Teeny tiny little needles...

When I first decided to start knitting in earnest, about 4 years ago, I went shopping at my local big chain craft store and picked out a set of big, fat, chunky, purple 10mm needles and a basket-full of fat-assed wool.
I went home and cast on some stitches and knitted this:

Without a pattern I might add! Go me.

I was inspired by a good friend of mine who was knitting some gorgeous chunky little jumpers and shrugs.
The thing that inspired me was her philosophy of allowing the yarn to guide her and develop garments purely from instinct.

When I become passionate about something, I'm like a thirsty sponge, itching to absorb as much information as I possibly can on that subject.
I did it with cooking in my 20's. I knew more about the craft of cooking than most of the chefs I worked with at the time.
I went berserk with quilting a few years back and mastered most techniques to do with hand-quilting and even exhibited some of my art quilts.
Now my obsession is knitting and I crave knowledge.
I spend more time swatching and experimenting and getting frustrated trying to chart out my own lace patterns, than I actually spend knitting items of use.
Things have changed a bit for me over those last few years.
I remember knitting my first pair of socks. Baby size in 8ply. Pretty quick knit! And I so thoroughly enjoyed the process that I knew I would return to sock knitting. But at the time I tried to cast on these (which were just a teeeeny little beyond my capabilities) And as I wrangled the tiny little 3mm needles, I vowed I would NEVER EVER work with needles smaller than 4mm again. I mean, why would I? It would take FOREVER to actually get anywhere. So any socks I planned to knit were destined to be big fat wooly bedsocks, right?

Somehow, my memory isn't quite clear on this one, but somehow I promised my six year old a pair of socks. So, off to the shop and I bought some 3mm dpns. Pretty coloured wooden ones. But they were too grabby for this yarn, and the gauge was a little loose, so to the shop again. This time I came home with some damn expensive addi bamboo dpns (One of which I snapped on the first sock!!)
What size you ask? Well 2.5 freaking millimeters! I mean, I could use these as chicken skewers!

But I knitted those damn socks. And then another pair, and another, and another...

and now? More socks. on teeny tiny 2mm needles.
I would never have thunk it.
not ever.