Last year I promised myself I would learn to knit.
Partly I was obsessed with the prospect of holding the wool and the needles in my hands — a sort of tactile mania, like when you know there is a bowl of dark chocolate M&Ms sitting there and you can just feel them crunching in your mouth…only less bad for you. (Why does my mother buy those things? In her mind, dark chocolate = medicinal. But is she eating them? Not that I can tell…)
A cap of my own odd design using leftover sock wool. |
Partly I have realized just how lovely a pair of woolen socks is. I finally figured out many years ago that if I'm going to live in a cold climate I've got to dress right to stay warm. I used to wonder why it is that Southern women always look fresh, bright, and feminine, with little cardigans and silk shirts and swingy skirts, and Northern women look like we don't care.
It's just that when you're dealing with possible snow from October to April, you might have to take a turn at the plow (even if only because the other vehicle is in the shop and you have to get to the store and you might as well hit the pile at the end of the lane on your way in, thanks, hon!), you have to haul wood to keep the stove going, and whatever you wear is going to get salt on it when you brush by the car, which you will, since the snowbanks leave you no room to avoid it, you…don't care.
You'd like to care, but you don't.
Woolen socks it is!
They are expensive. I had a notion that making them would be cost-effective, and I'm not sure that is true. For some reason, knitting is not cheap. I think I can do a good job thrifting fabrics for quilting. Haven't gotten there with yarn yet. Is there hope?
So, being me, I was determined to knit socks from the get-go, and was only convinced to start with a cap by my sweet friend Krista, who probably talks people off ledges and bridges in her spare time. She is the voice of reason.
I made a few caps and then I made socks. And in the end, I did make a scarf. I even made flip mittens!
And along the way I found out that I like knitting a lot and I love giving people knitted gifts.
Whether they like getting them is another question.
William, my dear youngest son, dropped many hints about how he would go insane wearing a pair of homemade knit socks, so he didn't get any. (It seems that it isn't the homemade part that bothers him, it's that his socks need to have certain specifications that apparently only a factory can meet.)
These were Nick's birthday present. Warm and sturdy, I hope. He probably doesn't need them and only neglected to drop hints about how he wouldn't wear them. But that's what he got! These socks are also my own odd design. So odd that I got the second sock finished and realized that in my haste I made it too short! This was after I kitchenered it, of course… |
I've also become obsessed with the realization that there is just so much time when our hands could be busy. Doctors' office waiting rooms, kids' lessons, game-watching, tea with friends, car time (if you can handle reading or knitting in the car, that's a blessing! Bridget can't even look at a CD to choose a track without feeling sick!), flights, etc., etc.
So many times reading won't work, as there is someone sitting there who would feel slighted if you had your nose in a book. I used to carry around my quilting but there was a niche for a more portable craft, and somehow knitting is less comment-worthy than sewing. You can get away with it better, and you can fit everything you need to make a sock, including the incipient sock, in your pocketbook!
I sort of combined the basic sock I now know how to make with an eyelet pattern and a yarn-over pattern on the cuff for the ribbon. |
I don't think that this desire to redeem the time is only a result of moving out of the little children phase. Even when my kids were younger I always had a project going. It just took a lot longer to complete something. I think if I had known how to knit I would have filled in the even smaller chunks of time better. So if you have babies and you know someone who would teach you to knit or crotchet, take advantage of that!
This alpaca, which is from Krista's farm, is the most glorious thing you can imagine. Below you will find the link. |
I used buttons from my stash. I thought that this raised kind would be easier for cold, fumbling fingers. |
I used this pattern for lady's flip mittens.
(I don't think her measurements for the final product are correct, but I'm a bit of a flake at measuring. They came out fine, although Deirdre has long fingers so I lengthened things a bit. I used #3 DPN for the cuff and #4 for the rest. The wool is DK weight.)
The alpaca yarn can be purchased here at St. Isodore's Alpacas.
I made sundry other socks, which I didn't take photos of, and the scarf, which I will show you later. And some other non-knitted stuff…it was a very crafty year I tell you!
Maybe this year I will make a sweater. That would be wonderful.
What are you working on? If you have something going, feel free to leave a link in the comments to show off! And if you have a tip on working with little children around, let us know!
