Mad Sock Mania!

I seem to have been bitten with a mad, mad, MAD urge…to knit socks. I don’t even particularly need to knit socks that are patterned—I seem to be content just knitting plain old stockinette socks with a 1x1 ribbing at the top for grip, and perhaps another session with the Sweet Tomato Heel. I do confess I loved the fact that once I was done with the Sweet Tomato Heel, that was it—I was DONE. No picking up stitches and endlessly decreasing to get back to the original width of the sock.

I think my sock mania is related to the fact that I just LOVE the actual sock yarn itself. I love the colors—it is the only yarn where I don’t necessarily go for a particular brand…I tend to be drawn by the colorway. In fact, sometimes I can’t even remember the brand because I’ve tossed the ball band way inside the project bag, in my haste to cast on. I also love the fact that you can splurge on a $20 skein of sock yarn and that’s enough for an entire project, versus spending $150+ on wool for a sweater project. I usually can’t wear wool right next to my skin, but I don’t seem to have that issue with sock yarn. I’m not sure if it’s due to the nylon in the yarn or the fact that perhaps sock yarn is just made out of softer, less scratchy wool.

It may be the time of year, but I love the fact that socks are a small project that’s not sitting in your lap on a very hot day, making you swelter.

Also, socks are the best KIP (knit in public) project ever!

Knitting is useful for…

In addition to being relaxing, therapeutic—and just plain fun—I find that there are ENDLESS uses for yarn craft…and I don’t mean the final product.


1) You have something to do, look down at, and escape into when a scary, gory, or just plain gross scene appears in a movie or TV show. This happens to me all the time with “CSI” and “Bones.”


2) Ditto for those times you are crafting in at a public meeting that is getting entirely too controversial and heated.


3) You know that book by Susan Cain entitled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking? Yeah, that’s me. I find knitting in public is a great ice-breaker when I have no idea what to say to people in any new situation. It is amazing how many knitters and crocheters I’ve met at the doctor’s office.


4) In this same vein, if you want to be highly entertained by some of the craziest comments people can make about our craft, KIP can’t be beat. For some reason, around here, the allergist’s office is the place to be to experience truly deranged assumptions about knitting (like the lady who insisted I was “doing it wrong” when she saw me knitting a sleeve in the round versus flat). I personally think it’s because my allergist keeps people waiting entirely too long; and people just start going loopy after a while, especially if little Jimmy is attempting to take out a pamphlet display with his toy airplane.


5) Knitting or crocheting a complicated pattern is the best way I know to alleviate boredom. Also, the boost in your self-esteem can’t be beat, once you master it.


6) I hate to say it, but our craft is a very quick way to ascertain who is and isn’t supportive of you. I mean, really, it’s not like you’ve taken up something dangerous, sinful, or evil…you’re just knitting a sock, for heaven’s sake (I think people get frightened by the DPNs).


7) Going to Stitch ‘n’ B**** groups is a great way to meet new people, whom you may not have met any other way. As many have figured out from my Twitter posts, I’m decidedly left-wing. However, my perspective has broadened greatly from meeting many different people with different viewpoints…we all seem to be capable of listening to each other’s opinions, and we all happily bond over our communal love of yarn.


Now if the rest of the world could just work together in the same way…

In Praise of the Lowly Garter Stitch!

I found myself today at the doctor's office. We won't dwell on the utter pain in the nether regions it is to drive down to Hartford, find a spot in the hospital ramp garage, and then sit around for ages, waiting for my doctor. He's an absolutely wonderful neurologist, but today he was running woefully behind schedule...

Anyway, I had brought (yet another) Special Olympics scarf to work on (thank heavens, as I definitely had the TIME). I decided to use up the last remaining yarn by doubling it and making my infamous "Scarf from He**" which can be found at:

http://wildknitter.blogspot.com/2011/04/scarf-from-he-finally-done-pattern.html

I have to say, it looks really nice in red and blue--I figure I'm going to trim it in the red.

