Knit Wits – For Knitting Enthusiasts

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

 

OK-I want to call you KnitWits in the kindest of ways. Come up with a name for yourselves and I will change the title.


Comments

Knit Wits – For Knitting Enthusiasts — 63 Comments

  1. Beakerj – I hear ya. I have a couple of projects I need to finish up, too. One is a wool vest that I knitted I think about 3 years ago. It turn out too big, so I unraveled the entire thing and knitted it again. It has been sitting on the shelf for 2 years now, unassembled, because I have to block it first and I keep putting it off. Somebody give me a kick in the butt, please!

    No More Perfect – I’m self-taught, but I tend to learn better that way. I learned from books back in the day, but now you can find tons of videos online to help you.

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  2. Beakerj – I’m the same with crocheting. I love it, always have, it is so very soothing. Problem is, I rarely finish a project. O.o

    Moniker – wanna hear how forgetful I am? I just remember I bought a highly recommended video a couple of years ago on how to knit. Sigh. As soon as NaNoWriMo is over, I’ll start watching that!

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  3. No More Perfect: I recommend this site: http://www.knittinghelp.com Great video tutorials. I was taught by a close friend when we lived in Maine. She taught me the English method – it’s the method where you “throw” the yarn around the needle. However, I had remembered a trip to Europe when I was teenager in which the lady next to me was knitting a different way and it seemed to knit faster than the way I was taught, so I went to the library to figure out what that method was and switched to the Continental style. The site mentioned above covers both Continental and English and a combined method. The reason I really like Continental is because it uses less physical wrist movement. I’m accompanist for the local high school choir and I don’t want to do anything that might lead to carpal tunnel.

    I also recommend joining Ravelry. It’s a great site. There is so much support, I have actually taken a picture of a project when I’ve been stuck, typed out the instruction line I’ve had difficulty with and people have been able to walk me through the process of getting un-stuck. It’s quite amazing. You are able to look up a pattern, scroll through others’ completed projects of that pattern, see what yarn they used, read their helpful notes, etc.

    Thanks for the morning laugh, Brad. You’re so witty. So I guess the way Brad interprets it is that he gets to post here because he’s the wit part of Knit Wit. Keep posting, BRAAAAAAAAAD!!! πŸ™‚ I’m thinking Brad may break out into a rap at any moment now.

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  4. No More Perfect: I had a friend teach me the two basic knit stitches – knit and purl. Everything else, except for one class, has been self-taught. I have found this website to be good: http://verypink.com/ For me, she is easy to understand. If you go to the “Knitting Help Videos” you’ll find everything you need to get started.

    Ravelry is good, too. I find lots of free patterns, and, you can look at what other yarns people have used on a project, which is helpful if you can’t afford that $24 skein used in the pattern.

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  5. Nickname – You’re not the only one. I was new to knitting and managed to knit a baby sweater. When I took it to the yarn shop to find buttons, the sales person asked what stitch it was. I told her it was stockinette and she said that it was not stockinette – lol. I showed her how I knit and somehow I was twisting something wrong while knitting. Oh well – at least I was consistent throughout the whole sweater. Now I know how to knit stockinette πŸ™‚

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  6. Sweet! This is great! I used to have a neighbor that knit like a fiend, and I could always rely on her for guidance & inspiration. You all are my new neighbors!

    In keeping with the spirit of the blog, I could see a name for the group that carries a message; something that helps inspire our conversation with a sense of purpose. Or maybe a motto. Something like:

    The Fleece Redeemers: “Taking back the stolen fleece and creating something beautiful.”

    Guardians of the Fleece: “Taking back the fleece we see stolen from the sheep.”

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  7. NMP — I didn’t learn any handcrafts until I was in my mid-30s. MIL taught me to crochet. I taught myself to knit using books, youtube, knittinghelp.com and ravelry.com. You can practice knitting with crochet hooks, so grab some yarn and give it a try! πŸ™‚

    Brad — That’s great that you can darn socks. Truly a lost art!

    Scooter’s Mom — Glad you like the crochet bag pattern, but don’t ever think you can’t knit. I crocheted for 12 years before I taught myself to knit. I really like being able to do both. You can, too!

    Julie Anne & Beakerj — There’s even more ways to knit than English and Continental! Try looking up Russian and Portuguese knitting. It’s fun to see all the different ways knitted fabric can be created.

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  8. Jenny – Oh yes, I’ve seen those other styles. I was primarily referring to the 3 styles on the knitting site I referenced. Have you seen all the different ways people knit and purl? There are so many different styles. On one Ravelry thread, people posted YouTube videos of themselves knitting just so others could watch. Crazy!