Jennie C. says
I'm cultivating an affection for sewing. I love the finished products, but I don't like all the little steps it takes to get to the end, or the fact that sewing is all you CAN do when you're doing it. (Unlike knitting or crocheting!) I made a little checkbook cover today, and I'm just about to sew up some curtains for a window-that-isn't in the kitchen.
Camille says
I'm so jealous! I have tried and tried and tried to take up sewing, but I just can't seem to get it. I am a self-taught knitter and took to that like fish to water, but sewing has me. I've taken numerous classes, even, to try and get better! 🙂
Jamie says
My best tip for knitting with little children around is to use circular needles! You can do socks on two circs or on one long one with the magic loop technique. It's possible for a curious child to yank the needle out and expose live stitches, but it takes a lot more effort.
It's not so hard for children to learn that mama's knitting is special and needs to be treated gently. I work on easy projects while I read to my children, and it saves me from wishing I could pitch myself out the window at this the quattuorvigintillionth reading of Big Bad Bruce or another Bill Peet book. (Fear not; I am typing on the first floor. Even if I succumb to the urge I will not come to any lasting harm.)
As a preschooler, my youngest son liked to have some yarn and needles that were just for him. I gave him the end of a ball of sock yarn and some not-very-sharp needles and he carried them around “knitting” for weeks.
Camille says
This is true, Jamie. My 2 year old will point to any knitting items and say “Mama. NO TOUCH.” 🙂 I do give them bits and pieces of yarn and some old needles so they can “knit” with me.
Anne says
lol, that's hilarious about your little boy. I don't think my husband would go for that though. I knit/crochet/sew while I watch movies with my husband and he always says he wishes there were a MANLY craft he could do while we watch. I sight examples of manly men (sailors, prisoners of war, etc) doing these very activities, but he is not convinced!
Breanna says
I'm knitting an Aran pullover (in the round–if you knit an Aran or a color-patterned sweater, Leila, do it in the round a la Zimmerman, trust me) and theoretically I'm copying a *very plain* sweater for my MIL that I haven't started yet, due to getting the wrong color of yarn *twice*. Everything is progressing very slowly.
My BIL has similar precise specs for his socks, so I don't knit them for him, but the Husband has precise specs too that can ONLY be met by handknit socks. So I've also got a request for “green socks, with that comfy arch-shaping thing and a long ribbed section” floating around. I think I may start them just because they take less thinking than the Aran and I don't have to look at a sock while I'm knitting it.
womanofthehouse says
I made his and hers stockings for my daughter and son-in-law for Christmas, but other than whipping out a few potholders, I haven't been sewing since then. Oh, wait. I also made a simple skirt for my younger daughter. My husband and I are knitting a blanket for our bed (he's a better knitter than I am!), but it won't be finished for use this winter, alas. I am a beginner on both the knitting and sewing fronts, but I'm enjoying learning.
Taryn says
My only suggestion for knitting with children around (mine are all boys ages 11, 8, 5, 3, 1yrs) is to work on something that doesn't need counting or a lot of attention to detail because that's hard. I keep a pencil in my little bag and mark my rows right on the pattern in an attemp to keep things straight but it's not always possible:)
Brittany says
I love all of your projects, especially the flip mittens!
Over Christmas break I made these cabled fingerless mittens: http://www.beautyandthebackwoods.com/?p=1621
i am so happy with the way they turned out. Since getting back to work I haven't started any more projects, but i really should! Hm, maybe tonight…
Camille says
I agree with Taryn! I keep it super simple right now (my kids are 2 and 4) and I always keep the yarn and project in a SEALED plastic bag. Little hands love yarn! Dish rags are great projects when you have kids around. Useful, simple, and quick.
I'm currently obsessed with cables. Mostly in the form of fingerless mitts, even though I have no idea why they are useful, and hats. All the pre-teens and teens in my life are asking for a cabled, brimmed hat!
Now, I'm going to check out that alpaca yarn! YUM!
http://growingupgabel.blogspot.com/2011/01/off-my…
http://growingupgabel.blogspot.com/2010/12/off-my…
Joy says
My tip for knitting with children, big or small, is to use rubber tip protectors. This keeps all of your stitches *on* your needle when the children accidentally fall into your knitting bag during a wrestling match or put their feet on your knitting bag while getting in the car (ask me how I know these things). 🙂 They'll save many hours of frustration.
