308. Archeological and Mathematical Adventures in Knitting

All right, true confessions:  I had to do some tidying up in the office so that the poor cable guy would emerge alive (and it's working -- at least the desktop computer is -- I have to figure out the wireless later, when I have the time). This is a big house and we do not have an unlimited budget, so the cleaning help I am very lucky to have does not get into my office or my fiber room. I guess you know what that means for those two rooms, right?

CHAOS.

I unearthed a few treasures during that exercise.  Here is one of them:

Lord only knows how many years ago I started this pair of super-hefty house socks for David (three, it turns out -- thank goodness for the blog as a historical resource).  It was long enough ago that I had forgotten about them, but had not forgotten about the lovely, lovely, SUPERLICIOUSLY LOVELY, soft, warm yearling mohair/lambswool yarn.  Because, you see, I have a pair of socks that I made for myself out of the same yarn (you can read about them here) and I wear them all the time in the winter.  I am using the scraps of the yarn for my socks as color trim in his, since these were one-of-a-kind small skeins produced using all-natural dyes (cochineal and marigold, as I recall), and the vendor, local to me in Montgomery, Vermont, was not able to reproduce the colors, try as she might when I asked her for more yarn in the same colors. So natural gray it is, with the green and plum stripes. There was not enough of either the green nor the plum to make a whole pair of socks for me, hence the stripes and the color work, which turned out to be a nice effect after all.  And now I am literally using up every last scrap of the colors in these socks, to add the stripes to the gray. 

It appears that even when I was a newbie knitter, I had an eye for the spectacular yarn. This is super-expensive sock yarn... to the tune of $60 a pair.

I can hear the gasps of the non-knitters in the background. But it is unique and beautiful and worth it. Using the great wisdom of people like my friend Claudia, we measure the cost of the socks by the number of hours I spend at my hobby knitting them.  Say it takes me 12 or 16 or 20 hours to knit these socks (I don't keep track).  That's pretty reasonably priced, good, clean entertainment, no? 

It is not a simple equation that ends there.  You then take that sum and multiply it by a factor of [a lot] when you love the result you produced if it is for you, or [even more] when it is for someone else who appreciates the handknits. Then for each time you wear it or the recipient wears it, the cost of the yarn is reduced another order of magnitude, while at the same time the value of the finished item increases by double that order of magnitude. If you SEE the recipient wear it repeatedly, which is an expression of caring and love which is beyond measure and makes your heart swell to the point it hardly fits into your chest cavity, you have reached the point of infinity of value of the item, and the cost of the yarn is then pushed deep into the negative numbers.

There you have it:  The New Knit Math.

Right, then. Gone to cast on. Someone will have new socks for his birthday which, conveniently, is this month.

Comments

[Ruth]

Having complete sock AND yarn envy over here.

As someone who suffers from Terminal Curiosity (a.k.a. "Nosy Parkeritis"), I would be interested to know if your gauge has changed, three years down the road.

[Sarah]

I have never been able to describe that math so clearly.

[Kristen]

Woof. And I thought $30 worth of yarn for a pair of socks was pricey. I am but a mere amateur in your presence!

[Lisa McGuire]

Love the New Math, it works with me, (just not my pocketbook). Being a noobie to knitting it is taking me a while to get my head wrapped around spending $32.00 a skein and needing 4 skeins for the Clapotis I want to TRY to knit. Oy...but the math works! There is hope. :)

[Carole]

Hooray for working cable and internet! Love that sock, I bet you're really happy that you found it.

[Dave Daniels]

Hey, did you ever find Jimmy Hoffa in one of your yarn bins? He's been missing for an awfully long time now...

[gayle]

Love your math skills! Though I still cringe at some of the yarn prices, even factoring in the entertainment/dollar...
That's one of the reasons I love spinning, then knitting the handspun - even more entertainment/dollar.

[margene]

FINALLY! The socks are wonderful and it's time they had their day. You said you were having pain. The answer is LOTS OF BREAKS, good posture and stretching. You like to stretch so just do it!