ANYWAY, I was happily knitting away when a woman came into the doctor's office and remarked favorably on my scarf. Immediately, instead of simply thanking her, I had to launch into a lengthy dissertation to defend my choice of garter stitch. "Really," I declared, "I'm really capable of much more complicated work! I can cable and everything! I make socks, too! I'm just doing this because I knew it would be a quick knit..." I went on and on.

Afterwards, I had to stop and consider. WHY am I defending my great love of garter stitch??? I know it's the stitch of grade-school children, but it's also the basis for Sally Melville's The Knitting Experience Book 1: The Knit Stitch, Inspiration & Instruction. I think we can all agree that she turns out a mean pattern. I just love the soft, bouncy, squishiness of garter stitch. Blankets, scarves, and casual sweaters made from it are just so cozy. I love to make scarves where I stripe garter stitch vertically, which makes a nice effect. I'd love to try a log cabin afghan someday, as that's more garter stitching!

So, what is your favorite knitting stitch, and why?

P.S. I was mortified to find that if you Google "Scarf from he**" and "WildKnitter" my pattern comes right up...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Seriously, I’m the authority???

I don’t know about the rest of you, but since I’ve started knitting and crocheting in public (KIP or CIP), I’ve discovered an odd thing. People start to think of you as the authority on your craft.

Now, I’m not even close to being the authority. While I love to knit and crochet and love a good challenge (my next plan is to learn Entrelac), I’m far from being an expert. I have one friend who’s capable of not only knitting two sleeves at the same time using two circular needles—she’s capable of doing this and carrying on a conversation at the same time! I have as of yet to figure out how to knit garter stitch and talk, let alone anything else. I have friends who have mastered the art of felting, lace, and still others who are complete experts at stranded knitting. I can do these things, too, but there is usually a liberal use of life-lines, swearing, and honestly, I’ve only ever felted by accident.

In spite of this, I find I constantly have people approach me about knitting, like I’m some sort of ambassador the Kingdom of Yarndom. I’ve had people come up to me at doctor’s offices, Starbucks, support groups, work—work is the funniest. One time, a manager burst into one of my work meetings, clutching a granny square afghan. She spread it out on the conference table, and asked, “Why is this CROOKED?” Just recently, one of my coworkers asked if it would be possible for me to teach her how to knit. Right now, I have her checking the needles she bought for size, so that I can bring in suitable yarn for her. One person came up to me yesterday, wanting to know how to sew knitted sweater pieces together.

In some cases, it doesn’t even matter if they’ve seen me KIP—sometimes, the people are complete strangers who just happen to have heard about me through a coworker or friend.

Now, if I could just figure out how to make money from this…

Helpful Hint #4 – Pack all the essentials you need for each WIP into each bag

In honor of World Wide Knit in Public Day (Saturday, June 11, 2011), I thought it might be good to have a word about take along projects and supplies…

Take the rubber band off the money and invest in all the essentials you need for each WIP and pack them into each separate bag. This may seem like a lot of money and redundancy, but believe me, it’s worth it.

In the past, I found that I was constantly bringing projects out in public, minus some crucial tool. I’d be out somewhere happily knitting a sweater sleeve, when suddenly I’d come across a knot in the skein, which necessitated cutting the yarn. You guessed it – no scissors or any device of any kind with which I could cut wool, and depending on the wool, sometimes you can’t really break it manually. Another time, I was at the allergist’s office. I had come prepared with a baby blanket that I was crocheting for Project Linus. I was all set to wait 30-40 minutes for my allergist to get his act together and get through all 20 people still sitting in the waiting room (I had the distinct feeling that little “Jimmy” in the corner with the wheezing and sniffles was going to take a while), when I opened my bag and made a horrible discovery…

I had brought the WRONG crochet hook!

