I'm Sorry, Did I Say I Knit?

You must be mistaken. i know i was.

Funny thing, when you teach yourself to knit using pictures in books, sometimes you don't quite get everything right. Like the knit stitch, or maybe the... purl stitch... Maybe both. Here's what happened.

i was flipping through Sensational Knitted Socks, and the pictures showing the Knitted Cast On caught my attention. i took a closer look and thought "Why is the right needle going in that way?" i had been a little confused about a few other things, so i thought i better click on over to to KnittingHelp to find out what knitting really was. And wouldn't you know it, i kind of had everything wrong. First of all, instead of a normal knit stitch, i was doing what i have discovered is actually k1tbl, knit one through back loop. Well, if i had the knit wrong, what was i possibly doing to the purl? i took a watch of that video and saw i was indeed purling incorrectly as well. Instead of wrapping the yarn counter-clockwise around the right needle, i was wrapping the yarn clockwise. i have no idea how i got started with this one. As you can imagine, many other types of stitches get messed up when the knit stitch is backwards. K2tog was weird. Directions for ssk seemed overly confusing. i used to think the only difference between slipping as if to knit or slipping as if to purl was what side of the needle the yarn was on.

Here is what i have discovered. How to knit correctly. No minor achievement. Stockinette stitch in my screwy way actually comes out correctly when working back and forth, although it is tighter than when properly done. Stockinette stitch in the round, however, results in all of the loops being twisted. This also makes a tighter fabric. My basic knit hat, for example, is comprised completely of twisted loops. When all of the loops are twisted, it makes tensioning more difficult, as i have discovered since reteaching myself. Correct knitting is much easier than bass-ackwards knitting.

Now, i have three weeks worth of knitting muscle memory to overcome. i'd like to do this before i start my first sock project, King Kong Cable Footies. So, i pulled a skein of autumny multicolor acrylic out of my stash to knit myself an iPod sock. i might knit a couple with different patterns before i go back to the socks.

Sensational Knitted Socks

Well, i picked up this little beauty today. B&N actually didn't have it, which appalled me, but AC Moore was nearby, and i found it there. So, i took my new book with me to Starbucks, my favorite knitting location, and read through the informational sections up to the Class Sock. After a short break and a coffee refill, i cast on and started the knit 2, purl 2 of the practice sock. So far, i'm roughly 1.5" into that ribbing. When i finish with this post, i'll head up to camp and resume. i've had a lot of caffeine tonight, so there is no bedtime in sight!

Also, has anyone else noticed that a new Charlene Schurch book is due out at the end of March? More Sensational Knitted Socks should be for sale March 26th, according to Amazon. Want the new book in a hurry? Sometimes when you preorder, Amazon actually ships it early so that it should arrive on the release date. The title begs the question: Are there more socks that are sensational or are the socks themselves more sensational? i guess we'll just have to wait and see.

In The Round

Well, i really wanted to try knitting a hat in the round, so i went out and picked up some #5 16" circular needles. i found a pattern for a basic knit hat that looked nice and easy, and i went at it. After knitting the first two inches, it was clear that the hat would be too small for me. i decided that since i could very well make several more mistakes before finishing, i would just keep going and gift the hat to someone if it turned out halfway decent. Once i got through a few decreases towards the end, i realized i couldn't keep going on the circs. i consulted Faith on the matter and decided to switch to double pointed needles, dpns. i finished the hat and it came out great, but of course too small.

i weighed my options for enlargement (ugh, suddenly all those junk emails came to mind). The original hat cast on 72 stitches and had 6 even decreases. i decided that an odd number would make for better roundness. Even 8 decreases could have the tendency to pull at the 'corners'. i chose to add 12 sts and use 7 even decreases. Working the dpns was not quite as easy, but the effort was well worth the look.

Notice how my sts slant to the left? i'm not sure what does that. Either way, i am very pleased with how these turned out. The second hat took me a day to knit. My next project is a hat with ear flaps. Then, maybe a ski mask. i also want to make Faith's King Kong Cable Footies, but i have to order sock yarn because i can't find a place to buy it uptown.

Well, that's it for now. i'm sure i'll have a bunch more stuff done soon.

Yeah I Knit! Wanna Fight About It!

So, i started knitting recently. Actually, i guess i restarted. i bought some needles, yarn, and books back when i was in Wisconsin. My first project was a scarf. i wanted a wide scarf that knit up super quick. So, i used a pair of big ol' size 17 needles, and i knit with two strands at once of a fluffy Homespun yarn. The project was pretty much a disaster. Homespun yarn is not a good yarn for beginners because it splits too easily; add to that the challenge of two strands at once. Then, i cast on across the entire needle, not realizing how much the work would spread as it was knit, so the beginning and ending of a row were difficult because i was mashing the stitches down on the needle to keep them from falling off. All of these difficulties combined with my inexperience also caused me to knit very tightly. Extremely tightly! The experience was terrible, but i was determined not to be completely beat. i knit out enough for what i considered an appropriate size for a baby afgan or security blanket, and it became a birthday present for my nephew. For those of you who caught that, yeah, it was that wide! My needles were 15", i think, and the "scarf" must have been around 24".

Luckily, i didn't get rid of anything. i had ten or twelve skeins of the Homespun yarn left for a large afgan, and several needles, crochet hooks, and other supplies that were packed away until a couple weeks ago. i decided to give knitting a second try, and i even started out again with the Homespun yarn, but this time with one strand and only size 13 needles. Things went much better and within three days i had my first two projects done. A scarf and a headband.
After finishing these, i decided to try a hat. i didn't have any circular needles yet, so i found a pattern that used straight needles. After the first three rows of k1 p1 ribbing, i realized i had an extra stitch, which i knew would screw up the ribbing. i decided i didn't really care, knit the first two stitches of the next row together, and kept going. The original design had a VW logo knit in a contrasting color. i didn't want to screw with another color, but i did want to try a pattern, so i designed a double-bit axe that i reverse-stitched into the hat. i don't know if there is a proper term for it, but to make the pattern, i knit the pattern stitches in a purl row and purled the stitches in a knit row. Anyway, the hat ended up way too big, but it fits if i fold up the brim. i kitchener stitched the top together, which went well, but i completely murdered my mattress seam down the back. However, my axe pattern came out quite nicely.