Knitting in the New Year

Tonight I will be knitting in the new year and watching old movies with my sweetie. What can be better than that?

Writing this New Year's Eve edition of Woolfully has taken me all over the philosophical map and then some. I wandered into deep, thoughtful and ultimately ridiculous waters but thankfully came to my senses. Using moderately ruthless (you heard me, I said moderately ruthless), editing I have tried to spare you from some of the blah, blah, blah of a typical New Year's post but why make promises?

The past 12 months have been excellent fun. I've made some great new friends with the Prince Rupert Library Knitters (and crafters of all sorts). With my friend Daisy I had the honour of teaching the local Pathfinders group how to knit. They are a fun bunch of young women and their leaders Jill and Coral get gold stars all around for just being terrific. Basking in the success of knitting with Pathfinders, I fell to the earth (you may recall our earthquake a few months back) when I tried to teach the gals to tat. Whoever coined the phrase "quit while you're ahead" may have been on to something.

This year I plan to continue messing around with modular knitting. To refresh your memories, modular knitting is about knitting basic shapes together one piece at a time. I had a great time making the Irish Chain Afghan and as a result I'm going to play with knitting another "quilt" in the coming year.

Stranded colour work and Fair Isle knitting are a couple of ways to accomplish a knitted quilt but I've never been a big fan of multiple bobbins of yarn dangling off the back of my piece as I knit. No, I prefer the one tiny piece at a time method. Why? Partly because my days of rushing to finish things are long over and partly because knitting tiny pieces together to create patchwork feels more akin to sewing bits of fabric together to make a quilt. Of late I have been messing around with the tumbling blocks pattern. After a bit of trial and error I've come up with a diamond shape that knits quite well into tumbling blocks. Most of the diamonds can be attached as you knit, but there is always one short seam that needs hand stitching with each block. I can live with that, but I know hand stitching is a fingernail on the blackboard for many knitters.

My plan with the tumbling blocks below is to finish the burgundy row and then felt the whole works and see what it looks like. I have no particular project in mind, but I'm sure it will turn in to something, maybe. When I work out the kinks, I'll pass on the how-to.

Lest you think I've gone totally tiny block nutty, I do have a couple of non-modular items planned for this year. I am looking forward to knitting each of my daughters an Icelandic sweater. I haven't knit one of those in 30 years or so. I had a hell of a time with the armpits back then, hopefully 30 years later I've learned a thing or 2. I'll keep you posted.

I haven't any serious New Year's resolutions, I seldom do. New Year's resolutions are why the swim lane is suddenly full and you can't find an empty bike at spin class. No, I will leave the new year sweating to others. I do want to thank those of you who provided me loopholes for last year's rather elastic resolution (no online shopping after 8pm) which held strong for 6 months - okay 5 months but I was rounding up. The best loophole was waiting until midnight because technically that's a whole new day. The down side to that is that fabrics or yarns that seem like a brilliant idea at midnight seldom make any sense at all in the daylight and that's assuming I can even recall the purchase to begin with. The upside is I get so many surprise packages in the mail ("No, I'm sure it can't be for me, have you ordered anything, honey?")

I look forward to meeting with the Library Knitters in the coming year and seeing all the nifty projects under construction. Feel free to join us every Thursday evening (except the 1st Thursday of the month - that's the Camera Club) at 7:00pm in the Prince Rupert Library multi-purpose room. We are not a knitting-centric group by all means bring your craft or your desire to learn something new and we'll be there to help you out. It's fun, it's free and it's never mandatory - what can be better than that?

Join us!

Happy and safe New Year everyone!

 

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Are You A Serial Gift-Crafter?

Serial Gift Crafting


Are you a serial gift crafter? Not sure? Consider the following 8 questions.

1. Do you love your craft like a crazy lunatic?
2. Do you make articles of clothing for family and friends without knowing their actual size, their favourite colours, or styles?
3. Do you make items for family and friends but never actually see them using or wearing the item, ever?
4. Do you make items first and then try to think who to give it to?
5. Do you tend to assume that because you loved making it that your family and friends will love receiving it?
6. Do you assume that because you think it's clever or cute that everyone you know will will also think it's clever and cute?
7. Have you ever made something that people thought was a funny joke, except that it wasn't?
8. Have you ever made something as a joke that the gift receiver took seriously?

If you answered yes to 2 or more of these questions you may be a serial crafter. First, don't panic, the world is full of serial crafters who function quite normally in everyday life. I am working on being a reformed serial crafter myself. It took me decades to realize that I had serial crafting tendencies. I have knit countless sweaters for family without knowing their actual size. I did try to think about about choosing styles and colours that my family would like to wear, but I have knit sleeves that are 6 inches too long, slippers that looked like hats and vests that are 3 sizes too big.

So where am I going with this? Christmas is coming. Today is November 1st, this is the date when most crafters making items for the holidays have already started making or planning their projects. If you haven't started your projects, give it some thought. Have you really looked at those "last minute gift ideas" books and magazine articles? Certainly there is usually an item or two that might actually be useful and wanted, but the rest of it, quite frankly is crap. It's crap that you don't want it your house, so why make it to put in the houses of your family and friends?

How often have you wandered through a craft fair and seen tables and tables of crafted items that clearly took a great deal of time to make but the colours, materials and patterns are absolutely ghastly? I realize that ghastly to one isn't ghastly to all, but I suspect you know what I mean.

Are you a craft fair participant who isn't selling your items? Are people walking by your table without looking you in the eye? Yikes, just because you bought that pink and orange tweed yarn on sale is not the reason to crank out 6 baby sweaters, or 20 nasty potholders and try to sell them. Face it, some yarns and fabrics are on sale because they didn't sell. This is an important point, so I will repeat it. Sale yarns and fabrics are often on sale because they didn't sell - nobody wanted them. So if nobody wanted them as a ball of yarn, what makes you think that people will want them knit up as a cover for their spare toilet paper or a tea cosy or a pot holder or mittens or scarves? I think you get my point.

Just because you liked making it (which is absolutely okay by the way), do not assume that your family and friends will want to own it. Certainly someone may want it, but put serious thought into who that person might be. I purchased bright pink and lime green cotton yarn (no it wasn't on sale) to make each of my teenage daughters a summer top. What was I thinking? Fortunately one of my daughters caught wind of the project and stopped it in it's tracks. Too bad she didn't catch me before I handed over $60 for the yarn.

