rostitchery

when yarn attacks

on my honor, i followed the pattern to the letter.  at least, i thought i did.  it is a really clear, simple pattern and there is no way a person of ordinary intelligence such as myself could have misunderstood the directions.

therefore, the only logical conclusion is that the yarn clearly and intentionally disregarded the pattern just to make me look bad.

 

the lesson here is this:  as a pattern designer, i must double and triple check my pattern instructions.  if there is ANY chance someone can misunderstand, someone will.

if you have the pattern "fabulous felted mittens for all" from the answer lady and would like to offer some clarification, my confusion is in the very first step--the cast on for a mid-gauge machine.  :)

SRC:  20 points for using some yarn, 20 points for trying a new pattern, -15 points for messing it up.  25 points total for this project.  not bad for something so awful.

 

*the answer lady has some terrific patterns available for immediate download for both knitting machine and frame (loom) knitters!  i LOVE her pattern "fabulous felted footwear for frame knitters" (scroll down), it is well-written and comes with lots of good tips that will help even a beginner make great slippers.  her customer service is also excellent and i plan to buy more of her patterns in the future.

a stitch by any other name is still just a loop

 

a few days ago a question was posted on the gettin' it pegged! loom knitters clique facebook page that got my mind whirling:

“Do you prefer the true Knit Stitch, the U-Knit Stitch, the Flat Stitch or the E-Wrap (Single) Stitch? I think I prefer the U-Stitch.”

it is often said in needle knitting that there are only two stitches:  knits and purls.  everything else is a variation on these two stitches.  i contend something a little different:  that there aren't actually two different stitches at all, but two variations on the same stitch:  a loop.

 

further it is my opinion that the terms "knit" and "purl" are actually verbs, not nouns.  i hope i can explain.

the only difference between a knitted stitch and a purled stitch is what it looks like on the front of the work.  whether the head of the loop appears on the front or the back of the work determines whether or not it is called a knitted or purled stitch. 

you can demonstrate this to yourself easily.  when working in the round, if you knit every other round and purl the rounds in between, you end up with only purl bumps on each side of the work.  you know you made knitted stitches at least half the time, but the surface is not flat, it is bumpy.

the product when knitting flat panels depends on whether you are knitting with needles, machine, or loom.  when working on a flat panel on needles, if you knit every row, back and forth, the final product will be two sides with purl bumps on them.  you didn't purl at all, yet you have only purl bumps showing.

when knitting back and forth on a loom or a flat-bed machine to make a flat panel, you will end up with one side of the work that is smooth, showing the knitted V's, and the opposite being bumpy, having only purl bumps.  if using a loom, it doesn't matter if you make knitted stitches back and forth or purled stitches back and forth, you will always have one side flat and one side bumpy.  (flat bed machines don't make purl stitches, but that is for a different post).

now to put this to a more strenuous test:  knit 2 purl 2.  when knitting this on a flat panel you have to purl 2 knit 2 on the back side in order to maintain the pattern.  that's because when looking at the back you are presented with the purl bumps on the stitches you knitted and the knit V's on the stitches you purled.  but the final result on the front will still be K2P2.

i bring this up because in my opinion all the talk about different knit stitches in the loom world is really not useful, and i'm hoping eventually the loom field will standardize the terminology so as to be less confusing.  the method you use to create a stitch is really not critical except as it pertains to achieving the look you want.  needle knitting patterns do not state "make this kind of knit stitch", they tell you to knit, and you then knit according to your preferred method—continental (this is the method i use), or english, or eastern/combined, or backward, or one-handed, or whatever.  same with purling--a pattern doesn't tell you to form a purl stitch, it tells you to purl--verb, not noun.

rightly the term “stitches” should apply to the fabric created by knitting, such as stockinette stitch or basketweave, or cabled stitch.

the stitch most commonly used in loom knitting is referred to as the e-wrap stitch, but to needle knitters it is just a twisted knit stitch or KTBL (Knit Thru the Back Loop).  the stitch that loomers call the flat stitch is just a plain knitted stitch as in all other forms of knitting.  whether or not you create this stitch by flat wrapping, or U-wrapping, or some other wrapping method, what you end up with is a knitted stitch.

it is important for loomers to start taking charge of their knitting.  i hope that patternmakers for looms will begin using the standard that needle patterns use, which will make patterns more concise and will also eliminate a lot of the confuse loom knitters seem to have about which "stitches" to use for their projects.  the point of a pattern is not simply to dictate how things are made but to give a blueprint for creating a finished product.

thoughts?

 

*pretty much everything you could want to know about the technical aspects of knitting can be found at techknitting and its companion site, techknitter.  loom knitters and beginning machine knitters might find the article about why some knitting curls and other knitting doesn’t.

and a little child shall lead them

so after my success in forming a sock-ish object last week, i decided to give it another go with a different pattern to compare the results.  i used the single bed sew-as-you-go sock from dianna natters on--a really great feature of which is that she has a video to show the different steps called for in the pattern.  i also reduced the number of cast on stitches and tightened the tension in the mistaken belief that this would somehow make a better-fitting sock.  (i still have so much to learn in that department).

when i got to the seam-as-you-go part, again, i got the same crazy lump at the beginning of the pick up that i got on my first sock, so i decided to rip it back, take it off the machine, and contemplate the meaning of socks. 

about an hour later, ella came along and slipped her foot in the half-finished sock and said, "hey, if you make the sides a little higher, and the back a little lower, this would be a cozy slipper."

reenactment

 

and then, with the quickness of thought that is natural to most geniuses, she said, "and if you turned it around, you could sew down the flap and it would be a slipper already."

reenactment, act II

 

so i did.  and she was right.  it makes a cute slipper--the side is still a little low but this is a good proof of concept.  she wants me to make the mate, and then she wants more pairs in every color.  :)

so, my advice to anyone learning to knit socks on a single-bed knitting machine is this:  make sure you have a seven-year-old there to help.

for the SRC:  i'm trying not to get carried away this early in the game.  so i'll take 1 point for using a little yarn, and 50 points for doing something new again.  51 points.