So, this is why I’m now a great proponent of being prepared with every conceivable tool needed for each project. You don’t need to break the bank – just go out to your local discount or dollar store and stock up. The one thing I don’t skimp on is the row counters. I like to get the little barrel ones that you can either attach to a straight needle or hang off a circular needle. Or if you’re one of the idle rich, get a bunch of those cute little “Knit Kits.” See http://www.theknitkit.com/ for details…you can find them at the LYS or on-line.

Happy Knit in Public Day!

Helpful Hint #2 - Take-Along projects—bring a project that is easy to do.

When I first started taking along my knitting and crocheting projects to do in public, I made the mistake of choosing ANY project I happened to be working on, hoping to impress people with my "advanced" skills.

MISTAKE. 

I quickly discovered that a complicated cable stitch pattern with an 18-row repeat was NOT the way to go for someone who has trouble remembering a 5-item grocery list.

This gets even iffier if you are crafting during something to which you are supposed to be paying attention, such as:

1) A lecture
2) A sermon
3) A 12-Step meeting
4) A sporting event
5) A movie (a major problem, seeing as this is in the dark)

I could continue on, ad infinitum, seeing as we yarn and thread people have discovered any number of venues at which to practice our craft on the fly. 

The point here is to bring along something that is relatively easy to do, so that you can pay attention to the activity at hand.  I find projects that involve endless rows of stockinette stitch, garter stitch, or single crochet are ideal candidates for this.  These are the sort of projects where one is in serious danger of death by boredom, unless they are executed while listening to a lecture, a sermon, a movie, etc.  Also, projects like these make it easier to get into "the zone"—that perfect synergy of creating while taking in the world around you that we crafters know only too well.

In addition to long, drawn-out cable patterns, other public no-nos include:

1)  Projects that require that you follow a pattern, whether it be on paper or on a pdf file off your laptop, eReader, or PDA. 

2)  Projects that require multiple color changes. 

3)  Projects where you are unfamiliar with the stitches and/or the technique—for instance, don't pick the next baseball game to decide you'd like to experiment with DPNs.

4)  Fair Isle Knitting, unless you are REALLY good at it.  There is a woman I know who can not only do this and listen—she can do this and TALK at the same time.  Usually, for us mere mortals, this goes back to #1 above (following a pattern).

Happy KIP-ing and CIP-ing!*

*KIP = Knit in Public and CIP = Crochet in Public

KIP-in' Around!

I love the things people say when I’m knitting or crocheting in public:

“I’m telling myself that, NO, I don’t have to ever knit with those things EVER!!!” – This from a knitting friend, watching me knit a sock with DPNs (double pointed needles).

“Is that a scarf?” (It’s long, it’s not wide, it’s wool – what did you think it was???)

“Why are you knitting socks??? They’re on sale at Wal-Mart this week!”

“Are you having a baby?” – I was crocheting a baby blanket in the dentist’s waiting room.

Oh, and my all-time favorite…I was knitting in the allergist’s waiting room. My allergist is notorious for keeping all his patients waiting, so I always plan ahead and bring something to work on. On this particular occasion, I decided to bring a sweater (me knit a sweater…surprise!) I was working on—the Hourglass Sweater pattern. As I was happily working away on the sweater, a woman approached me.

“What are you doing???”

This was a fair enough question, seeing as I was knitting the sleeve, which didn’t really look like a sleeve yet. When I explained it was a sleeve to a sweater, she stared at it, incredulously, and said,

“But WHY all the needles?” I explained that I was knitting it in the round on DPNs.

She continued to stare at the sleeve on the four DPNs, looking like she fully expected it to attack her at any second.

“Why aren’t you using normal needles and knitting it the NORMAL way?” I told her that a) the pattern isn’t written like that, and b) even if the pattern called for the “normal” way, I always convert sweaters to in-the-round.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve done several sweaters in the round, just like this.”

She stared for several minutes more, and then said, “Well, I guess that could work…”

The only thing that saved me from busting out laughing was the doctor calling my name!