So what do you do with all those items you are making because you love to make them and you love the style and you love the materials? Consider donating them to a charity auction or the hospital auxiliary. Again, do consider what you are making. Are you really sure someone will want that item in that colour? Are you thinking that charities should be grateful for anything you make? We've all seen those dust covered baby sweaters in the hospital gift shop. Ugly is ugly.

As the cataloguer at the Prince Rupert Library, I get to see every book that goes on our shelves. The other day I catalogued a book that is one of my top 10 favourite stories. The book is called "Lester's Dreadful Sweaters" by KG Campbell. Take a peek at the cover.

This poor kid has a relative who knits him crazy stuff and his family forces him to wear it.

I loved this book! It speaks to every horrible gift I've every recieved and to my chagrin, every horrible gift I've ever given - for which I humbly apologize. I really think that "Lester's Dreadful Sweaters" should be mandatory reading for all crafters not just serial crafters.

To sum up. The holidays will soon be upon us. Start your projects now. Really consider your victim (I mean gift recipient) and really think about what you are making and why. Happy crafting!

The Prince Rupert Library Knitters (and crafters) are not meeting the first Thursday of every month, but we are meeting all the rest of the Thursdays at 7:00pm in the Prince Rupert Library multi-purpose room. Everyone is always welcome!

PS. Stop by the Prince Rupert Library and take a look at the Lorax Quilt, made by library staff to donate to the Novel Idea Auction on Nov. 9th. We are all pretty proud of ourselves.

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It's a Novel Idea

 

After a busy fall and 3 weeks of the flu I'm back on the blog. The Friends of the Prince Rupert Library are gearing up for the 6th Annual Novel Idea Auction. It's a fun night where items created/donated by local wonder folk are auctioned in support of the Prince Rupert Library. At it's inception the novel ideal behind the Novel Idea Auction, was to have people create items inspired by novels they had read. A good idea, but a little difficult in practice. The auction has broadened it's base to include items created by anything you've read, anywhere (this includes magazines, the web, advertisements and cereal boxes). We still get a few lovely items donated with no source in mind, but library staff can usually pair the donation up with a nifty book or 2.

In the past I've knit, poetry mittens, lace shawls and scarfs, sheep puppets and a rabbit. One year I boldly went forth and made dog biscuits with my teeny tiny food processor --imagine 3 lbs of raw liver being ground up in a 1.5 cup food processor! It took hours and I'm feeling nauseous just recalling that evening. Clearly, some ideas are more novel than others.

My contributions to this year's auction are the Miss Marple Knitting Bag and a hand knit tea cosy with the song "I'm a little teapot" knit into the fabric. I always have fun with the knitting projects I do and "I'm a little teapot" was enough of a challenge to keep it interesting without being onerous. One problem I encountered was that I ran out of yarn before I could knit the i-cord drawstring for the top of the cosy. I scavenged bits and pieces and crocheted and braided a new cord using sock yarn, tatting thread and a wee length of yarn from the project I had left over. I added a couple of beads and I think it turned out okay. The moral here is - always check your guage!

The teapot that I bought to go with the cosy is indeed a "little teapot short and stout", but selection was limited.

I'm pretty happy with my Miss Marple Knitting Bag. The fabric selection nearly killed me - pink, orange and green oh my! The reason for the colour choices was due to my purchase of hand dyed tatting thread from a woman in Texas. The colours looked great online, but were a little alarming in person. I remained undaunted and shuttle tatted the lace anyway. After the choosing the fabrics I hand stitched the lace to the bag, not hard but time consuming. I put lots of pockets in the tote and I also made a detachable gadget bag to hold scissors, stitch holders etc.

Not finished and still in the design phase is a small purse made from a dark wool jacket I bought at the thrift store and cut into pieces. I have a lace dragon I tatted that might look nice on the side of the bag. I may get this done for this year's auction or I may save it for next year's auction.

While I really enjoyed knitting the tea cosy, I think I more pleased with the tote bag.

Why is that you wonder? Well the tea cosy is not my design, the pattern and yarn choices came from a kit and someone else's clever brain. Sure I knit the cosy, but I didn't create the cosy, if that makes sense. On the other hand, I messed with an assortment of tote bag patterns to create Miss Marple's Knitting Bag and the idea is more my own.

As you may have guessed I'm trying to inspire the local readers of my blog to make something for the auction. It's a really fun night and the money helps the library, so you get to have a great time and help the library all in one fell swoop. It doesn't get better than that!

The 6th Novel Idea Auction is Friday, November 9, 2012 at the Lester Centre of the Arts.

Viewing starts at 6:30pm with the auction starting at 7:00pm sharp. William, my library co-worker has been diligently photographing submissions and putting them up on the Prince Rupert Library's website. Here's a link if you'd like to see what's there so far.

http://www.princerupertlibrary.ca/picture_gallery/331

Knitting Thursdays at the library is up and running again starting October 25 at 7:00 pm. We are going to be meeting every Thursday until Christmas (with the exception of the first Thursdays of November and December), and you are very welcome to join us.

Keep creating and enjoying the experience, Christmas is just around the corner and if you haven't started yet, now may be the time! Or you can be up late with Santa, Christmas Eve, if that works for you too.

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Still Summer, Still Knitting...a Bit.

My last post was July 13th (Friday the 13th for those of you who roll on the dark side), and I felt a brief re-cap would be in order. When last I posted I was a few days away from taking a 3 week vacation - oh the plans I had! Five weeks ago my goals for the summer were:

1. Practice, practice, practice at machine quilting.
   
2. Keep working on small projects
   
3. Contemplate knitting for the Hospital Auxiliary
   
4. Perhaps work on an Entrelac Scarf
   
5. Finish a short row shawl
   
6. Relax - actually that wasn't in my last post but it should have been.

So how did I do? Before I jump into results I will start with an excuse...because it's what I do. Originally my husband and I planned a stay-cation. We were going to do short camping trips out of Prince Rupert, consider building a shed and contemplate our navels for 3 whole weeks. This was all fine and dandy until vacation-eve or very nearly vacation-eve Bob (my husband) found a tear drop trailer for sale on used Victoria. To shorten an already growing long story we bought said trailer and our holiday plans morphed from a staycation to an actual vacation. With the help of my daughter Meg and her boyfriend Joel (Joel received hero status in a much earlier blog for making Meg a swift for her yarn) we purchased the trailer had a great Victoria visit and hit the road. For those of you unfamiliar with tear drop trailers, here is a picture of ours - not quite the traditional tear drop shape but a tear drop nonetheless.