I love the socks! I must get over my reluctance to knit in the round. I have the circular needle and the yarn to make socks as well as a pattern so I have no excuses, but still I'm putting it off. Your beautiful socks are motivating, Leila. Thanks. Oh, I loved the quilt in your last post. I'm not a quilter (yet!) but my mother made exquisite quilts and left me several beautiful quilts as well as her machine, fabrics, patterns, etc. I think I need to wait for one or two of my teenagers to graduate from our homeschool before I have time for big projects like quilts though.
I appreciate the comment about fabric.com. Some of those fabrics will be perfect for cloth napkins!
Winter is such a crafty time for me since my garden is dormant and baseball season is still a few months off.
Juliana Bibas says
Sweaters are actually very easy to make! (especially baby sweaters which knit up very quickly and are good for almost-instant gratification…) Adult sweaters are pretty easy as well, just take longer. I recommend the pattern book “Saturday Sweaters” as the patterns are basic and easy. There is also a book out there that is basically just a generic pattern book for anything you could think of to knit that you just adapt for your own purposes.
http://www.amazon.com/Knitters-Handy-Book-Pattern…
I'm impressed you've made so many socks! I've been knitting a long time and the one time I attempted socks I gave it up as a bad job after a short time. The thread was too fine, the needles too many, and I was just too frustrated to get past the cuff at the top. (It probably didn't help that I had just knitted a sweater on size 13 needles which is basically an instant sweater–my patience for that thin thread just wasn't there!) I just wish there were a way to knit socks on a circular needle instead of doing five double pointed ones. Le sigh.
Breanna says
But there is! Try a 9 inch circular and man's socks, and use the Fisherman Wool from Lion's Brand. You'll knit a sock in a weekend, I promise.
Mrs.B says
I'm going to learn this too~THIS year! 🙂
sibyl says
Oooooough. I'm such a slug! I don't knit at all, thus can't share in the joy of having such lovely things at the end. And have no projects in the offing, but wish I did. I guess I'd like to try making a long skirt for spring.
Amanda says
I usually lurk, but I am a knitting geek. I second the tip to use circulars – I find 2 circs the easiest, a 24″ cable the most useful, and knitpicks sells some inexpensive and decent quality in wood or metal. If you break one, for any reason, they will replace it, too.
Giving the wee one some yarn of his own helps. As does choosing a pattern I can put down/pick up easily.
For thrifting yarn, try wool or wool blend products from a thrift store. Knitty.com used to have an article giving advice on selection, reclaiming the yarn, best uses, I couldn't find, but found this one with advice on how to treat unraveled yarn before re-knitting here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/FEATspr07TT.html.
Located this blog entry on reclaiming thrift sweater yarn: http://chaoticcrafter.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/re…
which matches the instructions I remember.
Happy knitting, and I love your blog.
Mamalion says
I must confess to a knitting addiction. I always numerous projects on the needles (OTN), and have decided it's the genteel way to fidget in public. And it helps me stay sane in this crazy life I live. I started over 2 years ago, while making numerous trips overseas while my parents were unwell. It helped pass the time in hospitals, in airports, and in airplanes. Now I feel naked without my knitting.
My oldest daughter who just lost one of her handknit mitts says to mention she still thinks I'm nuts. See if I knit her a replacement! My family members get handknit items depending on how reverent they are about the process and product. My 8yo son has begged repeatedly for a hat. He got one. My older dd loves socks. She gets them, particularly if I knit them and then don't love the color. She says her goal is to have enough pairs for each day of the month when she leaves home. My older son reminded me that he has nothing knitted from me, but he's too picky.
BTW, are you familiar with Ravelry? It's an amazing resource of patterns, yarns, etc. It's like a Yahoogroup for fiber addicts. My favorite go-to pattern for socks is 'Duckies' by Samantha Hayes, but they need sport-weight yarn. Have you figured out the whole concept of differing weights of yarn yet? That took me about a year. And that gauge is truly important. Knitting isn't as generous on 'winging-it' as other fiber crafts are.
Teresa says
Lovely finished obejcts, Leila. You have been a real busy bee
And like the other knitting commenters, I am impressed that you tackled socks so early in your knitting career.
It took me a long time to warm up to the idea of socks – even after I'd tackled many baby items, adult sweaters, and lace shawls! But socks can't be beat for portability and quick results. You just need to have sock-worthy friends and loved ones.
I loved Mamalion's comment about knitting being a “genteel way to fidget in public” – hilarously true.
Also second her mention of Ravelry – all things good for knitting. It is so fabulous.
