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Naval-Gazing Knitting Stuff
Mar. 17th, 2007 06:23 pmA quick blort of knitting babble because it appears I'll do anything rather than work on the story I should be writing I took a class today and it's on my mind.
1) I have taken a class in entrelac. Now that I know how it works, I can safely say that I feel no need to ever do it again. Not only does it look like a dog's breakfast on the needles, but it's hardly the sort of thing you can put down and pick up later. It's also a bugger on your hands and wrists. My arm had been feeling perfectly normal most of the time for the last two days (I even forgot all about hurting it until I put pressure on it wrong climbing into bed last night) suddenly seized up, with stabbing pain along the point of impact. There's a big cosmic clue that things ain't right.
2) I have, between that and the sockmaking class, learned how to painlessly slip stitches from one needle to another, do a knitted pickup along a bound edge, and how to work short rows. This is worth the price of admission right there.
3) The two classes, though, have taught me that I'm just not interested in doing fiddly patterns that require a lot of concentration, at least not yet. Maybe I'll work my way up to socks and sweaters, etc. But right now? Just as happy doing modular, flat stuff, ta.
4) It's okay to have cheaters. I've become quite fond of the feather-and-fan pattern, which is four rows long. 4 rows + a preference for patterns I can walk away from and come back later to = 2 sets of needles and a sharpie. I've numbered the needles, marked the pattern on them, and use beads, er, stitch markers to mark the pattern repeat and the border. Voila! A beautiful pattern useful for everything from scarves to bedspreads that I can put down at any point within an 18-stitch repeat and come back to later without ruining anything. No more "let me finish this row" or "I can't remember where I'm going" or even "which way is front?" I do have to remember to grab the next needle rather than simply turn the work, but So! Worth! It!
The one part of this post that might be useful to everyone who knits:
Spacer beads make great stitch markers, and you can get 'em at Michael's at $3 for 15. Much prettier than plastic and faster than making your own with beads and jump rings.
1) I have taken a class in entrelac. Now that I know how it works, I can safely say that I feel no need to ever do it again. Not only does it look like a dog's breakfast on the needles, but it's hardly the sort of thing you can put down and pick up later. It's also a bugger on your hands and wrists. My arm had been feeling perfectly normal most of the time for the last two days (I even forgot all about hurting it until I put pressure on it wrong climbing into bed last night) suddenly seized up, with stabbing pain along the point of impact. There's a big cosmic clue that things ain't right.
2) I have, between that and the sockmaking class, learned how to painlessly slip stitches from one needle to another, do a knitted pickup along a bound edge, and how to work short rows. This is worth the price of admission right there.
3) The two classes, though, have taught me that I'm just not interested in doing fiddly patterns that require a lot of concentration, at least not yet. Maybe I'll work my way up to socks and sweaters, etc. But right now? Just as happy doing modular, flat stuff, ta.
4) It's okay to have cheaters. I've become quite fond of the feather-and-fan pattern, which is four rows long. 4 rows + a preference for patterns I can walk away from and come back later to = 2 sets of needles and a sharpie. I've numbered the needles, marked the pattern on them, and use beads, er, stitch markers to mark the pattern repeat and the border. Voila! A beautiful pattern useful for everything from scarves to bedspreads that I can put down at any point within an 18-stitch repeat and come back to later without ruining anything. No more "let me finish this row" or "I can't remember where I'm going" or even "which way is front?" I do have to remember to grab the next needle rather than simply turn the work, but So! Worth! It!
The one part of this post that might be useful to everyone who knits:
Spacer beads make great stitch markers, and you can get 'em at Michael's at $3 for 15. Much prettier than plastic and faster than making your own with beads and jump rings.