What's cool about these teeny tiny trailers is that they can be towed with smaller cars and when you unpack them they look like a gypsy camp.

Anyway, 3 weeks on the road ended my plans for practicing machine quilting, so that skill, while still on my bucket list, has been moved down a notch or 2. In keeping with my teeny tiny trailer I only travelled with enough yarn for the perfect travel knit plus one more in case I finished.

The Perfect Travel Knit

After years of knitting on the road I declare the perfect travel knit to be the Tanta shawl designed by Emily Ross. The pattern is available for purchase on the KnitPicks website. Here's a link: http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Tanta_Shawl__D10211220.html

Here's a picture from the website:

Here's a picture of mine (un-blocked, so it looks a great deal smaller):

What makes the Tanta shawl so perfect for travel knitting?

1. It can be knit with one skein of fingering weight yarn (423 m per 100 gr.). I used KnitPicks hand-painted Stoll which is 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon - yes it can also be used for socks. Starting the project as we rolled out of Prince Rupert on July 20th, I was knitting the last few rows as we drove over the Rainbow Summit back towards home on August 8th.
   
2. The pattern has an interesting edge with just a few yarn overs and the rest is garter-stich. A perfect combination of interesting and easy.
   
3. The edging has a very short 8 row repeat that is easy to memorize (honest).
   
4. The pattern starts with a few stitches, grows to many (while I don't recall exactly it's around 80) and then immediately starts decreasing to the finish.
   
5. It's easy to see where you left off when "Holy cr*p! That guy is driving up a freeway off ramp!" and your mind does summersaults with the shear stupidity of some drivers.
   
6. Did I mention one skein of yarn? Oh, yes I did, but that's important when you are trying to cut down on baggage.

Okay so, back to my summer goals:

1. Machine quilting was a non-starter.
   
2. I did work on a small project but I didn't knit more than one.
   
3. I admit that the Hospital Auxiliary didn't enter my mind (but it's there now).
   
4. Entrelac scarf?- nope.
   
5. Finish the short row shawl - not one stitch.
   
6. Last on the list was relax. Now I did a great deal of that, so the staycation turned vacation was a success.
   

The other thing I picked up this summer was Shuttle Tatting. Learning that skill has been challenging and really fun. What is tatting? It's a form of lace making that's been around for hundred's of years (think lace collars, cuffs and doilies). I believe tatting pre-dates crochet but I'm prepared to stand corrected on that. I really enjoyed (and I'm still enjoying) trying to get a handle on this new skill. I have no idea why I decided now was the time to learn but I'm glad I did. I am truly surprised by how much I like tatting. Who knew? Here's a picture of a few of my attempts.

Knitting holds first place in my heart, but right now tatting is holding a close second.

The Prince Rupert Library Knitters will be meeting this Thursday, August 23 in the Library's multi-purpose room at 7:00 pm. Drop by and say hello!

 

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Summer Knitting

 

Up on the North Coast of British Columbia some might successfully argue that we haven’t had summer. So far we’ve managed to maintain a balmy 10-12 degrees Celsius, which keeps pace nicely with our winter mean temp. Having said that it is sunny today, it was sunny yesterday and it may be sunny tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow…but I digress. Where am I going with this weather forecasting? It's my awkward segue way into summer knitting.

If you could look at the stacks and stacks of magazines I’ve purchased or perused (which you can't because I donated most of the them to the library) over the years you would notice an obvious lack of summer issues. For the most part summer issues (roughly May to August) hold very little interest for me. They tend to be full of flimsy little numbers that would take days to knit and by the time you finish summer’s over. Certainly they include the odd pair of socks, string bag, toy or placemat, but the clothing options are rather retched. Having said that, consider the source, I’m a meat and potatoes type of knitter or for my vegetarian knitters I guess that would make me a tofu and tomato type of knitter. Summer or winter I don’t waste my time on trendy difficult items that are likely to fall out of fashion before I can finish them. In other words I rarely knit anything from Vogue Knitting magazine. Do the editors of Vogue Knitting actually think people will knit that stuff? Sorry, I rambled off into a rant there.

So what do I knit in the summer? I tend to use the summer as a time to experiment with stitches and patterns that are small and relatively quick. This summer I’ve got a few small projects on the go. I’ve stumbled into Entrelac knitting after years of avoiding it like the plague. A tour around the Ravelry website will show you a number of do-able entrelac projects that look nice too. I’ve just finished an entrelac cowl with a Noro yarn and all it’s rich colours. Now I'm contemplating a scarf.

Learning to knit and purl backwards was an interesting challenge and not nearly as difficult as it sounds. It's a skill that is handy when knitting short rows as I found out with my other WIP (work in progress). I'm working on a lace shawlette that involves numerous sets of short rows The shawlette pattern is in the early fall 2012 issue of Vogue Knitting magazine...Okay so not all their stuff sucks, she muttered (but note it is a fall issue not a summer issue).

I've set myself the goal of getting a handle on machine quilting this summer. I know, it's not knitting, but variety is a great thing. Besides, when I end up with another rats nest of threads on the back of my practice quilt, it will be nice to go back to knitting and feeling successful.

My other plan is to knit something with beads, I've got a few ideas in mind but no beads. If I find myself in range of a bead store I'll remedy that, but for now that project whatever it is, is on the back burner.

I'm pondering doing little knits for the Hospital Auxiliary store. I had a chat the other day with the volunteer working in the little booth and came away with a few possibilities. Might as well knit for someone else's baby as I don't have any of my own (and by the way that is not longing, nor is it a hint to my children). I'm just saying that knitting for babies is cool, because it's small and cute, just like they are.

You will have noticed a shocking absence of photos for this blog post. I apologize for that, but it is July 13 and as I write this blog there are 164 days, 3 hours and 12 minutes until Christmas. What does Christmas have to do with summer knitting and Leah's lack of photos, you wonder (as you curse me for bringing up the "C" word). Summer is the time of year I start knitting gifts for the yuletide and if I show you photos of my WIPs Christmas will be ruined. So maybe you should get started on a holiday project or two because now there are only 164 days, 3 hours and 5 minutes left until Christmas.