You can find me there as “seashoreknits” and if you are already a member of that site, let us know where to find you! You simply must join and document your projects. They are all just beautiful.
Oh, and finally, thank you for the link to St Isidore's Alpacas – lovely!!!
Teresa
CarlynB says
Right before Christmas I saw an ad in our paper for a new knitting/wool store that has opened up in our area. They offer knitting classes and I've promised myself that I'm going to take one sometime this year. Until then, I must stick to crochet. I'm still working on the pineapple afghan that I started after my mother passed away.
I filled many hours with Mother at the doctor's office crocheting dishcloths. It was good to have something to do while waiting, waiting, waiting during those interminable hours at the doctor's office. We spent SIX hours there once! I could crochet and still visit with Mother or anybody else who happened to want to chat.
jamie says
Ah Knitting. I am being tormented right now with a serious case of knitters elbow… mandatory no knitting for a week. My husband is frankly surprised that everyone in the house has survived that thus far! (I told him the week isn't over yet. )
Ravelry.com is THE BEST site for all things yarn related. There are reviews on patterns, oodles and oodles of FREE patterns, downloadable stuff, reviews on yarn, message board… you name it.
As for knitting with children around, don't knit lace. I was knitting a gorgeous lace sock last year, left it in the knitting basket where the children have firmly been told many times not to go, and my then 2.5 year old pulled the needles out.
I may have cried.
If you're knitting socks, those little tube things that you can put your dpns in WHILE your socks are on the needles are the best thing ever.
Sarah says
Would never have known you were a beginner if you hadn't said so! I love the pink socks.
I am looking forward to hearing your reader's tips on crafting with young children underfoot. My 9 month old grabs the needles when I try to knit, and presses the pedal when I try to sew……
Charming's Mama says
When my four year old was about 15 months he used to think he needed to sit in my lap while I sewed, and he had a blast trying to hold on to the fly wheel. Oh how he would giggle. I would give up and play with him, that was more important than whatever it was I was working on. Now he leaves me alone when I am sewing. A calm and assertive “No, this is Mama's, you play with your things.” and he soon got the message.
If its something that really needs to get done, work during nap time or after bed time.
margo says
I give my children a parallel activity if they want to use my tools/things and it's not appropriate for little children. So when I'm sewing with the machine and they want in on the action, I give them a fabric scissors and scraps. They sit next to me and cut. Or they sort buttons. Or, for the older child, stick pins in and out of the pincushion. Sometimes if I'm sewing something simple, I can hold a child on my thigh that is not connected to the pedal foot. If the child is not sitting quietly, down he goes. They catch on fast which tools are for adults only!
Jan says
I love the socks. Someday I would love to learn to knit. I tried to teach myself, I thought maybe I could since I am a long time crocheter, but I really had a hard time. One of these days I will find someone to teach me and try again. Maybe after I finish all my WIPs… By the way what is sidewalk counseling???
_Leila says
Hi Jan,
One thing — you tube is invaluable for teaching yourself.
Sidewalk counseling is when you prayerfully stand outside an abortion clinic and offer help for the women going in and coming out. In the winter, your hands get cold!
Liz says
Just a story about knitting socks–I knit a pair not long after I learned to knit and my husband's grandmother (who had knit for EONS) asked, “Did you have trouble turning the heel? Lots of knitters have trouble with that.” i could only answer, “I didn't know it was supposed to be hard, so I just followed the directions and it turned out.” She was quite impressed, which made me feel pretty good! But truly, socks aren't hard, and they do travel well. I just love your blog, Leila!
_Leila says
Liz, I also just plunged in and turned the heel. Where I ground to a halt was “pick up 12 stitches” for the gusset. I had no idea what that meant, but a lady at a yarn store in Virginia told me what to do.
Bethany James says
Thrifting yarn tip:
It is really hard to find actual skeins of yarn worth buying at thrift stores, but sweaters made from beautiful fiber can be gotten fairly cheaply and unraveled. I've made some really lovely scarves and shawls from luxury fibers like angorga, silk, and cashmere pretty inexpensively this way!
Carrien says
I was going to say the same thing. I've made my kids a few sweaters from yarn gleaned from awful sweaters found at thrift stores.
I learned to knit while pregnant with my first. It was something to do while trying to ignore terrible morning sickness. I've even knit while nursing, but not recently.
