Best Friends Forever and Socks

The kids use the term BFF for Best Friends Forever, as if they invented the term. Every generation has best friends of course, and some of us do get lucky and have a few Best Friends Forever. My friend Marsha and I met when we were 10. Fifty-two years later, we're still good friends. Here's a picture of us taken this summer.

I finished my tabi socks in September. The first person I had to show the new socks was Marsha. She asked me to make her some socks. We had a great afternoon selecting yarn. She found so many colors that she loved, I can see I'm going to have to teach her to knit so she can have all the socks she wants. Now won't that just hurt us to have to get together regularly for lessons?

I love KansasKnits!

Just short of a year ago, I started a chat group for Kansans and Kansans-at-heart who knit and crochet. I called it KansasKnits. I was afraid no one would join us, but we have about 30 members now.
I've only met a handful of the KansasKnitters in person, but I feel like they are all my good friends. Carmen lives in Kansas City. She loves cats and knitting and enjoys spoiling her niece, but is happy to see the little charmer go back to Mama when the visits over. Oh, do I relate to that one! I do love my grandkids, but I enjoy the quiet when they go home, too.
Johanna recently graduated from K-State and has taken a job in KC. She and Carmen and Cheryl and some of the other KansasKnitters in the area get together at one of the local yarn stores and have knit-nights. What fun! Johanna is the source of our 2007 Sock Challenge. She's Challenged us all to make a pair of socks a month for the year. I may not make my quota, but I'm taking on socks, something I've never been brave enough to try before. Good for you, Johanna!
Bonnie raises alpacas outside Ottawa. Pat and I had a great time visiting her before Christmas. I couldn't make up my mind which yarn I wanted. Pat had fun watching the alpacas and llamas romping outside the barn. I found a kindred spirit in the Great Pyrennes sheepdog dozing in a sunbeam.
Sherry and Cathy V. have knitting groups in their libraries. I want to visit them on knitting days.
Some of the KansasKnitters have been recruited from gals I work with. Cheryl, Lisa, Kathy R., and Katy have all shared patterns and ideas on breaks. Jennie and Becky are family. They get an intense dose of knitting when they are near me.
Some of our knitters are far away -- Elisabeth lives in New Jersey. I've had fun reading one of the mysteries she wrote. Kathy S. lives in Wisconsin and Kathy R. is in Texas. We had a member from the West Coast for a while, but I haven't heard from her lately. I hope she's just lurking. Cheryl started chatting with us when she lived in California. She found our group just before she moved to KC.
Others range across the state. Kathy G. just joined us from the Wichita area. AJ is in Manhattan. Many of us cluster on the eastern side of the state.
The thing we all have in common is a love of knitting and the joy of talking about it. We share problems; ask advice; share the joy of finishing a project and tell each other about good books and great patterns.
It's a wonderful group. Boy, I'm glad I was frustrated when I couldn't find a Kansas group and took the step to start one myself. This is a great bunch of knitters. My life is so much richer for knowing all of them.