KNITTING IS HARD

[rikibeth]

I swear, I used to know how to do it! Kid has a Gryffindor scarf I made all by myself. And I know I made a baby bonnet for my niece.

I'm out of practice, though, because the last time I was knitting regularly, I tended to overgrip and aggravate my ulnar nerve, something I can also do by rolling out too much croissant dough or playing too much Guitar Hero. But I figure if I'm careful, I can probably manage it.

I taught myself out of a book, too. A book I still have. So I went downstairs and fished it out of the bins of sewing room stuff. (Couldn't find the needles and things -- suspect I gave that entire tote bag over to the kid, who prefers to crochet.) And tried to refresh my memory.

The diagram in the book for casting on didn't work the way it LOOKED like it should, but I eventually remembered the twining motion I'd used before, and re-established the knack of it. I think with some more practice, I'll be able to cast on without having the stitches spiral around the needle.

Then I tried to knit again. AUGH. I could have sworn that I taught myself ambidextrously last time. Well, if I did, it's not working now. I CANNOT enact the basic knit motion "right-handed." Screwing it up enough times let me remember how it FELT to get it right, so once I ditched the diagrams and started doing it left-handed, I got it.

This was AFTER switching from a nice sport-weight cotton/acrylic baby yarn (my project yarn) to a worsted-weight crappy acrylic that I'd picked up years ago with the intent of making a Slytherin sweater. If I'd had bigger needles to practice on, I would have switched to those, too.

But once I did all that, I even got the hang of moving the yarn from back to front and vice versa for rib knit, which is a thing I'll need.

And if I remember the reversals, I'll be able to consult the diagrams for the other important stuff like yarnovers and increases and decreases.

I have two nice long train rides tomorrow, so I ought to be able to get a nice start on the whole business.

Comments

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Rikibeth! Life is too short to knit with acrylic!

(Also, stitches will spiral on cast-on. They just like to. It's okay, they'll straighten out as you go.)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Babies often can't tolerate wool, and I liked the hand of the cotton/acrylic blend better than the plain cotton. And I am not so wildly impractical as to knit for a baby in SILK. I want it washable! If you have other suggestions that won't cost an arm and a leg, or care to supply me with plain white sport-weight Something Else, I'm all ears.

That's good to know about the spiraling, and that it won't affect the finished product.

[sapphorlando.livejournal.com]

I'm still learning, and I have to be very patient because I'm really.. well not good. Not sure I ever will be. My brain has problems with three-dimensional constructs. I always sucked at 3D puzzles like Rubik's Cube, Jenga, those metal knot thingies, all that. So I fully expect to suck at an essentially 3D task like knitting.

But I figure I can overcome it, because I've always managed to before when I really wanted to. I have no sense of direction or distance either (I like to joke that I can take three right turns and be lost, but it's actually happened), which makes it hard to navigate. But I really like to travel, so as soon as I started driving I learned to read maps and all the other compensatory skills, and it worked. I get around pretty well, I think, for someone who by all rights should have great difficulty with it.

Anyway, I get coaching from a very wise and patient crone here (a Scottish Buddhist, if you can believe it), someone other knitters look up to who just happens to be a good friend. Lucky for me.)

I've got the two primary stitches -- knit and purl -- down, more or less, meaning that I know how to do them right. But I keep picking up stitches, and while I can often make sense of how I did it, I can't seem to stop myself from doing it, and don't notice until I count out the row at the end. I also don't know yet how to fix it without pulling out the row and starting over, but I've developed a stoic attitude about that: it's all work, so a little more can only be good for me. I do need to learn how to fix them, though -- and how not to do it in the first place. I also grip too tightly most of the time, and often have that fumbly feeling where I'm not sure what to be holding or how, or I don't have enough hands, or I'm about to drop something. The usual beginner's follies, I suppose.