    I can’t knit when my daughter plays volleyball (because i love the sport too much), but basketball season is soon approaching. I will definitely be knitting there! πŸ™‚

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  9. JA — I loved those videos. I became a continental knitter because I’m comfortable with the yarn in my left hand after so many years of crocheting, but purling continental is a real pain. Then I discovered Norwegian purling on Ravelry — EUREKA! πŸ™‚ No more purling angst.

    I’m a karate mom. I knit while my kids are taking their classes, and I absolutely must knit to keep calm at tournaments, especially when my daughter is sparring.

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  10. How is everyone doing on their Christmas knitting? I solemnly declared this year that I would do NO Christmas knitting! It was just too stressful the last couple of years. There’s still plenty of gift knitting going on, just no Christmas gift knitting.

    For those of you knitting Christmas gifts, you are in my thoughts. Think like Dori….Just keep knitting, just keep knitting, just keep knitting, knitting, knitting.

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  11. Great to hear you’re knitting again, Beakerj! πŸ˜€ What are you working on?

    Sorry I’ve been away. I’ve been knitting and crocheting like a madwoman for Christmas. I promised myself that THIS year I would finish making gifts by the 15th. So far I’m on schedule. I also resolved to make something for myself in January after the gifting madness subsides. I picked up some hippie-licious hand-dyed at WeFF last month, and it’s screaming to be made into this:

    http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/us/pattern.php?id=3315&lang=us

    As if knitting and crocheting wasn’t nerdy enough, I’ve now taught myself to needle felt. Hedgehogs and toadstools and gnomes- oh my!

    May you all have a beautiful Christmas! πŸ™‚

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  12. Hi Kathi! How funny we we’re posting at the same time after all these weeks! πŸ˜€ Have a blessed knitfree advent season and a lovely Christmas.

    Yes, I knit for Christmas. Therefore, I am running on little sleep and lots of coffee, and there are dustbunnies the size of chihuahuas under my kitchen cabinets. Must remember to teach the seven-year-old to run the vacuum …

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  13. I can’t knit. Really can’t. I’ve been taught twice, but I do something weird to it – I blame it on being a lefty taught by righties and having to try and translate it around in my head and something going wrong in the process.
    But I am a sewasaurus rex (brazenly stole that term from another blog) and have an entire chest of drawers full of fabric and patterns, so it’s best I don’t learn to knit or I’d drown under the weight of my craft stuff.

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  14. Jenny – The yarn you’re describing looks perfect for that jacket! You’ll need to link up a picture when you’re done!

    As for the rest of you – you only have 14 days left till Christmas! May your fingers fly! If there were a patron saint for knitting, it would probably be St. Rafqa. This young spinner and knitter has quite the story!

    http://livingknitting.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-im-wrong.html

    Too bad her feast day is in March. I think it should be moved to December to give all of the fiber project gifters a bit more hope and strength.

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  15. Pam — I admire sewasauruses! My MIL could see a blouse or dress in a catalog and make her own exact copy. She was an amazing quilter, too. Do you sew mostly clothing, or do you like quilting and other more artsy things? I hear you about craft supply accumulation. Now that I’m needle felting and spinning as well I expect more rubbermaid containers will take up residence in my closet.

    VV — You’d be amazed how many scientists and mathematicians also knit and crochet. Some knitterly Lit. majors understand microeconomics, too (thanks to their CPA, MBA spouses). πŸ˜‰

    Kathi — I’ll try to get a picture of the jacket up when I get it done. Loved the story of St. Rafqa. Her feast day is my sister’s birthday! πŸ™‚

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  16. Jenny-that’s great stuff! I’m going to crochet myself a hyperbolic plane. Anybody can knit a sweater. Seriously, I was born without the nurture instinct, the ladies at my former church didn’t know what to do with me, like I stepped out of the mouth of hell. That’s why I like music-it’s mathematical perfection but in practice it looks like creativity.

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  17. I do knit, but this is a crochet question. I’m looking for a pattern for an Aran crochet sampler afghan that is done in strips or in one piece not in squares to be sewn together.

    Why I’m looking for this is a good question, as I have at least 3 afghans and a couple of scarves on the needles right now πŸ™‚

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  18. Jenny – I sew clothing, not quilts (some day I might do a quilt to get rid of my scraps). Most things I wear are things I’ve made – other than t-shirts and jeans, and I refuse to sew denim. I got into sewing kind of for what you describe about your MiL. I saw a skirt I really liked but it was far too expensive, so I decided to make it myself. I’ve been sewing ever since.

