I live in Florida. I’ve knitted pillows, sofa arm covers, pot holders, afghans, guitar straps, and a shawl in a very light ladder yarn. (I used the Red Hat Lady yarn to make a shawl that created its own fringe. Tres easy.) It keeps me busy while I’m watching TV. One of these days I’m going to make a sweater, or at least a summer tank top. But I have to finish a blanket for my sister, another armchair cover for my MIL, a blanket for my son, two more afghans for my sister…
I wish I could knit and type at the same time. And seeing the magical knitting needles in one of the Harry Potter movies made me moan.
Michael’s. I love Michael’s. All that yarn…and needles…and knitting accessories…squeeeeee!
I rarely knit anything for myself. I don’t want ponchos or shawls or capelets or shrugs. If I want a sweater, I’ll buy it rather than burn all that money and time. I might knit myself one scarf, perhaps one hat (but I hate hat hair), and that’s about it.
I’ve knitted a couple throw pillow covers and a MP3 player cover for myself. For my husband, I knit gloves (missing two fingers and the thumb at the first knuckle, so he can flip through envelopes while delivering the mail) and a balaclava-style hood, both in 100% wool. The latter was created as a pattern for knitting for US soldiers in Afghanistan for the winter, and I’ve made one for them that I need to pop in the mail to the associated charity.
I’ve also knit a baby sweater and booties for a friend who recently gave birth, as well as a few woolen hats and pairs of mittens in assorted kids’ sizes for afghans for Afghans.
There should be a warning on that first link not to inhale desperately needed caffeine after your nth day on a just recently diagnosed sinus infection and no sleep and days of being a mouth breathing zombie and looking at that link.
Coffee in the sinuses, while appealing, smells yucky after awhile. And I wants one of those crocheted crotches…I have no idea why.
Ah a most excellent addiction. BTW, those interested in whiping up a hoo-hah but don’t crochet there is a pattern for a knit one here. Something to do with that left over “fun fur”.
Yanno, somewhere out there in this freaky world of ours is an entirely knitted lifesized doll with a genuinely knitted replica hoohaa and boobies.
And you just know some perv wines and dines her.
I’m so impressed!
Welcome to the dark side, Shirley! Did you send me a message from craftster? My laptop has been out of action all week, I only just got back to my forums yesterday.
There’s a lotta technique in socks. If you work them top down, then you have to learn how to turn the heel and do kitchner’s stitch at the toe. It can be a little awkward at first, but just take your time, and be prepared to rip out and rework when necessary. Practice makes perfect.
I like these toe-up short-row socks, m’self. I’m on my fourth pair, and I think I’ve just now truly figured out hiding the wraps. The other pairs look fine, and you have to look really close to see that I didn’t do it exactly right. Nonetheless, it’s just very pleasing to finally have mastered the technique.
But to me, the most frustrating thing about socks is getting the size right. Mine always seem to come out a little bigger or a little smaller than I intended, which is more of a big deal in socks than in other garments. But I have Gauge Issues.
The nice thing is that socks are small; if they don’t work out, they don’t work out. Also, foot size varies. If your socks don’t fit the original intended recipient you can give them to someone else!
Okay, let’s see {goes and gets knitting from tv watching area} - hold knitting and yarn in left hand, with yarn wrapped around little finger and index finger for tension control. Free needle to be knit onto is held in right hand, and slight motion of left hand wraps wool around free needle when inserted under stitch on left-hand held knitting. Does that make any sense at all?
Sounds basically like Continental to me, except I hardly move my left hand, and just catch the yarn with my right needle.
Personally, I can’t figure how anyone can knit English style for any amount of time. I learned from a book that only had the English method, but it was about three rows into it that I decided, “Well, this is inefficient!” and “invented” Continental technique. (To be honest, I was probably just remembering how my mother knits.)
Knowing both is handy when you do color work, though. You can hold one color of yarn in your left hand and pick it, and hold the other color of yarn in your right hand and throw it. I have to make sure to alternate which color is in which hand frequently, though, because my gauge is different.
Continental style is held in your left hand and with just a little movement of your index finger, you wrap it over the right needle before dragging it through the left needle’s yarn. ( I hope that makes sense)
Rather than Right hand yarn…throw it over the right hand needle and drag through left hand needle. Less effort, IMHO.
I haven’t really tryed purling this way, just the knit stitch.
I am trying not to jump right into socks just yet.
I must learn the zen of scarves, then mittens.
but until then…I give you socks, socks, socks! that, by my bizarre judging on Amazon, any book that that’s used price sale is only a buck or so under the regular Amazon price means to me it’s freaking good to get. YMMV.
Lots of great ‘easy’ socks all the way up to ‘how in the hell did they come up with that Idea and where can I get me some LSD to help me knit that.’