Amy says
I have too many projects in the works to mention, but right now knitting and sewing are my favorites. I have a scarf on needles in my work bag that I just may pull out very soon. My grandmother taught me to knit and sew when I was young, more than 30 years ago. I re-taught myself about 15 years ago and haven't looked back. I have a sock started somewhere, I just need to continue it. Your socks are wonderful!
Emily says
I don't think knitting is for me. I have taken up (and dropped) cross stitch, crocheting, and knitting at various times of my life. Just don't like it enough to keep doing it!
Besides, there are other things I like doing to fill my little moments. Like…reading blogs.
Which brings me to a question related to redeeming the time. What do you think about computer use, Auntie Leila? I find that I have a love/hate relationship with the internet and the computer. It can be so useful, and so edifying (your blog is a perfect example of the latter) and yet it can be this demonic suck-up-my-time device, too. I've been working on finding a balance for YEARS and don't feel that I'm making any real progress.
Anyway, I'd love your thoughts and those of any readers who also read this comment. 🙂
priest's wife says
hmmm…use computer time as a reward?….limit yourself to an hour a day?…..show your internet history to your husband (so he knows how much time you spend)?…..but if you are just filling little moments, it is probably fine. I 'gave up' facebook for Advent and now check it and my other emails just once a day- I like news and I do confess to reading some celebrity news (mostly who will be in what movie)- So, I get news headlines from a Catholic news service and I read the headlines at entertainment weekly, but don't let the internet suck me in with all the links- as for my blog, I have a window open on my laptop and work on a post in little spurts- whicj is why the posts are a bit disjointed 🙂 We do what we can!
_Leila says
Emily, as my husband runs an internet news service, I am all for computer use!! You should subscribe! Spend lots of time on there! ” target=”_blank”>http://www.catholicculture.org!
Seriously, I think the answer is the same as any other waste of time: if you have something positive and creative to do, you will treasure every moment. Of course you have to impose “don'ts” on yourself, but far more effective is to have “do's” — so many things that you want to make, try, and get to that you are jealous of every second. Sometimes I have been spending time looking at other people's projects online and then I just want to scream! Because I have so many things I want to do myself.
Also, if you are chronically over-tired, you end up spending too much time on the computer because it's a stupor-perpetuating device. So get more sleep and take your iron. If you are tired, sit on the sofa with a book and then take a nap. Far better than mindlessly surfing.
Give yourself permission to check the truly valuable blogs that energize you (I think I have about 4 or 5 at most), read the news, answer your email, and then get going with your life!
alpineflower says
What everyone else said: Ravelry (I'm alpineflower there too), Elizabeth Zimmerman, and buying sweaters at thrift stores and unraveling them (check the seams and make sure the pieces were knitted and sewn together, not cut out of knitted cloth and then sewn together!).
I have three kids. I have several projects going on the needles at one time: a fairly complicated one that doesn't see a lot of me these days, a sock that travels to meetings and waiting rooms, and a gift or something small that will give me some more immediate gratification but doesn't take a lot of concentration. My oldest doesn't bother my knitting (the twins are only 9 mos old, so they will soon enough) because I've made it very clear that she'll be in big trouble if she does. Once her motor skills improve a little, I'll teach her and start my dishcloth sweatshop. 🙂
Polly says
Great projects!! I taught myself to knit when my son was 6 months old. I love to sew but knitting is so portable and convenient, plus baby hats are just so fast and easy to make! I knit here and there and just keep the knitting out of reach of grubby little fingers!! I find it is very relaxing–but I don't make socks. They require a level of concentration that I lack during this mothering-tiny-people stage!!
Charming's Mama says
I am a quilter and have never learned to knit, but I do know how to crochet and have done other crafty things, like the earring holder I made for my sister and one sister-in-law.
You can see it here. http://thecharmingtyrant.blogspot.com/2011/01/han…
You can also see one of my quilts here. http://thecharmingtyrant.blogspot.com/2010/11/out…
Sarah King says
I would have never guessed you just learned to knit this year! My mom and grandma taught me to knit a long time ago but I always preferred to sew until recently. You see, we moved into a new house and I no longer have a sewing room/area. Thankfully, knitting can be done anywhere! Over Thanksgiving, my mom asked me to help her finish a hat on double pointed needles. I had been very intimidated by dpns but to my surprise it wasn't very complicated. So, I decided to tackle a bigger project- a vest for my son's first birthday. It turned out so cute and was a very quick knit!