The Prince Rupert Library Knitters are still getting together through out the summer. Call the library for times and dates. Happy holidays! (summer holidays of course).

 

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Getting it together

I hadn't really noticed that I'd become a habitual block knitter until I was asked by a friend why I knit so many blocks. Briefly it crossed my mind to point out that I've knit many things and most of them aren't blocks. However I realized the futility of that response because I was knitting a block at the time. I was also knitting blocks just prior to this blog post, so my friend was correct in her observation.

Back to the original question, why so many blocks? Easiest answer is that I like them. Knitting blocks is as easy or difficult as your mood demands. Want something mindless to keep your hands busy (yes please!), then try garter stitch or basket weave stitch or moss stitch. In the mood for a small challenge requiring your full attention try Fair Isle, or cables, lace or entrelac (although entrelac is pretty simple once you get the hang of it), There is a knitted block out there for everyone. You can repeat the same block numerous times in different colours or you can stick with the same colour and change the stitches. The possibilities are infinite.

Knitting blocks is all well and good but what do you do with them when they are done? Absolutely they can exist as one offs like a dish cloth, hot pad, coaster, placemat or lonely square. My tendency is to veer away from random block creation. Generally I try to knit with a final purpose in mind, which, with blocks is usually an afghan.

So, how do I turn this:

Into this:

There are a number of great books on seaming in knitting. Two pieces of knitted fabric can be seamed together in a variety of ways ranging from grafting and invisible seaming to whip stich, crochet and three needle bind-off. Any book on general knitting techniques will show the variety of options available. My primary ''go-to" books are Vogue Knitting c1989, and more recently Interweave's 'Knitter's Companion' by Vicki Square.

Typically I use one of the following methods to put blocks together. They are all easy, relatively quick and they hold the blocks together, which, at the end of the day is the point of the exercise.

Crochet

The crochet hook is my most frequent go-to tool for joining blocks. It's fast and easy. What's not to love about that? The key for success with a crochet hook is making sure you have a fairly solid set of stitches to pick up. If your edges are a bit sloppy (holey or uneven), it can create an uneven join. Also I find that my crochet hook size should be a bit smaller than the knitting needle size. As example the blocks in the photo were knit with a 4 mm needle and they were joined with a 3.75 mm crochet hook. I find the smaller hook size makes joining the stitches easier. I join with a slip stitch or sometimes I slip one stitch and chain one stitch if the join feels too tight.

Whip Stitch

If you are not comfortable with the crochet hook then whip stitch might suit you better. Whip stitch makes a quick join, but be certain you don't spread the stitches too far apart or you could end up with holes in your work. If your whip stitch is too tight, you may be able to see the stitches from the front side of the work. Whip stitch is my least favourite of the 4 examples I'm giving because it seems to me to be the slowest. If you absolutely love hand stitching then speed won't be an issue and this may be the joining method for you.

Three needle bind-off

I take it back, whip stitch isn't the slowest of the 4 methods, the three needles bind-off is. This makes an interesting join which changes depending whether you are knitting knit stitches or purl stitches. This join has more 'give' than the previous 2 examples. This join also adds a row to your final seam, as opposed to crochet and whip stitch which tend to subtract a row. The three needle bind-off is achieved by picking up stitches along the edges of your work. With right sides facing you knit through the front stitch of both needles, you then cast off each stitch as you go.

Three needle bind off looks like this from the front. Using this method resulted in a more pronounced division between my blocks and I'm okay with that. Incidently the pattern for this afghan is called "Mitered Crosses Blanket" by Kay Gardiner of masondixonknitting.com. I purchased the pattern at Ravely.com.

Knit as you go

This method involves attaching the blocks as you knit them. You start by creating one block, then add the next block while you knit it. This method is explained really well in Vivian Hoxbro's book "Domino Knitting". I find that adding blocks as I go is great for small projects, but for larger efforts I'd rather create blocks in manageable sizes and then put them together. A large knit-as-you-go project means you spend a good deal of time with a large pile of knitting in your lap (not so horrible in winter but even in a North Coast summer it's a tad warm). I used the knit as you go method to create the blocks in the Double Irish Chain Afghan. Once the individual blocks were done, I crocheted them together.

While these 4 methods are only a few of the possibilities for joining blocks together they are the ones that I use the most often. I can use the above methods without referring to a book. While grafting, blanket stitch, and other invisible seaming methods are great, they feel like more work and they take a tad more thought (translated that means I have to get up off the couch, walk down the hall to my craft room book shelf and refresh my memory with a book). Frankly, at the end of the day I don't want to work that hard. Lazy, I know.

Blocks of another sort are on display at the library this summer. Beautiful quilts made by local quilters are adorning the rafters and walls of the library until September. Come in and take a look. If you can't swing by the library, photos of the quilts are on the library's web page. Here's the link that will get you there. It's worth the trip.

http://www.princerupertlibrary.ca/news/prince-rupert-library-wants-your-quilts

The next adult knitting night is Thursday June 28th in the Prince Rupert Library multi-purpose room. We'll see you there!

The Prince Rupert Library Knitters adult group will continue to meet alternating Thursday evenings through out the summer. Check with the library for dates and times.

PS. Speaking of blocks, I finally completed the Double Irish Chain Afghan I've been blathering on and off about (I even managed to get it hung in the library's quilt show if you'd like a peek in person).

There isn't a pattern for this afghan as I made it on the fly. The little garter stitch squares speak for themselves. The cable Celtic Knot is a version of a motif I saw in "The Best of Kniiter's Arans and Celtics" c2003. If you would like more details I would be happy to share what I can.

 

Not knitting,or NOT KNITTING!

I am a compulsive do-er. I can’t sit unless my hands are busy. I seldom leave the house without a bit of knitting or something read in my bag - just in case. I love knitting because it keeps my hands busy and has helped me focus my way through lengthy meetings, car trips, and movies on more than one occasion. Getting my haircut and my teeth cleaned are absolute black holes of despair (not to be overly dramatic) for me because hairdressers and dental hygienists need you to sit still (at least I can chat with my hair dresser). This is no way a reflection upon those 2 noble and required professions, my hair dresser and dental hygienists are wonderful human beings which is why my hair hasn’t grown to the ground and I still have teeth in my head.


