I've been a fan of "Jeopardy!" almost my whole life, and I cheer people on for the most arbitrary of reasons. They might be from my state, or in my former profession or just a cool profession (for some reason, I seem to cheer for librarians a lot).

Yesterday's champ won my affection during the interview portion, during which she explained to Alex that knitting is a "gateway drug" into other crafts. I thought she'd say that since she started knitting she'd picked up spinning and dyeing, since that seems to be the natural progression, but for her, knitting led to crochet, sewing and pinata making.

As for me, I can't quite remember where I started in crafting, but knitting is a good place to start if you're new to crafting because there are so few techniques required to get started knitting.

I think it's definitely true that crafting begets crafting, and it's hard to stop with just one craft. If you're looking to use knitting as a gateway to exploring other crafty worlds, might I suggest trying jewelry making, candle and soap making, cross-stitch, quilting, rubber stamping or scrapbooking? Or check out the hobbies channel for more great pastimes to try.

I'd also like to know if you consider knitting a "gateway drug" into other crafts, or if it was your experience with another craft that got you interested in knitting. Answer the poll above and share your story about how and why you learned to knit.

Baby gown, from a Knitty pattern with embellishment from Picture Perfect Knits. Photo (c) Sarah E. White.

I've been doing a Wordless Wednesday post for a long time now, but I've gotten a little bored with that format, so I thought I'd change it to a "What's on my needles Wednesday" instead. This will give you a look into what I knit when I'm not cooking up free knitting patterns for you, as well as sometimes offering a sneak peak at patterns to come.

This week I'm using this space to be accountable to finish a project. This baby gown or sleep sack is the Zodiac pattern from the summer 2007 edition of Knitty. I finished knitting the sack itself and started on the duplicate stitching before my little one was born.

Now she's 12 weeks old and it still looks like this, with half a maple leaf motif from the book Picture Perfect Knits. I'm not sure it will still fit her as a gown with a zipper across the bottom as intended, but it will probably still work as a dress-like sleeper if all else fails.

Now that I've picked this back up, I hope to have it really finished by the end of the week, if not sooner.

So, what's on your needles this week? Any projects you really need to get finished?

This week is all about Christmas stockings, and while I know not everyone celebrates that holiday, I'm interested in knowing who out there has knit Christmas stockings.

The knit stocking is a big tradition in my family. All of the aunts, uncles and cousins on my mom's side -- that's 16 people in all -- had knit stockings my grandmother made. My mom is continuing the tradition by knitting stockings for my cousin's kids and now for her first grandbaby (hi, mom!).

If your family has a similar tradition, I'd love to hear about it. Or if you're starting a tradition of knit stockings for your family, we'd love to hear about that, too.

A Christmas stocking doesn't get much quicker or easier than this basic Two-color Stocking, which you can work in any two colors of bulky yarn that you like.

Because it's such a simple design -- almost all Stockinette Stitch worked in the round -- it's really quick to knit and easy and fun to embellish. Sew on some buttons, do some duplicate stitch to add a design, throw on a bit of embroidery, or forgo the simple two-color pattern and bust your stash by working in stripes.

This small stocking is perfect for little gifts or little kids and you still have time to whip up several before they're needed this year.