I also found that our Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores often have some quite nice yarns very inexpensively. All the recommendations for knitting around small children are spot on! If they have a project of their own (lacing cards) and you have an easy pattern that you can pick up and put down (and you don't mind ripping out a few rows every now and then), it is pretty easy to knit around the kids.
Here's the link to a not so great photo of him in the vest: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Ye_9hU-fVsc/TS6AZKQOBXI…
Here's the link for the free pattern: http://samlamb.blogspot.com/2010/07/toddler-t-shi…
Also, I second the ravelry recommendation!
Genevieve says
I've crocheted since I was about 5 or 6 (I'm 34), and I've made a slew of baby booties and hats and sweaters and blankets in my lifetime. I'm not that great at knitting, though. I'm trying really hard to work on this now ( http://littlebearknitwear.blogspot.com/2009/02/in… ) – but I've torn it out so many times, I'm about to pull out the round loom and make another like I did for my best friend's daughter. I have a newbie due in about 2 months, and I'd really like to get it done before then (and I still have a few booties to make with leftover blanket yarn and a hat/booties to make with the sweater yarn… my first time using alpaca!)
Yarn work when kids are around (I have an almost 6 year old and a 4 year old) – I do it when I'm a passenger in the car and they're strapped down, when they're asleep at night, and at my lovely knitting/crochet group for 2 hours every Monday night! My husband is awesome for giving me that break every week!
I've left my ravelry link as my website – you can see some of the other fiber projects I've done there if you're a member. I love ravelry for keeping track of what I've done, as well as finding patterns (that's where I found the link above).
Michelle says
Wow! What a talent you have there!
Mamabear says
I became a wool lover when I started using cloth diapers, but knitting intimidates me, and our Texas winters sometimes aren't winters at all! I like to blast out easy sewing projects on the weekend, but my two youngest aren't allowing me that right now. I am learning embroidery, because I can take it with me to wait for school to let out (when I usually have 2 asleep in the car), although most days lately I have been reading books on my phone. I come from a family of quilters, but that is not my season right now!
Oh, that cuddly baby in the sling!
Karen says
I can crochet but never perservere to finish anything. ONCE I finished a small baby blanket (one big granny square). I've learned how to knit half a dozen times but never really get going and then promptly forget how to even cast on. Now I do quilt, when I can find the time, space and $$ for fabric. I only quilt for a purpose, not for fun which is kind of sad. Of the 20+ quilts I've made I've never made one for myself/my home. Kind of sad.
I had just started a tumbling blocks that is for a wedding gift. Wedding is Feb 26. I have a sick baby I haven't been able to put down in three days and I swear that bag of fabric is staring at me, telepathically counting down the days I have to get this quilt pieced, quilted and bound. I wouldn't be surprised to find me doing the binding on the airplane 😀
Kara says
Didn't read all the commments, so you may have already gotten this tip, but a friend of mine knits both socks at the same time. Not being a knitter, I can't tell you much, except that the toes were one the same needle. They looked like tiny litte caps for twin dolls, so I asked her about them. She said she does it at the same time so they look more the same and to make sure she does indeed knit both! Arg, now wondering if it's crocheting and not knitting. Hope this helps!
jodi says
Hey Leila, my daughter-in-law swears by knitting needles called Magic Loop, which enables you to knit two socks at a time. She said there are imitations as well, but they are thicker and not as flexible as the name brand ones. She loves them for knitting socks and mittens. As for me, I haven't graduated beyond scarves and washcloths 🙂
margo says
I didn't realize you were such a recent knitter! I'm impressed with your output and THE SOCKS. My next knitting goal is to knit wool socks, for the same reasons you listed. I can find cheap yarn at secondhand places around here, but usually I use a coupon to buy cotton yarn. Because all I knit right now are dishcloths. I can knit them in my sleep, so they're the perfect portable handwork because i'm not following a pattern. I always use those rubber tips to keep the stitches on the needles – but those rubber thingies kind of freak my extended family out (I sometimes let the thingy behind accidentally and then my family wonders what the HECK is this?).
You are so RIGHT about the northern vs. southern woman! I always feel so schlumpy in the winter, but boy, do I stay warm and dry, even through the drifts to the car, even to market on the icy sidewalks carrying milk home in glass jugs wearing my thick, sensible boots.
