knit karma
Was out of town on a gig last weekend, and met another musician knitting. She learned to knit around Christmas, and was, in fact, doing quite well on her first ever garment with shaping (a baby sweater). When I found her at the back of the rehearsal hall, however, she had just gotten frustrated. She was perplexed by the unintended holes being created by the addition of a button band. Ah, picking up stitches. Her sister had shown her how, but somewhere there had been a breakdown.
I hate picking up stitches. Especially when there are lots of them, and even more especially if they are around a collar or other non-straight line. But because of my disdain, I have gotten good help in figuring it out, and I have mastered the pick-up-stitch. I demonstrated, I coached, I explained. I watched, I guided, I cheered. By the end of the evening she had finished both bands on her own, quite successfully, and was confident in her new skill. She was even anxious to run back to her sister and demonstrate "a better way to do it". (Apologies to said sister if your method was merely misunderstood.)
One thing I have enjoyed as a knitter is the general willingness of 0ther knitters to offer help, suggestions, advice, and generally share, as only rare groups are found to do. I have taught a few people knit or purl in passing, which is always great, but more often I have benefitted from someone else's wisdom. It was really fun for me to appear just as help was required, and be able to put back into the knitters' karma pool. Even better, the next day we sat chatting for an hour or two, just knitting away together before the performance.
I'm off to the cottage again, and taking only Clappy and the Shrug. I hope to bring one back finished. Cross your fingers for me. Think my karma "deserves" a FO?!
Yay!
Finally... scroll down for the WIP porn.
Kingston SnB night
Okay, Blogger is still behaving badly so I can't get my WIP pics up right now, but I thought I would mention this here. Back when the Harlot mentioned me, a few Kingston knitters popped out of the woodwork to say hello. Well... come on out and meet in person if you like.
I've encountered 3 or 4 knitters in person out in the world around town, and we're going to try to get together from time to time. Nothing firm, fixed or organized in any real way. No fees, no charitable knitting projects (unless we feel like it), no membership cards. Simple, spontaneous, knit, chat, bitch, moan, share. Whatever. This is when and where we're meeting:
Wednesday, August 16 (that's tomorrow), around 7:30pm, Starbucks at Johnson and Division Streets. Look for us in the comfy chair area to the left of the front door. (If there are non-knitters there when we arrive we will poke them with our pointy sticks until they get the hint)
It'd be great to meet some new knitters.
KADD
That's Knitter's Attention Deficit Disorder.
Here are most of my WIPs.
Least impressive first: my sock. I've knit very little on it, and because it's teeny tiny sock yarn, I've made only the smallest progress.
But that's mostly because I am so closed to completion of my long-running turtleneck shrug.
The fact that this puppy is 3x3 ribbed ALL the way around made it a little dull, so it too languished for a bit, but she's in the homestretch now!
Then there were these. The silk sleeves from the One Skein book. I'm not sure they count as works in PROGRESS, because there has been no progress in quite some time. They are knit in Rowan Kidsilk Haze, which is so thin and light it's almost like
imagining that you are knitting. They are lovely and soft, and even as I began the 27" pieces I thought, "I should be knitting these in the round." Yes. They are knit, but they may never, ever be sewn up. Delicately grafting cobweb together is not s
omething I ever wanted to do. Spider girl I am not.
Last but not least, is... my clapotis. Knit in Silk Garden 225, it is lovely. And progressing pretty quickly. I bought 7 skeins (
Romni had a July Sale!!!), but I wound them so I could see the colorway change (so I could put them in a good order) one ball broke several times. I will see how far I get with 6, but if I want to add another straight row repeat (to make it a little longer) I'll add the bits from skein 7.
So there *has* been some knitting going on around here!
I'm okay... thanks!
Hey folks...
Thanks for your concern, it's really, really nice. I'm completely okay, but for someone who is virtually unemployed in the summer, I have been unfathomably busy. And still am... I'm running away again right now, but I'll be back on Monday, and I have some pretty great WIP pics to post. The shrug is almost finished, the sock is, well, bigger, and there's something new on the needles in Silk Garden...
TEASE!
Have great weekends!
I've been trying... I swear. Stupid blogger ate my post yesterday (somehow?), and this morning it will not play nice with pictures. And what's a WIP post without pictures, right? I'll try this afternoon.
