Knitting is a Gateway Craft...

Just so you know. When it comes to Yarncrafting, knitting is totally a gateway craft. You start with some sticks and string. Learn the knit stitch. Then learn the purl stitch. Find out that with these two basic stitches and with various methods of manipulating them you can make anything from a basic garter stitch dishcloth or scarf to the most intricate and complex lace and cables. And once you start making these cool things, you realize you want to do more.

And it occurs to you that if you learn to crochet, you can put a simple edge on your stuff. Which leads to more complex edgings. And accents. Because crochet is awesome for things like flowers and other such items.

Then you decide that the colors you want just aren't quite there. But you have the picture in your head. So you start dyeing. It begins with kool-aid (doesn't it always?). And you get fun colors with some kinda cool scents. Then you move up to various other dyes and mordants to set them and playing with mixed fibers and such.

Then you decide that well, the color is right, but now that you're playing with the way different fibers react and work together, you want something that's just *so* with squishiness and twist. So you start spinning. And even that starts innocently enough... a little drop spindle and a bit of roving. Or silk hankies. Something small. And you like what you can do, but want to do more. So you get a spinning wheel. And now you can spin in project quantities...

And somewhere in there, some wool ends up in the wash, and gets fulled (aka felted). And you start thinking about doing it on purpose. And hey, you know what, a bunch of that roving can be needle felted to make more cool fun accessories...

And your friends realize that you're never without pointy sticks of some variety.

And your stash of fiber gets out of control...

And that's without going into adding embroidery to your knits... stitching over the knit item to fake intarsia... which makes you wonder why you ever put down that old embroidery hoop and aida cloth and dmc floss in the first place...

You're mixing your crafts now.

It's a dangerous obsession.

And it all started with a couple sticks, some string, and two little stitches... the knit and the purl.