So where am I going with this? A recent brush with the cold virus, turned ear infection resulting in a slight case of vertigo made it impossible for me to leave the house or knit for 6 days, 7 hours, 32 minutes and 27 seconds, but whose counting? Painful (mentally more than physically). For the first few days not only could I not knit, but I couldn’t read, focus on movies or pay attention to audio books. Ball winding was absolutely out of the question - all that spinning and turning and spinning, need I say more? Aside from medicating and sleeping my choices included either staring at the wall or my personal favourite, the ever popular staring at the ceiling.

As my world gradually stopped turning I started to look for things to help while away the hours when I wasn’t sleeping or staring at the ceiling. Stuck in the house I turned to my iPad and my computer and killed time flipping through digital editions of knitting, quilting and crafts magazines. I also picked my way through YouTube in search of knitting and quilting videos. Something I noticed about knitters and quilters online is that quilters don’t mind having their faces in their videos while knitters only want you to see their hands – just another one of the million things that make me go “hmmmm”.

So what did I read and what did I watch? Here’s a list:

Digital Magazines (I primarily looked at the pictures) :

1. Knitter’s Magazine
   
2. Interweave Knits
3. Knitscene
4. Simply Kntting
   
5. The Knitter
   
6. Knit!
   
7. Knitting
   
8. Knitting Life
   
9. Vogue Knitting
   
10. Creative Knitting
    
11. A Needle Pulling Thread
    
12. Piecework
    
13. Spin-off (appropriate title considering the vertigo)
    
14. Making Magazine
    
15. Mollie Makes
    
16. Quilts and More
    
17. Quilter’s World
    
18. Modern Patchwork
    
19. British Patchwork and Quilting
    
20. Australian Quilters Companion
    
21. Australian Homespun
    
22. Cloth, Paper, Scissors
    

Other spots of online interest included:

1. Craftsy.com (lots of great classes but they are not free)(but they are fun).
   
2. YouTube (tutorials and programs a-go-go, that are free but are at times quality challenged).
   
3. Ravelry.com (Nirvana for the knitting and crochet pattern hunter).
   
4. Kaye's Quilting Friends (on YouTube or at kayewood.com) - I found these shows dated and odd - perhaps it was my medication (or theirs) but it didn't stop me from watching numerous episodes.
   

eBooks – I didn’t read much because that involved focus – which I didn’t have (mentally or physically) but I took a stab at the following (to list only a few):

1. “Books can be Deceiving” by Jenn McKinlay – This book falls into the “cosy mystery” genre and is therefore quite light reading. I was intrigued by the beginning because it included a small town library and a knitting group that meets there (in a room with a fireplace while they knit and eat clam chowder for lunch no less). I was annoyed by the stereo-typical cranky female librarian (a minor character but painful nonetheless). I have no idea about the story line as I didn’t get more than a chapter in to the book I’ll finish it someday no doubt but I’m in no rush.
   
2. “The Sisters Brothers” by Patrick deWitt – Now this one I did finish. My son gave me this book for my birthday and declared a family book club. It’s not about knitting or quilting, but it was a fun read about 2 somewhat deranged hired killers in the old west (in a very brief nutshell).
   
3. “Modern Log Cabin Quilting “by Susan Beal
   
4. “Dancing with Thread: Your Guide to Free-Motioin Quilting “by Ann Fahl
   
5. “Foolproof Machine Quilting” by Mary Mashuta
   
6. “Free-Motion Quilting” by Donn Linn
   

So there it is. If you can’t knit, and you have the internet, you have options (after you are past the sleeping and medicating stage of course). Having access to the internet saved my mental bacon and helped kill time while I was killing the virus that ran amuck in my ears.

Back on my feet and ready to knit I am glad to say that the Prince Rupert Library Knitters will be meeting this Thursday May 31 at 7:00 pm. We’ll be meeting in June too - give the library a call and we’ll tell you when (250)627-1345

Don’t miss “A Summer of Colour 2012 Quilt Show" that will cover the library in beautiful quilts created by talented local fabric divas (and a knitter who shall for the moment remain nameless has popped her Irish Chain Afghan into the mix as well), from May 29th to sometime in September.

See you at the library!

 

Holiday Knitting or What's in the Bag? lady.

As some of you know I'm out and about many kilometers from home. The original point of the trip was that my husband was running in the Vancouver Marathon.

Yes, he was happy with his run and so were we (we being, me and these):

Knitter's, well actually, crafters of anything in Prince Rupert have to hit the road or rely on the mail for supplies. Lucky lucky quilters/sewers in town can now purchase beautiful fabric from Jill at the Totem Lodge but the rest of us must scavenge further a field.

As I am further a field this week, I thought I'd share a bit of holiday knitting prep. What do you take with you when you hit the road or the air or the train or the boat as the case may be? Basically how much I take depends on the mode of transport. I always travel with a project but I've found that as the years go by the projects get smaller and easier to pack around. Long gone are the days of knitting an afghan in the front seat of my husbands beloved Land Cruiser during Okanagan summers with no air conditioning while the wind from the windows blew my pattern around the vehicle. The other reason for traveling light when it comes to knitting is that the less yarn you take with you the more room you have in the vehicle to bring new yarn home...but perhaps that goes without saying.

This trip involves planes, trains, automobiles and BC ferries - plenty of knitting time for the knitter on the go.

I had planned to work on a nifty pair of socks this trip. Unfortunately on the drive to Terrace I realized I'd only packed enough yarn for one sock. A reasonable person might decide to take the one sock and finish it. I on the other hand, have never subscribed to the notion of reasonableness when it comes to knitting. I abandoned my sock and it now sits all alone in long term parking. I then moved on to greener pastures and decided to wait and pick up a project to work on while I was in Big Town, BC. A good plan, but it left me without a project for 2 whole days. By last night I was breaking into a sweat as I hadn't had my daily knitting fix for 48 hours. "Hi, my name is Leah, it's been 48 hours since my last stitch..."

Fortunately the lovely people in the above photos are wonderful enablers. My daughter used her Blackberry to scope out knitting shops that we might be able to access this morning before 10:30 am (we had to be at the bus terminal to catch the bus/ferry to Victoria by 11;30 am). My son reserved a car from his car share co-op to drive me out to Point Grey to a lovely shop called Urban Yarns and my husband gracefully accepted the slight deviation from his itinerary.

