Online Knitter of the Year

It’s lovely to be able to sit down at lunch time with a new magazine to look forward to reading, isn’t it?

I was particularly looking forward to reading this magazine, and now I can tell you why!  For a couple of weeks now, I’ve had secret.  It’s been a very nice secret, the sort that fizzes up from time to time like bubbles in champagne and makes you smile when you remember, but it’s been a secret nonetheless and I’ve not been able to tell anybody.  And when you’ve got such a nice thing to share, that’s very difficult!

You see, this secret is all about you too.  Yes, you!  The ones who have read my posts, commented, asked questions and knitted socks.  And for that, I am immensely grateful, and that’s why what I’m about to write next is extra-special because it’s shared.

There was a competition in this magazine.  Knit Now were looking for Knitters of the Year. There were four categories – Designer of the Year, Charity Knitter of the Year, Online Knitter of the Year and an Open Category.  You can see where this is going, can’t you?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful, I thought, if they published a list of people who entered?  It wouldn’t matter whether I won or not, it might just let someone else know about the Sockalong, point them in the direction of short (or long) circulars and the joy of letting your mind disengage as you rhythmically knitted round and round.  I thought hard about how to describe my blog in just 100 words and sent off my entry email.

And this is where the fabulous, fizzy secret comes in.  I won!  (We won!)  I am one of five Knit Now Online Knitters of the Year, and now everyone who reads the magazine will know about the Sockalong!  I’d like to say thank you to you all, for reading my blog and keeping in touch through the comments, and for making it a blog worthy of an award.

Not only that, part of my prize is a trip to the Sirdar mill in Yorkshire (I’ll see where the Heart & Sole sock yarn comes from – I’m very much looking forward to that) and I’ll be able to tell you all about it.  You can come with me as I get to see the yarn from sheep to socks – I’ll be taking plenty of photos!

There’s also going to be a photo-shoot with Knit Now which I’m rather nervous about but it will be fascinating to see how it all works and what goes into the professional photos that we see in the magazines.  I might even get my socks professionally photographed which will feel very grand!

And that magazine with my lunchtime sandwich?  I get to read it for a whole year as I’ve also won a subscription and that will be great.  It’ll certainly make me sit down for a while as it’s good read, packed not just with patterns but interesting articles that keep me connected to what’s going on in the yarn world.

I’m very pleased and proud to have won.  I love to imagine how many new pairs of socks there might be in the world, and hopefully now there will be even more pairs!