Many people associate knitting or crocheting as a way to unplug from the technology pervasive in our modern world. However, I like to find ways to incorporate technology into my everyday knitting in ways that help me become a better knitter.
Casting On with the Long Tail Cast On
Here is a video I created to demonstrate how to do the Long Tail Cast-On. I do apologize for the excessive background noise, as I am still trying to get the logistics figured out. I hope you find it useful. I will be creating other videos soon.
You Spin my Head Right Round, Right Round
What should a fiber obsessed girl do when the weather turns too warm for knitting? Spin. Not the gym class kind of spinning, but spin fibers into yarn.
Why should one learn to spin?
- It feels magical.
- It is oddly soothing.
- It does not require wrapping yarn around your fingers or resting a warm knitted or crocheted thing on your lap.
- You can get creative with it.
- Spinning will give you a better understanding of the characteristics of yarn.
Generate Me a Knitted Thing!
Pattern generators. What is a pattern generator? And when should we use one? To answer that, we must first answer the question:
What is a pattern?
7 Truths of Subway Knitting
In the past two months, I’ve started working at a yarn store which, combined with increasingly colder weather has motivated me to not abandon my knitting. My 45 to an hour long commute has become my simple projects knitting time. As I sit and knit away on the train, I find there are certain techniques and tools that are more useful than others, and how some people’s interest is welcome while others manifests itself in a much more unsettling way.
Summer Sucks for Knitting
So, I know I haven’t posted in a while, and I really need to start forcing myself to do so. I also haven’t been knitting for nearly the last two months.
What??
The idea shocks me too. Knitting has been such an integral part of my life for so long that I never thought there would come a time I just did not knit. I remember meeting people who “knew how to knit but didn’t do it very much anymore”, and I would be astounded. I mean, if you know how to do it, why wouldn’t you do it all the time? Doesn’t it just blow your mind that you can create something with a few pointed sticks and a length of yarn? It’s like magic! And don’t we all want to feel like wizards?? (more…)
Integrating Knitted Items into Your Wardrobe
It’s been a while since I last wrote. Things here have been a little hectic, and when I haven’t been rushing off to jobs, I’ve been trying to keep up with the apartment and trying not let the anxiety and depression monsters dominate my existence. When you’re little, monsters are actual creatures that hide under your bed or in your closet. They are monsters that can be defeated with a flick of the light switch or kept at bay by your trusty pet. As an adult, those monsters are more insidious, creeping into your line of sight in broad daylight, following in your shadow as you move about the city, or hovering on your shoulder whispering horrible lies into your ear until you believe that the things they say are the truth, and that they come naturally from your own thoughts. However, a dear friend sent me a text message today which reminded me that not only have I not written in my blog for a while, but I’ve been in danger of retreating into the cocoon I have created to shield myself from the monsters’ influence rather than bursting forth with shield and sword in hand. So in attempt to at least wound these monsters that haunt the darker corners of my mind, I am resolved to write this blog post. En guard!
Months ago, this friend sent me a letter (a real handwritten letter on pretty paper in a real envelope with a stamp and everything), to which I have not yet responded. I have no excuse for this neglect, and as such I dedicate this blog post to her and the question she posed in her letter:
How do you incorporate the things you knit to wear into your wardrobe without overwhelming the eye with color and pattern?
To Frankenstein a Sweater
I apologize for the length of time between my last post and this one. My trusty laptop has stopped functioning, and I’ve got my fingers crossed I’ll be able to revive it.
In my last post, I wrote about how to Reverse Engineer a sweater, or more specifically, how to asses the elements that you’ll need to know to reverse engineer a sweater. In my example, I used a sweater worn by Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I. Today, I’m going to write about how to use existing patterns to create a pattern to recreate the sweater of your dreams – or in this case J.K. Rowling’s dreams.
Reverse Engineering
“I could make that.”
How many times have you said that while watching movies where the costuming is heavy on the knitted sweaters, scarves, vests, and gloves? How many times have you been shushed during a movie when you gleefully point out the beautifully executed sweater during a dramatic scene? Or how about when you find yourself staring at someone on the subway who is wearing a cardigan with really interesting color work? Or when you see a winter fashion show with oversize knitwear? Or maybe you just want to recreate a fabulous sweater you purchased and wore to pieces.
Truth: people have been copying fashion trends for centuries – probably millenniums. People copy other people’s hairstyles, clothes, mannerisms, shoes, and vocabularies all the time for all of time. So it is with knitting. Reverse Engineering is the process of figuring out what steps to take to create a garment or item that copies something you have seen without a pattern. Coping a written pattern is cheating and against copyright law. With reverse engineering, you are going to use all of your knitterly know-how to create a garment that looks like the one you see. (more…)
8 Ways to Beat Second Sock Syndrome
Second Sock Syndrome. A situation many knitters face, and it’s not just for socks. Any knitted item that generally comes in pairs is susceptible: socks, mittens, gloves, leg warmers. I find myself facing SSS or second sock syndrome a lot. It usually comes after I’ve finished a sock pattern I’ve really wanted to try out. However, finishing the first sock usually scratches the itch to knit that pattern or technique, then the second sock feels like a chore, and knitting isn’t my job, it’s my hobby! I want to enjoy it! So, how can we beat the second sock syndrome?
Strung Out 