Last night I scanned my way through the patterns and magazines stored on my iPad until I found a project that would be interesting with out being too challenging. I found the following bag pattern in Spin-off Magazine called the Golden Hour Bag by Kate Larson. Honestly, it is easier than it looks. Here's a pic:

I wandered in to Urban Yarns and my entourage was quite taken with the couch at the front of the store and immediately decided to try it out. I left them to it and asked the staff a few questions and went in search of yarn. My husband said with a bit of concern "How are you going to knit anything without knitting needles?". Sweet question. My reply was simple, "Oh, I have needles honey." To his credit he didn't bat an eye.

So what's in the bag, when it comes to knitting tools?

I always carry a small zipper case of bits and pieces. Here, I'll dump the contents so you can see what I've got.

Hmmmm, let's see, there's stitch markers, needle gauge, Pinnocchio measuring tape ( which I'll use for scale in future pictures), a crochet hook key chain, collapsing scissors ( pointy scissors are a bad idea for many resons that mostly involve bandages) and a stupid number of tapestry needles. I'll have to fix that.

In the knitting needle department, I brought along my interchangeable needle set, a few double points and a pair of straights. Also in the bag is another needle gauge, a crochet hook, dental floss threaders in case of beads, and more flipping tapestry needles.

Meanwhile back at Urban Yarns, I spotted some lovely Noro yarn on sale, but strayed away from it because I needed immediate gratification and I don't travel with my ballwinder. Of course the women at the store were prepared to wind balls for me, but I was working with a deadline - it was 10:20 am, we were in Point Grey and we needed to be at the bus station by 11:30 am - no time for serious ballwinding. Instead I was drawn by a finger weight Rowan Tweed and settled on that because it could be knit immediately out of the store. Lovely colours, here's a pic:

I admit, I just couldn't leave the Noro behind, so I bought some of that too.

Despite bringing my own needles I purchased these. I've never tried Knitter's Pride circulars before and the gal in the shop said they were great. What could I do?

It is now 6:00 pm, I caught my train, bus and ferry and started my project. I've made ridiculous mistakes and smiled my way through the task of picking back stitches (twice).

Working with yarn whether it's knitting or ripping brings peace to my valley.

Basically, the key (for me) to holiday knitting is taking enough yarn to keep your hands busy but not so much that you have no need to stop and buy more.

The Prince Rupert Library Knitters are meeting this Thursday without me at 7:00pm in the library's multipurpose room. My wonderful teen knitters have a break this week, while I look for interesting beads that they can add to their projects when I get back.

Do what it takes to keep yourself in stitches, it will add years to your life...probably.

Tool Time!

 

There are about 7 billion knitting needles on the market right now. That's one knitting needle for every person in the world. You can't do a whole lot with one knitting needle, which is why it's good to knit in pairs or groups so you can share or borrow another knitting needle, enabling at least one of you to do more than cast-on.

I realize these are heady thought provoking statistics and I'll back them up with a bibliographic reference or two. Okay, no I won't. I made it up. But it could be true, there could be 7 billion knitting needles in the world.

Consider that a pair of socks were found in an Egyptian tomb dating back to 400-500 AD. Further study showed these socks were knit with one needle, but a needle nonetheless. (if you're interested ask Mr. Google to search "Coptic Socks for you). My point is that knitting or a version there of has been around for a long time...that's a lot of knitting needles so let's talk about them.

First a safety tip. Knitting needles are sharp and pokey, never run with them.

Size Does Matter


Commercially manufactured knitting needles are available in metric sizes from 0.5mm to 25mm (the US equivalent would be size 00000000 to size 50). I have no idea what that looks like except to say it's really, really small to really really big. Digging through my needle collection I found a set of 1.25 mm (0000 US) needles on the small end and a pair of 20 mm needles on the large end. I knew I had the small needles, I used them to knit crochet cotton into beaded bags when it was all the rage a decade or so ago. I have no idea about the 20 mm needles and suspect they may belong to one of my daughters. I can tell you that with confidence because I'm not fond of bulky knitting. Large needles are most often used with very bulky yarn or for when you combine 2 or 3 strands of yarn at a time. With large needles and bulky yarn you can whip up a scarf in about 27 seconds. Or you can use them with smaller yarn (like a worsted weight) and create a very lacy looking fabric. I've seen them used for anything from clothing, rugs, market bags to lace. Extreme needle sizes (either big or small) have their uses, but fortunately the majority of projects rest comfortably within the 2.00mm to 10mm range. Below is a photo of 20mm needles and my 1.25 mm needles and the beaded bags I knit with them.

I've read articles about people who knit miniatures using sewing thread and fine gage wire. I've also watched a woman knit really thick rope with broom stick handles -- it wasn't pretty. Basically if you can make a pair of straight sticks with enough of a point on one end you can knit with anything. If you would like to see a photo of a woman with really big needles try the BagSmith web site at http://www.bagsmith.com/pages/About.html

Format

Knitting needles come in three basic formats: straight, double points, and circular.

Straight needles are the traditional work horse of the flat knitted piece. If you are using needles with only one pointy end that are approximately 25 cm (10 in.) long, you are probably using straight needles. Typically straight knitting needles tend to be in the 20 cm to 35 cm (8 in. to 14 in.) range. If you are knitting a sweater one piece at a time you are probably using straight needles. Straight needles worked for me for years. In hindsight everything I knit during those years had a seam and was built in pieces as I had the classic beginner fear of knitting in the round.

Double points (dpns) are most frequently associated with knitting in the round. They are sold in packages of 4, 5 or 6 needles depending upon the brand, the size and the material used to make them. As an example short wooden double points under 3.0 mm in size are sometimes sold in sets of 6 needles (it's about loss and breakage). Double points tend to come in lengths about 7 cm to 20 cm. You likely have seen double pointed needles in use for socks, hats and mittens. Once upon a time double points were available in 25 cm. (12-14 in.) lengths and I can only surmise that must have been before the miracle of the circular knitting needle was invented (around 1930 for inquiring minds). I'm not a big user of dpns, but having said that I do have a complete set and I do use them sometimes. Generally I haven't found a circular pattern calling for dpns that couldn't be knit with 2 circular needles. My prime use for dpns is glove fingers, and short (10 st) flat pieces (like the everlasting gobstopper I'm currently knitting - also known as the Irish Chain Afghan).

