#9? Is that right? I hope so.

I knit because I gave up smoking and I needed another addiction. No, really. Let me ‘splain:

Smoking is an addiction. Knitting is an addiction. I can only go so long without it before I crave it again.

Smoking has a unique and instant community. Knitting has a unique and instant community. After I quit smoking, I found myself missing that camraderie that came from smoking with other people while shivering huddled on the sidewalk in the middle of February. Now, I can share a similar camraderie, but one that involves sitting indoors in climate control, eating brownies and drinking beer. Overall, a pleasant shift (though I still kind of miss that miserable, smoky huddling).

Smoking makes you look cool. Knitting makes you look cool. Well, I think it does, at least. People get really excited when they find out you made the excellent socks you’re sporting.

The reason that I thought about this is that I bought some more sock yarn, ensuring the continued fungus-like growth of my stash (it happens overnight, in brilliant colors, and oozes between cracks in the shelf and drawer, seemingly with a life of its own, in a process that breaks down the fibrous makeup of my bank account). And it is this:

Glorious, glorious Lotus Aura yarn. It is coming in the mail as we speak. I have just now decided that I will knit the Knitty Baroque sock pattern using this yarn. It feels perfect for that.