebook "friends" but Knitwits is true love! As Sue says, "There is nothing better that being able to give a friend a true hug. :-) is great, but we love to see real smiles and feel real hugs."