Instant Gratification Socks II: Progress Report 2

I took the GC to a birthday party at the local skating rink yesterday morning. Since I Don't Play Well With Others I brought my own amusements (IGSII) and sat off in a corner booth away from the other parents.

It wasn't long before I noticed an intelligent pair of eyes staring at me over the back of the booth. I invited the eyes to come sit with me. A young lady of about ten was attached to the eyes. She was quite taken with the socks I was knitting. Once she determined that I wasn't going to do her harm with my pointy sticks (probably something she heard from the other parents, I got weird looks from them) and that I was willing to answer questions, she settled in and asked away. After a time, peer pressure set in and she went off to skate, but I noticed she looked wistfully at my socks each time she rounded the rink.

Soon, another young lady of about twelve, this one with beautiful curly hair, sat down and asked me what I was concocting. I told her I was making socks. She eyed me suspiciously, edged away a bit on the seat and asked me, "For a human foot?" I kid you not, that's exactly what she said. I assured her that the sock would indeed fit a human foot. I demonstrated by putting it over her fingers like a mitten. Her eyes went from narrow with suspicion to wide with wonder. She smiled and showered me with a barrage of questions. She was clearly disappointed when I told her I would not be finished with the sock before we left. She wanted to see it on a "human foot."

During this time Intelligent Eyes returned and stayed, while several other party-goers dropped in for a look. I was getting evil stares from the knot of parents who clearly could not understand why the kids were more interested in an odd, anti-social woman with her old-fashioned craft than the lights and music of the rink or the table full of junk food and bags of party favors. To be honest, this surprised me too.

I wish I had brought along my knitting bag rather than just my sock project. I would have loved to have let those girls knit a few rows just to see what it was like. Who knows, perhaps I planted the seed for two new fiber artists. I hope so.

Here's what sparked so much interest: