the hard way.....

I think I've said before that I started knitting about 10 years ago, but none of it really made sense until 2007 when I did two things.

1. I took a begining sock class

and

2. I signed up my niece for begining knitting and took it with her.

My theory is that you always learn something different the second time around.

That being said I have decided to unleash on you most of what I have learned or where I learned it from. This all sparked from a friend, a very very dear friend of mine who said "i knit a couple years ago and I've thought about taking it up again", she might as well have waved carrots in front of a stallion! Luckily for her she lives in Minnesota preventing me from showing up on her door step in a U-Haul full of yarn and other assorted knitterly items........Instead I emailed her this.........



Top Books Every Knitter should want, need, and have (according to me)
The Book of Yarn: Tells you everything you ever needed to know about yarn, weight, gauge, fiber content etc.
Stitch ‘n’ Bitch: Best guide for new knitters with some fun and easy patterns to work with.
Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl McPhee: Read this and realize, it really is just knitting. http://www.yarnharlot.com/
The Knitting Circle, by Ann Hood
http://www.amazon.com/Knitting-Circle-Novel-Ann-Hood/dp/0393330443/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264104757&sr=1-1

Here are some other knitting tips that I learned by default and by reading books about knitting:
Buy the best yarn you can afford, really I can't stress this point enough, because if you are knitting with yarn that doesn't feel good, doesn't look good, then why would you keep going?


1. Buy from a yarn shop not a craft store, a yarn shop is more willing to help you when you run into a snag with a project when you’ve bought the yarn from them. That being said, I've bought plenty of yarn from miscellaneous craft stores in the area and been fine, but it only takes one yarn shop employee to snub you when you ask them what the project is talking about and they barely acknowledge that you breath let alone can knit.......of course the disclaimer is that not all yarn shops are snobby but I have rejoiced when particular shops have closed down after visiting them and was treated horribly.......no surprise that they closed.
2. Pick a project that you love, if you don't love it you won't knit it. You'll try, you'll want to because someone else loves it, but the end result is this. If you don't love it it will not get knit.
3. Bite your tongue before offering to knit things for friends and family, especially if you post this comment on a social networking site, you don't know what you're saying and the requests will be vast and crazy. Please see number 2.
4. In the begining I would advise not buying yarn online and only then buy the yarns you are familiar with, and if they sell the yarn at your local yarn shop then I would suggest only buying it online if it's a screaming sale like I discovered a couple years ago on Cascade 220 and bought 16 skeins of it. I still haven't used it but I saved a bundle.......
Websites Every Knitter Should know….
1. Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/ It’s free to sign up, you can search for new patterns, track your own projects, catalogue your knitting books so you aren’t buying the same one over and over again (trust me, I’ve done it) You can catalogue what needles you have at home and print out a handy dandy wallet size card so when you’re at the yarn shop you’ll know whether you need those size 2 DPN’s or not (I have chosen not to do this because even if I do have the needles at home it’s a pretty sure bet they are either involved with some yarn or I don’t know where they are) Lastly you can look up projects to knit with that wayward skein of yarn you bought without a project in mind. It’s free to sign up and an excellent resources for all knitters.
2. Knitty: http://www.knitty.com/ Free Patterns that are simply awesome. They put out a new Knitty each quarter so check back. They also add new patterns randomly, so even though you think you’ve seen them all, you probably haven’t.
3. The Oo Kingdom: http://www.ookingdom.com/metric/length Ever wonder just how much yarn you have but it’s in meters not yards? If you’re like me math was not your forte in school. This web site does the calculation for you. Type in meters and convert to yards.
4. Google: http://www.google.com/ If you’re going out of town and want to know where a local yarn shop is, you can’t do better than google. It’ll not only pin point them for you, you can print a map of every single location, not to mention browse their websites and see what they have in store for you.
5. You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/ You can search for knitting instruction. Anything from Casting on, binding off, quite possibly intarsia and so on. This is what you use when you run into a problem at 3:45 a.m. and the yarn store is closed. I’m pretty sure that a 24 hour yarn shop would do quite well….
6. Berrocco: http://www.berrocco.com/ Not only do they have free patterns on this website that aren’t cheesie or old timey they also have all their yarns listed by Name and you can check yardage and color before you buy from your LYS, so you go in with confidence!
7. Lion Brand: http://www.lionbrand.com/ the yarn has gotten better and is pretty well priced, their cashmere is very affordable although I haven’t knit with it. I have used their cashmere blend which is pretty fab too. Their patterns are hard to search through and sometimes can be a pain to read. They are ranked in order of difficulty and some have some very old timey pictures associated with them.
- I personally avoid the novelty yarns, the end result is always a lot of swearing for little gratification. Now, don't get me wrong, novelty yarns have their place, they add some bling and fun to a felted project and can be used to create a fun edging, however, I have found that knitting with eye lash, fun fur, loopy yarn, and squiggle to be the biggest pain in the arse I’ve ever experienced, mostly because you can’t see your stitches so you either drop a ton or add a ton.
- Cabling is easy. So easy in fact that I can teach you with one scarf, no joke.
- Sometimes when you’re reading a pattern and what they say doesn’t make sense, try it first. I promise you, 9 out of 10 times it’ll all work out in the end. Unless you are knitting from a European Magazine that has been translated into English, chances are that the person who did the translating doesn’t knit and has no idea they’re talking about.
- Learn Gauge it’ll save you from knitting something that is so tight that you can’t bend it (which is good for toys but if you are prone to carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis this will inevitably exacerbate it) Plus it’ll keep you from knitting fingering weight yarn on size 15 needles……(unless that's the look you're going for....)

- Lace Weight: used for knitting shawls that look like they were spun with spider thread. Makes you want to pull your hair out unless your into that sort of thing
- Fingering Weight: used primarily for socks that you can wear with every day shoes a few sweaters call for it, there are a lot of books with kids patterns that call for it. knit with size 0-2.75 needles (tooth picks)
- Sport Weight: used for thicker socks, size 3-5 needles, lots of kids patterns, scarves, hats, mittens, etc. The thing to remember is the smaller the needles and yarn the longer some things will take
- DK Weight: basically the same as sport size 4-6 needles, I make most of my socks out of this because I tend to be too tight with the fingering weight.
- Worsted Weight: 5 stitches to the inch knit on 7-9 needles.
- Aran Weight: 4.5 stitches to the inch. A little bit heavier than worsted knit on size 9-10.5 needles
- Chunky: size 10-11 needles for sure, 3.5 stitches p/inch, the purple sweater I made that you have is chunky wool
- Bulky : same as chunky just a different name
- Super Bulky: Zach’s hat is make with super bulky yarn. 2-2.5 stitchs p/inch size 13-17 needles knits super fast! SUPER FAST and is SUPER WARM never ever knit a sweater in super bulky if you don’t want to faint.
Here is a good guide for gauge because I don’t explain it right.
http://www.earthguild.com/products/knitcroc/marypat/gauge.htm
the bottom line is that you aren’t even going to want to knit bulky yarn on a size 6 needle and you won’t want to knit fingering weight on a size 13 unless you’re going for a lacey look, which unless you have a specific idea never looks good.
I'll admit it, I'm an enabler.........

Phew........

It's over, the holidays and yet to walk through the grocery store's, drug stores, and malls, you would think that cupid went on a bender and yarked love and happiness all over the place when really after all the rush of Christmas, the Holiday Cheer both in spirit and in bottle, in fact on Christmas Day I found quite a bit of Holiday Cheer in about a bottle and a half of wine, oh well that was last year and we're forging ahead like a team of oxen into 2010. Which started with a yarn sale at my LYS So Much Yarn + a very generous gift card from my mom for Christmas + the fact that I am gainfully employed at So Much Yarn one day a week. All these combined = one happy knitter, who quite honestly is feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of it, but really, what else is new.

However it's a new year and time to set new goals or hit repeat on last years goals.....if I could remember what last years goals where.....hmmm, oh well time for new ones, out with the old, in with the new. Hold on tight, this may be a bumpy ride yet one I am looking forward to.

So far this year I've finished one project, well two or three little ones, one big one. The big one being Mom's birthday present which she has seen via pictures in various states of finishing but has asked to be surprised by the finished project, I'm hoping it's a good surprise. I knit Mud Season in Trabajos del Peru by Plymouth yarn. It's a top down sweater, literally no seaming but there is some picking up of stitches, which sucks, especially when you're almost done with all the neck stitches and your cable on your circular needle breaks and you say a bad word much to the surprise of all the people in the yarn shop, blush brightly, explain what happened while someone runs for a replacement to help salvage the situation. Bad words at least make the situation fun. Clearly, since I swear like a dirty pirate I am full of fun just bursting to get out. I am knitting a second Mud Season for my friend C. in dark grey Berrocco Comfort Chunky. It looks great, in fact as soon as I'm done here I'm going upstairs to get ready to put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and start working on the body, which will go quickly since C. is petite and loves hand knit things. If you look back at last weeks post, Albert and Dewberry are her dogs and they love wool also, in fact we are starting a new project to see if we can get Dewberry to wear socks and finally walk on the hardwood floors, of course we'll use puffy paint on the soles for grip. Currently though I believe that he is eating the prototype that I sent home with C. We did decide though if the socks are a huge fail then we'll knit leg warmers and play the opening sequence to flash dance because if you've ever seen Dewberry stand at the edge of the carpet near the hard wood you can't help but hear that music. Albert of course still loves his whool cloth and I knit him a whoolien this week that he loves to chew on........the other experiment is to see if Albert only likes whool or if he like texture, so I need to knit him a swatch in a synthetic to see what happens.

(left to right) Whoolien, the prototype, probably in one or both Albert and Dewberry's bellies.
I knit a gazillion Knock-off AF Hats in Burly Spun by Lambs Pride. I think I've finally petered out on them, however the one I knit for Z. didn't fit so I am off to the stash to knit a replacement and get it in the mail to Minnesota ASAP.

Top: Eddie, Jenny, Carrie, Rod Middle: Me, me, Jenny, Z, Anne. Bottom: Anne, Cynthia, Carrie.

I'm working on a lace afghan that I was asked to knit as a gift for someone. I'm excited about it. It's knit in Lion Brand Woolease thick and quick, which is quite nice all knit up. Don't be fooled though, just because it falls in the 'super bulky' category doesn't mean it's going fast, especially since I had to back out a whole row because I had one unexplained extra stitch at the end that really when it's sitting between two other stitches looks like my project was giving me the finger 'ha ha ha I'll teach you to be confident with your lace knitting, oops did you forget how to count to ten, can you count me? I'm just one'. Yeah my knitting talks like a dirty pirate too.

So, before this post gets out of hand and turns into more of a brain dump than and informative learning experience for everyone here are a few of my goals.

1. to actually design, write, knit, re-knit and post a viable pattern on-line. I am starting to branch out and have ideas on what I want to create, I have the skills to make it happen now I just need to put it all together. I've designed a few things but need some work writing it out in a way that makes sense for someone who speaks english and not carmelstwistedwayofwritingwordstogethertosavetime. Yes, when I write in a hurry I end up blending a word with the word before it and even when I go back to read what I wrote, which my therapist told me never to do but clearly doesn't matter, I have no idea what I was thinking or talking about only that I am not thinking it any longer and that's the point.

2. To continue to re-build an old friendship. Thanks to Facebook I was able to reconnect with an old friend who I never thought I'd find again. It's true what people say, if a friendship is true, it'll work it's way back around. My thought, when something that was lost is found again, you never want to lose it a second time.

3. exercise, I'm only writing it because it would be a new year without a new affirmation to exercise. (i'm going to do it, I just don't want to make it the one big goal of the year and end up whipping myself in front of my treadmill because for another year it's mocked me and my distracted arse)

4. I'm going to write, that's correct, write at least 1 letter p/month to a special person in my life. I'm not talking email, I'm going to the store and buying stationary and a pen, and I'm going to take time to actually write a letter, maybe I'll even write two, and possibly include a photo or two.

5. I am going to work on being more patient. I was informed that I need to work on that. My friend who I mentioned in goal 2, laughed because back when we were really close, patience was my middle name. Now, well, I'm working on it. Let that be enough for now.

6. I will control my road rage, which ties in nicely with goal number five and being patient. Some drivers simply can't help that they are struck blind by sitting behind a windshield. I just need to be more understanding of that, and keep the hand gestures behind the door and not bolding shoved out the window, because honestly if they didn't see me before the hand gesture, they clearly didn't see the #1 I was waving at them and all I'm stuck with is a wet arm and a car full of exhaust laden rain drops.

7. Now that we have a faster internet connection at home, thank you comcast, #1 to you verizon, I am going to be more diligent about posting on my blog, which I've missed. The best part about my blog is the phone call I get from my mom the next day, laughing. I love to make my mom laugh, I never used to do that before, (if you don't know me well, I was a bit of a trouble maker back in the day........I might still have a little trouble gene in me but I've learned to control it for the most part, except on the ship canal bridge).

Well I could go on forever with my goals, aspirations, needs, wants, desires, likes, dislikes, yarn, knitting, boxer dogs (both of which are fine, they have finally forgiven me for babysitting Buster back in August, took them a month or two but I think we're back on track) husband, friends, mom, dad (i do have one, I don't mention him much but he's there, just down the road from me, emailing me asking me to skype with him.......)my nephews, my niece, and all the other family who saw me literally eat my Christmas dinner in a bowl because it was easier than a plate. Such is my life and my goal this year is to expose all of you too it, plus racing season is starting soon and I'll be out at the track as much as possible cheering between mini heart attacks watching my husband and our friends race/spin each other out. It's all in fun till someone gets thrown in the wall.........and no, I don't think I'll go Kart racing with all of you race car drivers again, I ended up thrown into the tire barrier and was bleeding at the end. (laughing my butt of)

Happy Friday Night

Merry 2010 may your year be light of worry, full of laughter, yarn, and pointing wooden sticks, which come in handy when there is a mad rash of vampires running about. Buffy has nothing on a knitter.

Albert the Pomeranian

My friends own 2 adorable tiny dogs. First you have Dewberry, the Chihuahua who was raised in a home with carpet and now that my friends have bought a new home and put in hardwood floors he's petrified to walk on them so they carry him from carpet to carpet. Then there is Albert the Pomeranian. He is super fluffy and after doing some research into Angora rabbits we've come to the conclusion that he must have some Angora in his bloodline. Early in December I knit a few shrugs, one was stolen by my mom, 1 was knit too tight, and a 3rd was knit to short. The tight one when to Lori, the short one went to Carrie, who when she tried it on at home made the discovery that Albert loves wool. He rubbed himself silly on it. So I took a bunch of Burly Spun scrap yarn and knit him a little cloth swatch. This is the result. My favorite part is Dewberry making a play for the cloth and Carrie's laugh at the end.

Happy New Year