[claudia]

This has turned into a knitting blog?!?!? Dude.

[Sandra]

I love the math - I've been using it for years, whenever someone is hsocked by the perceived cost of a pair of hand knit socks. If I'm going to knit them, I'm going touse the good stuff. It's my entertainment, so let me be entertained by what I want. And if someone else gets a pretty nice item at the end of it, well, lucky them. (and I choose my recipients carefully!)

[Jean]

They look cushy and cozy. THE reason I didn't delete my blog when I wasn't blogging much any more is because of the wealth of info in there of past projects and such. I've turned to it many times to jog my memory.

[marianne]

Knit Math... Exactly! (then there's the whole 'spinning to knitting math' I had to explain to Bobby... he gets it!)

[Roxie]

Yes! Love your math. And hooray for return of the internet.

[Angie]

Now I have permission for just about any sock yarn I want to buy! I love the new Knit Math. I especially love that sock, Norma.

[Joy]

Wonderful socks, and I *love* the math :)

[Sheila]

Speaking as a long time knitter and quilter, I know that math!

[Celia]

It's good to know somebody else has chaotic workrooms. And the New Knit Math? Perfection!

[Cheryl S.]

I'm gasping a bit myself! But I do understand the logic. And as long as the yarn is worth the money, then that's all that counts.

[marie in florida]

i've never thought of my yarn money as entertainment money, how wonderful.

[Stephie]

The New Knit Math...the best explanation I have read. Thanks!

[Imbrium]

Finally...math that makes perfect sense to me.

[misnomer]

Hey! You say how great the yarn is but no link where to get it. Share!

[Doris]

Thanks for the math explanation. I always understood it myself, but could not explain it with such clarity. I will be referring several people to the explanation. (Hey, and I love the sock and yarn, too)

[Birdsong]

Love your reasoning! I remember reading a book about fashion that had a cost per wear formula to help you justify a large outlay for something you will be wearing constantly and/or for years and your math is very similar.

[La Verna]

woohoo! I love finding treasures in my chaos.I see no problem spending that much on yarn for someone you love.

[Judi]

I love your math. I use the same kind of figuring - and now that I am spinning, I get double the value out of every purchase of fiber. I also think of it in terms of the energy bill. Remember the old saying that firewood warms you once in the cutting and once in the stove? Welllll, my most recent creation will warm me once in the spinning, once in the knitting, once in the enjoyment of the giving and once again in the pleasure of the recipient.

No energy crisis or financial crisis in MY life.

[sandy]

~BIG DRAMATIC SIGH~ I thought I commented this morning. Scheez.
David will love that sock. (Socks, hopefully). It's a great gift. How can you squeeze in time to knit a sock while knitting the sweaters??
xo

[--Deb]

Well, it sure looks like a gorgeous sock, and if it's as soft as it looks, well ... where's the harm?

[Julia in KW]

Your Math works for me - totally...love it!!!

[kmkat]

That is one beautiful sock. The key word being, of course, ONE.

[Kay]

Your logic is impeccable, your conclusion inescapable.

I was knitting something in Perfectly Good Yarn today. It was time-killing knitting on a charity blanket while volunteering at school with a Mom I Admire because she's a noted jewelry designer and even though I'm not a jewelry person I've always loved her stuff and she's very fun and cool. She starts quizzing me about the knitting, and all I could think the whole time was I WISH THIS WERE BETTER YARN. It wasn't horrible yarn, you know, but it wasn't yarn that made a sit-down-and-shut-up argument for The Art of Knitting.

I'm sure you understand.

[Cookie]

You forgot to factor in the practical side of keeping him warm while spending less on heating the house to keep him warm. ;^)

[Manise]

Love the socks and the New Knit Math!

[Seanna Lea]

I use this New Knit Math all the time. Usually when I am trying to price out sweater yarns (between what I can afford, but won't enjoy quite as much and what I will have to stretch for, but will enjoy the entire process with).

As long as it is cheaper per hour than going to a movie, I consider my hobby surprisingly thrifty!