Susan (in DE) says
I love knitting, and I love crocheting, and I'm all for redeeming the time, BUT after we were involved in a car accident some years ago — someone under the influence veered over the center line and we couldn't get away — and I SAW how the Corelle plate shot the length of the full-sized van…well, I can't bring myself to knit or crochet in the car. Not when it's under motion. I could bring them out of an enclosed bag and work with them while we were stopped somewhere.
I don't want something that potentially lethal (like a pen, except *occasionally* I cheat there — very occasionally) to have a chance to stab someone. (We all recovered, thankfully. The Corelle didn't shrapnel anyone — thankfully. But that scared me.) Just a little word that I can't help thinking of when people say they do handwork in the car. I used to do it too.
I admire all the fun work you put into those projects.
Mom in MO says
After years of saying, “Someday, I'll learn how to knit,” I learned how about 2 years ago. I stuck with some hole-y scarves for the first year and a half, then started a shrug for my mother. I had some issues with it and put it aside for a long while. I've been practicing on dishcloths and some Christmas ornaments that could be finished quickly. Just this weekend, I ripped out my mother's shrug and started over with a new pattern. In just two days I have almost completed what had taken me months to do previously. I know I learned so much with the other projects and that gave me the boost I needed to work on the shrug. Now I have a plan to finish it by her March birthday!
Your projects are many and all of them are wonderful-looking. They all look as if you have been doing this for years and years. Thanks for sharing with us.
tara says
“You'd like to care, but you don't.” So true!!! I love easy, breezy summer clothes. Winter here in Ohio… blahhh. Every morning I have great intentions of dressing cute, then I actually get out of bed into the cold air and contemplate going into the even colder outdoors… then grab jeans, corduroys, sweaters, fleece, layers, layers, layers. Another frumpy but comfortable day!
Glenda Childers says
Impressive . . . very impressive. And it looks like you had fun, too.
Fondly,
Glenda
AmyW says
I took a knitting class about three years ago. I've made an odd assortment of scarves and gifts. This year I've made 2 sweaters. BTW—the description of Southern women is priceless…however, come visit in August when the humidity is 90% and we've been out in the garden or canning vegetables all day. Fresh, bright, and feminine…not so much 😉
http://williams-arena.blogspot.com/2011/01/snow-s… http://williams-arena.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-fir…
I want to master socks this year and I have another sweater on the needles. I also dropped by the yarn shop today for 1 skein and walked out with a bag full of beautiful yarn. It is an expensive craft but it brings me such pleasure.
Nadege says
It's hard to imagine that you're a newby as your knitting looks great. Might you have the yarn and color name for Nick's blue socks?
_Leila says
Nadege, the yarn was something I got at a local shop in the sale bin. I think it's this one: Mondial “Via” (?) 60% wool 25% alpaca 9% acrylic 6% viscose. It's Navy. I thought it would be sturdy for hiking socks. However, that might not be the wool…
I do have a Ravelry account and every intention of posting my projects in an organized and informative way. Of course, what I really have is a bag full of little yarn labels, a file with pictures on my computer, and some yarn ends which Bridget claims I now just throw on the floor.
After I install my new Quicken (hatred) and pay some bills (despair) and merge my email accounts (headache), I will attend to the Ravelry thing. I will try!
paula says
“I used to wonder why it is that Southern women always look fresh, bright, and feminine, with little cardigans and silk shirts and swingy skirts, and Northern women look like we don't care.”
Until the summer and then we are so drenched with sweat and there is nothing to wear (except perhaps a mu-mu) that will sufficiently cool us and then you all look pretty darn cute with your “spring sweaters” and cardigans and “summer clothes.” I laugh at the spring/summer Lands End catalogue with it's “spring sweaters” and models on the beach in long sleeves. So, I guess there are trade-offs on either side. : )
Lynn B says
Leila, does Krista have a blog? I want to be an alpaca farmer in an alternate reality 🙂 and would love to read about their family and lifestyle. Thanks!!
_Leila says
Lynn, Krista doesn't have a blog. You would love her family — very cute. But I bet there are others out there…
Lisa says
I have started knitting! I've made a scarf, baby booties, a darling no-slip scarflet, and a baby cap. Thank you so much for your encouragement, it really does fill in the few minutes here and there that you have with young children. Though I have started to worry their enduring memory of me will be me saying, “Just let me finish my row.”