Circular needles (circs) though feared by novices and flat knitters alike, are actually very easy to use and as mentioned previously I haven't come across one thing knit with straight needles or dpns that couldn't also be knit as easily with circular needles. Circular knitting needles can be used for knitting flat pieces as well as circular pieces. Basically circular needles are 2 short straight needles joined by a cable at each end. They come in a wide variety of lengths and sizes and materials and are my favourite needles for projects on the go. I find that I seldom lose stitches when I'm packing around a project using circular needles. While I don't necessarily recommend the practice, I have often quite literally tossed or stuffed a project on circs into my bag without worrying about the needles falling out or dropping stitches.

Straight needles and dpns are more prone to SSWIT (stitch slippage while in transit) which is why companies have created cute little rubber nobs and boot shapes etc., to put on the ends of your needles. I don't own any needle stoppers, I find a solid piece of fruit does the job. :-) (or a cork or an eraser).

Materials

Over the centuries knitting needles have been made of everything from bone and ivory, wood, steel and copper. Today knitting needles are most commonly made of wood, plastic and steel (which includes nickel-plated, aluminum, and steel). All the materials have their prescribed or preferred purpose, which I will explain as briefly as possible, however I'd like to point out that if your knitting isn't slipping, sticking, catching or breaking and feels good in your hands don't rush out and change your needles.

Generally, I have found that steel needles are slightly heavier than wood or plastic and that the surface is smooth and slippery. A slippery surface is good for skilled knitters who like to knit really fast and/or knitters using nubby or thick yarns that need to be coaxed along the needles. Steel needles tend to keep their shape, although a bad night with a difficult pattern and a temper fit can cause a bend or two.

Plastic needles are warm in the hands and answer fairly well for both slippery yarns and nubby yarns. They are light weight and often colourful. I'm still using plastic knitting needles I inherited from my Grandmother. Granted while plastic is not great for land fills it's terrific for the knitting needle collector. A downside of plastic needles is that they can bend with use - depending upon how tightly you hold them while you knit.

Wooden needles are made from bamboo, birch, alder, rosewood etc. and are extremely popular because they are light weight, comfortable to hold and pretty to look at. Wooden needles are great for yarns that need slowing down like silks, rayons and some acrylic blends. I like using wooden needles for most things and often turn to them first when beginning a project. I've used them for lace shawls, Fair Isle pillows and chunky hats and mittens. Some wooden needles bend with use and all wooden needles are beloved as chew toys by my dogs (sigh). Wooden needles also tend to break when you sit on them unlike their counter parts in metal and plastic.

There's a company out there called Blackthorn Needles that claim their dpns are "crafted from the material used for the outer skin of the Blackbird Stealth Jet". In other words, very expensive stuff. Blackthorn claims their needles are made of a premium carbon composite for fab results. Well the results better be fab at $35 a set. Fortunately for my bank account these needles appear to only be available as dpns, so I'm not tempted. Besides, the last thing I need are stealth knitting needles.

The Kollage yarn company is flogging square knitting needles. I have tried their circular needles and have to admit they were kind of fun to use. I did find that their bronze colour paint tended to chip as I knit, which is a downside, but the cables joining their circs were nice to work with. I used these needles a few years back so maybe they've solved the chipping problem. They were reasonably priced and you might find them fun to try.

What I like

You can spend (and I have) stupid amounts of money on knitting needles. Some are worth the expense and others just look pretty (and according to my dog Monty they taste yummy too). I like circular needles that have a smooth join between the cable and the needle. Until recently I found that cheaper circular needles have frustratingly stiff cables that want to stayed permanently curled. This can be solved by running them through hot water for a bit until they soften. My favourites have been Addi Turbo circular needles. They come in nickel-plated, wooden, and lace tips and their cable joins are usually flawless. For a while they seemed like the only game around, so the roughly $18 per circular pair was worth the expense. Recently I've come across companies like Knit Picks and Chia Goo that are producing excellent circular needles at half the cost (or less) than the Addi company, so I'm straying a bit from Addi, but I doubt I let them go entirely.

I have a set of Knit Picks interchangeable needles that I like for travel. Typically when I go on holidays I haunt at least one yarn shop. In my pre-interchangeable days, I would travel with a small suitcase of knitting needles in case I came across some nifty yarn begging to be knit. Traveling without knitting needles led to 8 pairs of 4mm's and numerous duplicates of other sizes. So now when I leave town I bring my interchangeables, a few sock weight needles just in case and a list of every size and type of needle that I own to help prevent wasting money on duplicates. Most of the time my system works, unless I see something new or nifty. The classic complaint about interchangeables is that the needles come unscrewed from the cable. This is a valid complaint. I like my Knit Picks but I do keep an eye on the joins and tighten them occaisionally as I knit. Interchangeables work as straight needles and the cables can be used on their own as stitch holders. All in all a pretty good investment.

I'm not using steel needles as often as I used too for 2 somewhat nebulous reasons. First, I don't like the sound of the needles as they click (rub) together - for me it's kind of like a fingernail on the blackboard. Having said that, when I try to demonstrate the sound, others can't hear it, so I suspect it's the feel and the sound combined. This isn't a problem with nickel-plated needles but aluminum and straight steel set my teeth on edge. Secondly the really shiny needles reflect light and remind me of someone trying to signal me with a mirror. My purpose in sharing those personal oddities is mostly to demonstrate that knitting needles are more than tools to the serious knitter. They are extensions of your hands and fingers and they need to be a good fit. If the tools don't feel (or sound) right in your hands you won't want to use them.

The next time you are looking for knitting needles don't be afraid to try something new. For many of us knitting is not a chore, it's a wonderful pass time. Loving the feel of the yarn and needles in my hands is for me, a significant part of what knitting is all about. Remember love your knitting needles but never run with them, you'll poke your eye out.

The Prince Rupert Library Knitters meet Thursday evenings at 7pm in the library multi-purpose room. Upcoming knitting nights include April 19 and April 26th. There will be knitting in May and beyond, the schedule isn't quite set yet. Keep an eye on this blog or the library's website www.princerupertlibrary.ca for knitting times and dates. Teen library knitters meet every Wednesday at 3:30pm. Join us!