You're clearly way ahead of me if you've finished anything, so I am in awe. Here's hoping I reach vaguely competent sometime. I think what I need right now is tons and tons of supervised practice. I thought of joining a circle, and there's two or three near me, including one with some people I know, but I don't want to burden them with my incompetence. I'd like to wait until I can more or less hold my own, and contribute something instead of just taking. (Perhaps if I bought rounds? Hmm..)

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

there are some very nice acrylic yarns out there. don't sweat it.

(superwash wool is often nicer for a baby than non washable, and much nicer for the laundry-washer. but acrylic has its place)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

This stuff has a very nice hand to it, kind of like some cheap but soft and comforting scarves and gloves I've owned over the years.

And some of the most treasured handmade things I got for my kid were acrylic, and I was really happy that they were, because it meant it was easy to wash them. Babies are MESSY, yo.

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

if your local knitting circle isn't patient with a beginner... (something something not so nice edited out).

without looking at your knitting I can't figure...

are you adding stitches just on rows where you knit and purl both in the same row, or also on rows where you just knit or just purl?

[sapphorlando.livejournal.com]

I often don't tolerate wool, as an adult. Not all wools, just some. I don't know what factors are involved. Drives me nuts, because I love wool generally.

My mother told me I always had sensitive skin (she said the neonatal staff told her it's common for redheads), so I don't blame wool. I'd like a better idea of what's going on, to make it easier to order wool. Right now, I have to press it against my neck and see how I react in order to know. All I've figured out so far is that neck seems to have expensive tastes. ;(

As for the spiral thing, I seem to recall that, too. The sampler scarf I'm working on right now started off all twisty but straightened out as I went along and now is fine (except for the parts where I keep screwing up, but that's unrelated).

[sapphorlando.livejournal.com]

I actually have no idea how tolerant they are because I've never been to a knitting circle. I just feel guilty about the likelihood that I'd find myself bugging them at the end of every row about my mistakes. For all I know, they live for it. I'm just reluctant to find out.

It doesn't matter which stitch or combination of stitches I'm using. I will say that it happens more often in the middle of a run of the same stitch, so I think it probably starts with me being inattentive out of a mistaken sense of comfort when I'm doing the same stitch over and over. Put another way, I'm probably just careless and inattentive when I get going. I'm like a teenage driver on a straightaway.

I'm actually less bothered by the fact that I do it (except for split threads, ugh!) than with the fact that I have a lot of trouble figuring it out after, and don't know how to fix it without pulling out the row.

But I'm very much a beginner still, so I'm not upset about it. I figure (hope!) I'll get better as I go.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty good at 3-D mental models -- I wasn't great at Rubik's Cube, but I'm good at those ironmongery bar puzzles, and I can get myself un-lost in cities that have a grid or a waterfront to navigate by, AND my dad taught me crewelwork embroidery when I was four, so I had a head start in Doing Things With String.

This project is more ambitious than my previous ones, as it's largely eyelet, and there are booties as well, which involve turning a heel, I think. But I have confidence that now that I've got the hang of knitting and purling again, and moving the yarn from front to back, I'll be able to sort it out from a few diagrams and written pattern notes. It's all just elaborations on the basics, right? And it's not as if I'm trying stranded work like Fair Isle.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

A RevWar re-enactor and dedicated spinner told me that it was the chemicals used in processing and finishing the wool that were usually at fault, and not the wool itself, and the way to test if it was REALLY a problem with wool was to put a bit of un-spun raw fleece into one's bra for several hours, and if that didn't cause trouble, it was the processing chemicals.

Since that sort of thing isn't labeled, testing against your neck is pretty much the only way, alas.

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

you will absolutely get better as you go.

and if it doesn't happen primarily when you're changing from knit to purl or back again, then you're remembering to move the yarn correctly, which is basically the only one I can diagnose without looking at it.

My feeling is that generally knitters who knit in groups *love* to talk to beginners about how to do things. Sometimes also Solitary Knitters, like me.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

We were all beginners once! Here's a saying I learned about embroidery, but it's the same for knitting: "Beginning knitters rip a lot. Intermediate knitters don't rip much. Advanced knitters rip a lot." And it's TRUE.

