Knitlist 1997 History

Best Quote I Heard All Day

The innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care...--Shakespeare

Dreaming of knitting? Nah! A long time ago, back in 1997, my first sock design was given to my friends on Knitlist's Christmas gift exchange.

Lately, I've been thinking about my online knitting beginning, when I was using AOL, like everyone did to get onto the internet. The Knitlist was an e-mail knitting group, with a pile of wonderful knitters. Back in 1997, pictures and graphics could not be added to your e-mail. So when I donated my sock design that I called Leaves of Grass, there was no picture of it. Everyone on Knitlist loved using the free patterns, although they had to trust the directions because there were no pictures of the designs. I put it up on Ravelry, when I redesigned it using Black Bunny Fibers Merino Silk sock yarn, owned by my friend Carol Sulcoski, who wasn't on the Knitlist, along with the rest of my current knitting friends, other than Chris Erickson. Chris became my good pal on Knit List.

Here's a picture of my first sock design, Leaves of Grass. It's free on Ravelry. If you want it, click HERE!

Now below is what I wrote on my first sock design directions. And at the bottom was The Knitting Curmudgeon AOL Member site that I designed...and that's the origin of The Knitting Curmudgeon. Obviously, that site doesn't exist anymore. But lots of my site readers showed up here when I began blogging as The Knitting Curmudgeon back in July 2002.

Date: Sun, 5 Oct 1997 14:03:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: MarRoberts@aol.com
To: Knit@bolis.com
Subject: KNIT: Leaves of Grass gift socks
Hi knittistes :-)
I figured it was time I contributed to the 1997 Knit List Christmas Gift
The color choice here directly influenced the sock design--it's a pale green
BW's Second Treasury produced the stitch pattern that I wanted--overlapping
I love a lacy eyelet stitch that looks a lot more complex than it actually
Marilyn in NJ

patterns, so I thought I'd donate my latest sock pattern. It's a light and
airy little anklet with a lacy double overlapping leaves instep panel. I used
Socka Cotton Color, 53% cotton, 32% wool and 15% "polyamide", which I've
always assumed to be the European way of saying "rayon."
with subtle aqua and purple flecks in it. I immediately thought of leaves
shimmering in the sunlight, and I would suggest using the same yarn for the
same results. Or, at least use a pleasing shade of green.
leaves with the stems outlined in yo's. And with an 8-round repeat, it was
quickly memorized and easily executed. I altered BW's pattern a bit so that
the original flat WS rows would work in the round and I adjusted the pattern
to fit into my 32-stitch instep requirement.
is. You need to do about 3 pattern repeats before you see the overlapping
leaves develop. But once you start, it's like eating peanuts. Have fun making
these socks--I'm giving a pair to my sister for Christmas, so maybe now
she'll shut up for once.
marroberts@aol.com
THE KNITTING CURMUDGEON: http:/members.aol.com/marroberts/index.html

Miss the Knitlist. If you were on it, leave me a comment here. On Facebook, I am a member of a knitting group.

So I'll be posting again this weekend. Back to writing constantly now. Take care, my Tonstant Weaders. Ain't a pissed-off curmudgeon much anymore. :-)