 

*since finding the tutorial that i used to make this sock/slipper, diana has posted that she will soon have a video tutorial for a sock knit on the bond ultimate sweater machine, which is readily available at most craft stores.  it looks like it is going to be a good sock too, so i’ll definitely give it a try and report back.

how i like to start a new year

if my memory is correct, i've been using this tag line on the internet since around 1994:

"when was the last time you did something for the first time?"

i've recently realized that while it is a catchy phrase, it does not accurately reflect my real philosophy.  instead, it should read:

"when was the most recent time you did something for the first time?"

following that line of thinking, the most recent time i did something for the first time was yesterday.  i knitted a sock.  in about an hour.

i knitted this on a brother KX 350 knitting machine (which i can’t find a link for, because they aren’t made anymore) that i bought several years ago in a thrift store, nearly new and with all its accessories and manuals, for $25.00.  i've knitted dozens of dishcloths on this little machine, a few scarves, and one baby blanket.  but i knew this could be the key to me getting more than one pair of homemade socks per year so i finally bit the bullet and did it and it was so much easier than i thought it would be!

mind you, it isn't a GOOD sock, and it isn't even wearable, but it is remarkably sock shaped and that feels like a win.

for this sock i used the machine knit sock tutorial from herman hills knittery.  i'm happy with the ribbing, i'm happy with the short rowing.  i have something still to learn about picking up the stitches at the beginning of the seam-as-you-go.  i got a crazy lump on one side, i believe because i had not figured out which strands to pick up so i made too many stitches there.  i think i've got it figured out now.  the rest of the seam makes me happy, it looks like a tiny cable.

once i make a good sock on this machine, i'm going to "graduate" to the machine i really want to use, my studio 328 (which i also can’t find a link for because they aren’t making this one even more than they aren’t making the other one anymore), which i got on craigslist for just $60!  that machine will be able to use the yarns that i quit knitting by hand because i just didn't want to see my life passing by in yarn.

if you're a machine knitter and have any suggestions for how to improve my technique or have links to great sock patterns, please leave a comment!  i am totally in over my head on this but it is fun and i like the feeling that there is so much for me to learn.

this was my last SRC project for 2010!  i used about 1/3 of a ball of hideous yarn that i’ve had in my stash for at least two years, maybe three—i remember buying it and i remember where i got it, and i remember that my sweet baby wanted it because it is PINK and she is not a yarn snob, so i got it and it made me happy even though it is, as i mentioned, HIDEOUS.  so for that i’ll take 30 points.  and this whole thing was nothing but a series of new techniques and for that i’ll take 100 points, and to celebrate the end of another wonderful year i’ll add 2010 points.  so 2140 points!  yay me!  i hope your 2010 stash reduction project was a successful as mine was.

 

*what are you doing to get your new year creativity kick started?

frugal gifts for the graduate

this is for my local cyberfriend meredith at like merchant ships, who asked about frugal gifts for graduates.  (i tried to post this in your comments, meredith, but i kept getting an error).

last spring one of our neighbors graduated high school.  this was huge to us, we had known her since she was just a child in grade school, and we wanted to congratulate her on such an important acheivement (which, honestly, we weren't sure would happen for her).  having more stash than money, and almost no time, i came up with this handmade washcloth and soap, which i call a pampering gift set.

the great thing about this washcloth is that it took only 15 minutes to make!  i knitted it on the ultimate sweater machine from joanns.  five minutes of back-and-forth, 10 minutes of crochet around, and it was done.  ella made the soap (with supervision, of course), and the thing that took longest was waiting for the soap to harden.  when i give these as gifts, i present them on pretty thrift saucers that can serve as a soap dish.

if i were making this for a man, i'd use a more masculine color of yarn (maybe even some of the cool camo stripe yarn), a soap on a rope, and i'd present them in a mug or maybe even a toy sailboat.

the pattern i used is the knitting machine dishcloth pattern by magic pixie knitter, but instead of her scalloped edging i used a shell edge.  since first knitting this pattern i have tried lots of other edgings, and i've adjusted it to use on other machines--if you use fingering weight yarn on a standard gauge machine, you get very soft, light washcloths, just right for newborn babies.

this has become one of my most popular gifts, one which people actually request over and over.  when i have time i do prefer to knit washcloths and dishcloths by hand--not because hand knitting is better, but because i enjoy it and i can carry that kind of project around in my purse.   however, when time is short and money is tight, there is nothing like running up a nice gift at the last minute to make me feel like super present lady.

i am learning more and more about using my knitting machines, and i hope this summer to put them to use making more than just rectangles.  and again, to answer the question i get nearly any time i mention knitting machines:  no, knitting by machine is not cheating.  i use a sewing machine too, you know.  :)