Don't feel bad about bugging people. That's how most of us learned, after all. If you don't click with the first group you try, keep going to different ones. Also, yarn shops all have their own personalities.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I think I'm not joining a circle unless I can find a LEFT-HANDED circle. I swear I wasn't that preferential last time. Or maybe I just had an easier time mentally reversing the diagram.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

http://www.ravelry.com, no joke. There's a whole group for lefty knitters--it's called On the Other Hand. They're lovely, helpful people.

I gave myself galloping tendinitis in my elbow because I used cotton yarn on slippery needles. OOPS. Tennis-elbow braces help a lot. So does not using yarn with no give, like 100% plant fibers. Some acrylics have bounce, some don't--if you start having trouble, try a different yarn, or switch to bamboo needles. (I *love* my bamboo and wood needles. The biggest splurge I ever splurged was ebony circulars. OH MAH GAWD, when I get a job I'm buying more.)

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Fair Isle is actually easy if you hold both yarns in one hand. (I have to do it that way, since my right hand is just for decoration.)

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

I am emphatically not left handed, but if you don't mind my clumsy and slow bits, I can actually demo some stuff left handed.

Although actually what we need to do is get Anne to come up here and knit with us.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

"Cotton yarn on slippery needles" pretty much exactly describes my niece's baby bonnet. Good to know!

Right now I've got metal straight needles (which seem only to be used for starting the rib knit edgings of this layette) and bamboo circulars. It was also hard to tell if my issue was more wrist or elbow, but I'll tuck the braces in with the knitting, because I have both.

Going to stake out my username on Ravelry now -- shouldn't be hard, because I think I'm the only one on the net.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

YES YES WE DO. I have Tim Tams. And shortbread. And so many kinds of tea. Where's that teleport?

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Or I can move to where you are and we can have our own two-person circle! That'd be awesome!

[txanne.livejournal.com]

\o/

You can use circs for flat knitting. That's all I ever do--that way the weight of the knitting stays in my lap instead of weighing down my poor sore elbow. Plus if you only buy one kind of needle, you have more left over for yarn. (knitpicks.com; elann.com; yarn.com; asciikitty works at Mind's Eye Yarn in, uh, Cambridge? I think?)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I made my first knitpicks purchase last week or so, getting wikdsushi something from her holiday wishlist. I'm hoping to do the Local Yarn Store thing to some extent -- although the one I found on the web that WAS in the town center has moved to the next town OVER, but at least when I got confused I called them again and they explained where they were, and they had the size 4 circular in stock.

I'm not sure how much knitting I'll actually do now that I'm starting up again, although the idea of armwarmers for my chilly house seems pretty appealing.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

See above comment re: Tim Tams (oh yes, I bought them) and shortbread and tea. Only thing lacking is the teleport.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

SOLD. Now all I need is a job. OH BUT WAIT, I'll be in Boston in early Feb; if it works out I'll be spending some time with the fabulous dancing_crow and her equally fabulous children, but since I have no grasp of MA geography I don't know exactly how much of a PITA it would be to get all my MA friends in a room together.

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

Said KnitPicks purchase is getting swatched right now, and it knits up beautifully! =)

If you need some less-slippery needles, if you place another KP order, get a couple of sets of their wooden needles, or else the clear acrylic (which are slicker). I swear by their nickel-plated ones, but I knit VERY quickly, and textured needles slow me down. I also use circs for everything to take some strain off my arms (though I'm intrigued with a technique of knitting socks in the round on straight needles).

If you need a different perspective than what your book gives, try http://www.knittinghelp.com. Free streaming videos! Awesome stuff!

[txanne.livejournal.com]

For people who tend toward arm pain, wood or bamboo is the only way to go. I *adore* my KP Harmonies.

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

I've got arthritis and nerve damage in my hands and arms, and I can't stand bamboo. Wood isn't much better. Metal warms to my hands, though, and acrylic is pretty neutral AND lightweight, so I handle them well.