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  19. And as I am also a math geek; here is my very own (possibly “unvented” to use Elizabeth Zimmerman’s term for reinventions) “mathy” pattern. I call it “Factors.”

    For a scarf that is 24 stitches wide. Cast on 24. Row 1 knit one, purl one across. Row 2 purl one, knit one across. Row 3 knit two, purl two, across. Row 4 purl two, knit two. Row 5 knit three, purl three. Row 6 purl thre, knit three.

    Continue knitting and purling on odd-numbered rows by factors of 24. (4, then 6, 8, 12.) On the even-numbered rows purl and knit. Then knit a row and purl a row. I like to repeat the pattern in reverse (12,8, 6, 4,3, 2, 1)and then start all over. I actually “unvented” this on a cruise. It looks great in a simple, pretty yarn–I used an alpaca silk. blend.

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  20. Hello again, fiber friends! Christmas is over. Are you still working on Christmas gifts or have you moved on to selfish crafting?

    I’m making things for others, but selfish knitting is next in line for me! After I make one more hat for my daughter, I’m making a pair of socks for me and I’ve ordered a sweater kit from Knit Picks. I can’t wait to do that!

    Happy stitching to all!

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  21. Hi, Kathi: I’ve knit dozens of pairs of socks, but I had never made socks for myself before last fall. Best thing to ever happen to my feet. Are you knitting one of KP’s colorwork kits? Those look so delicious!

    I managed to greet the New Year without a single UFO in my knitting basket. Everyone got their handknits and needlefelted things by Christmas Day, the first time I’ve ever met that goal. Currently I’m knitting my husband a pair of socks and crocheting together the squares our local guild made for a charity afghan. I haven’t begun my hippie-licious crochet cardigan yet, but I plan to start it as soon as the afghan is all stitched up.

    Knit on, my friends!

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  22. Just stopping by to ask what everyone is working on. I’m crocheting a granny flower blanket for my niece for her first birthday. I’m also knitting a pair of “prayer socks” for a friend who’s going through a rough time. Knitting her socks because she doesn’t like using shawls.

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  24. Hi, Kathi! Well, I’m so busy that I’m not on the internet as much as I used to be. πŸ˜‰ I’ve made a few things already, but October is going to be my Big Knit Month this year. I want to avoid repeating last year’s Knit-a-thon between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Fortunately all of our family lives in temperate zones, so no one is in need of a wool sweater. In years past everyone has been happy with socks, hats, scarves and gloves.

    Did you have any entries in your county fair this year? Our local guild had a good showing in ours. We volunteered to teach knitting at the fair as well.

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  25. Jenny – Sorry it’s been so long in between. I often forget to check here!

    I’ve never submitted to a fair. That kind of intimidates me! I’ve seen some show knitting, and it’s amazing. I’ll stick with socks, hats, mittens, etc.

    I’m slowly working on Christmas knitting. I just had to place a big order for yarn. Right now, I’m a little worried about getting it all done. I may have some I.O.U.’s to write out!

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  26. Kathi — Just in case you need to give an I.O.U. or two, Knit Picks has a cute downloadable and printable one:

    http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/IOU_Labels-Printable_Download__D51029220.html

    That might come in handy for me, too. October wasn’t as productive as I’d hoped it would be.

    Give your county fair a try next year. It’s fun to see things you’ve made displayed with other folks’ projects. You might just win a ribbon, too! πŸ™‚

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  27. @ Kathi:
    I’ve made a few hats, headbands and socks to give to our chilly relatives in Portland, but I spent most of my free time this year crocheting a queen-size granny stripe blanket a la Lucy of Attic24. I thought it would use up all my acrylic stash, but I probably have enough left for another twin-size version.

    Do you have any new year knitting goals yet?

    Ugly sweaters are very popular here in L.A. We even have a local shop that custom makes ugly sweaters: http://www.shopuglysweaters.com/

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  28. Jenny wrote:

    @ Kathi:
    Do you have any new year knitting goals yet?

    I am working on a blanket for my daughter’s high school graduation gift. I have till the middle of June to get it done, which is a good thing because I’ve barely started.

    I am also working on a sweater for myself. I figure I’ll have that done by March. Just in time for spring. πŸ˜‰

    Ugly Christmas sweaters are usually worn for parties here in Portland. My daughter’s school had a spirit day this past week where the kids wore ugly Christmas sweaters. We found a doozy at Goodwill!

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