Different strokes, I guess. :)

[shadowflyer.livejournal.com]

I remember the last time you took up knitting; you couldn't do it right-handed then either. Bravo for your spatial awareness that you're able to get the transposition down.

Kidlet appears to be firmly in the camp of the crocheters - I suspect mostly because it's faster and she's not very patient.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

And jetshade had the patience to sit down and demo crochet, which I didn't for knitting.

[kadath.livejournal.com]

My grandmother was the God-Empress of knitting and she'd pick out 50 rows of work to fix one mistake. According to her, "Doing or undoing, it's all work."

[kadath.livejournal.com]

/butts in

Assuming they don't live out in the Berkshires and a storm doesn't hit while you're up, not too much of a pain.

[auspeople.livejournal.com]

I also use circles for flat knitting. Made the transition and haven't regretting it.

And I'm seconding the Ravelry thing. I have not done anything up there, but need to now that I'm back trying to knit again.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

God-Empress? She didn't go into the sand, did she? /tacky-and-awful

Yeah, that's about where I am now. It's all yarn in my fingers, and that's what counts.

[pentane.livejournal.com]

I'd offer to help but (a) I'm not local and (b) I learned from reading Internet articles and my style (along with my left handedness) makes 'trained' knitters crazy.

[greeneyes-rpi.livejournal.com]

You knit? Why didn't I remember this?

I've wanted to learn to knit for years now, but I just don't think I have the patience. Mom (sort of) taught me when I was in HS, since I was threatening to take her quilt with me to college. She said I would have to knit my own, but she would "help." It took me the same time to complete one square as it took her to complete all the rest of the squares and the edging.

*is pathetic*

[auspeople.livejournal.com]

Yep. I initially learned young, like you, but only learned the knit stitch and really wasn't that good. I (re)taught myself back in 2005ish or something when I wanted to make a blanket for a friend who was having a baby (at which point, I learned she has knitted since like FOREVER, so I'm an idiot). Anyway, I have knitted two sweaters for the kids and one sweater for me (which I LOVE... it's my go to ski sweater and I'll have to take a pic of me in it cuz it is pretty lovely).

I find it a really nice thing to do while watching TV (provided there aren't subtitles or something highly visual) or when on a plane. I will admit that since I picked up reading again (last year), knitting has suffered a lot. I've been working on a sweater for K that I swear I'll be working on til he's dead or I'm dead. He picked this totally complicated pattern that is beautiful but GAHHHH! Takes me like 10 mis to finish one ROW.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*nods* My go-to for baby items is Cascade 220 Superwash. It's softer than most wools, and cheap (under $10 a skein; one skein makes an item of baby clothing, three makes a blanket). I can bring some to karaoke next week if you're going so you can pet it...

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I'm going! This is for a summer baby, though, so my Local Yarn Shop put me onto some CottonSpring that's 80% cotton/20% wool and really pretty. I wouldn't mind petting the wool, though!

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Hey, if you're in town early, you can come over and pet *all* my yarn. I got silk, I got bamboo blends, I got baby alpaca... *tempt* *tempt*

Early = afternoon; Elayna's winter concert is 6:30pm. (Hence me maybe being a touch late to karaoke.)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Actually, while I'll be in town early, I'll be part of the preliminary birthday activities as well (Trowa took the day off), so not available for yarn petting. Rest assured that I petted bamboo blends and baby alpaca and lots of lovely things at the Local Yarn Store! And decided that knitting in silk for a baby was just STUPID.

The Cotton-Ease is probably getting repurposed for a nice, easy-wash blanket, if I knit fast enough to have time to work on that. Prioritized list is hat, booties, sweater, blanket.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. I love silk! Silk will be utterly wasted on a baby. Save the silk for yourself!

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

BLACK silk, or purple, or deep garnet, for a really lacy shawl. Eventually. Baby stuff takes priority!

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Dude. You risk turning me on here, I'm just sayin'.

I have some gorgeous copper sportweight silk I've been saving; I think I know what I want to do with it now...

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

O RLY? *grins*

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

YA RLY!

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

We Should Talk.