A Quilting Note

The Prince Rupert Library will once again, be running a quilt show from mid-May to the end of September. If you have a quilt you would like to share with the community for a few months we would love to hang your creation in our library. Give the Prince Rupert Library a call and we'll give you the details. 250-627-1345.

See ya at the library!

I Don't Stash - I Collect.

Some of you may have felt a slight tremor in the force (that would be the Jedi knitting force) in the last few weeks. It was the result of setting my personal expectation bar just a tad too high. I foolishly revealed in a previous blog that one of my two New's Year's resolutions, was to use the yarn I have without purchasing more. My road to ruin began with the purchase of a set of interchangeable knitting needles - not against the rules because it wasn't yarn. Unfortunately that purchase led to a box full of this:

Which was swiftly followed by a box of this:

I then purchased a pattern by Kate Davies, called Rams and Yowes - here's a link if you'd like to take a gander:

http://katedaviesdesigns.com/designs/rams-and-yowes/

So now I have a cool new knitting challenge in front of me, daring me to purchase Shetland yarn, straight from the Shetland Isles. Why oh why can't I just knit the damn sheep in the stripey hand painted stuff that arrived in the mail yesterday? Why am I now craving the natural shades that come straight off Mary's little lamb? Do I make a total mockery of my 1st New Year's resolution and send away to Great Britain? Or do I show even a tad of restraint and wait a couple of days and place the order anyway? Thank goodness for my 2nd New Year's resolution or I would have ordered the yarn last night. The 2nd Resolution, is the hard and fast resolution, the one I've nearly broken but has thus far remained intact. Resolution: No online purchases after 8:00pm at night - and no playing silly bugger with time zones etc. So far so good.

While I consider the Shetland purchase and to assuage some of my buyers remorse, I've returned to my pile of projects on-the-go and pretty much finished one and nearly finished another. I know, I know, pretty much finished and nearly finished aren't the same as totally finished. As I write this blog post the on-the-go projects in baskets around my chair include: a dishcloth, a sock, the Irish Chain afghan blocks, a tea cosy (pretty much finished) and a Fair Isle fish and anchors pillow (nearly finished - okay, half finished). Meanwhile the new yarn beckons, enticing me a way from the current work and insisting that it is time to start something new. Ballwinder!

Really, it was more of a suggestion than a resolution. I knew I'd need to purchase more yarn to complete the ongoing saga of the Irish Chain Afghan - that would have been a planned break and therefore okay because most of the yarn was from my current collection. I seldom use the word the 'stash' in reference to my yarn because it envisions a small amount of an illegal substance - I don't have one of those - a yarn habit is quite sufficient thank-you very much.

Besides how do you stash a room full of yarn? I don't stash, I collect. In my mind a collection is something you purchase because you have some but you want more. Also, you primarily just look at your collection, you don't necessarily use it a whole lot. That would describe my room full of yarn. I have some, I want more, I like to look at it and I don't use it very often. That's not completely right, I do knit everyday. The problem is that my knitting speed is slower than my purchasing speed, I think the calculation is Y= KS/$2'd (Yarn = Knitting Speed over Dollars squared). Essentially it means that when I die, my children will receive a large amount yarn and very little cash. In the meantime I'll try to maximize my knitting, and minimize my collecting - for at least a few more days...

Join the Prince Rupert Library Knitters. Teens (and a few adults) meet every Wednesday at 3:30 pm and the adults meet every other Thursday evening at 7:00pm. The next adult meeting is Thursday, April 5th, 2012.

 

Creativity, Variety and UFOs (un-finished objects)

 

I have at least 51 areas where UFO's reside in my life. If we take household, yard, pets and personal growth out of the equation, then I have 1 area for UFO's - it's called a craft room. Although my husband could successfully argue that it's called a craft room and a living room and a kitchen and a bedroom... Before I had a craft room it was called under the bed and a closet (and a kitchen and a living room and a bedroom...).

When it comes to making things I'm a bit like a kitten after string, I chase whatever catches my eye. If they looked around my craft room, UFO spotters would find a lace scarf - make that 2 lace scarves, a felted bag, an un-felted bag, a Double Irish Chain Afghan (blocks in process), a Mitered Square Afghan (blocks done), a crochet afghan of indeterminate age (blocks mostly done), an alpaca bunny, a Fair Isle Pillow (knitting complete), a Fair Isle Pillow (knitting complete but undecided whether to make it a pillow or a bag), a Fair Isle stole, another Fair Isle pillow, 2 pairs of socks, and 1 hemp grocery bag.

Don't believe me? Fine, here's a picture - just don't blame me if Christmas is ruined.

Rats I forgot to add the socks, the stole and the 3rd Fair Isle pillow to the picture, but I think you get the idea.

I've had a fully pieced, and 1/4 hand quilted quilt tucked away in my cedar chest for...approximately....21 years (perhaps I shouldn't count it because the cedar chest isn't in my craft room). Oh and there's all that flannel I bought at Mount Rushmore last summer. I suspect this list just scratches the surface. I'm not counting the planned projects waiting patiently with yarn and pattern packaged together. I started packaging my yarn with it's intended pattern or at least a note describing intent, when I began looking at yarn and thinking "Now why the heck did I buy this?" I don't think these technically qualify as UFO's because I haven't started them yet. The urge to make multi-colour fish mittens may pass and I'll turn the yarn into something else...or not. My point is, if it was never started does it really qualify as unfinished? I think not, but I'll leave that for you to decide.

Both my daughters poked their way around my craft room and said "Mom, you really should finish some of this stuff". They are right, I should finish some of my UFO's and in fact, I do finish them - often and frequently. I'm always returning to partial projects and finishing them off. Or I'm tweeking that nasty Fair Isle vest (forgot that in my initial list) and turning it into a bag (for which one of my daughters should be eternally grateful). It's the circle of life or more accurately it's the circle of crafts. If you are the type of crafter that can start a project, work on that project until it is done without purchasing or planning any other projects, then give yourself a Gold Star (but don't make the star unless you've finished your current project).

I have every intention of finishing or tweeking the UFOs in my craft room. I'm still working on the roughly 900 two inch squares of my Double Irish Chain Afghan (156 squares down and 744 to go), but in the mean time I started and finished

a cashmere hat,

and this...amigurumi bird (yes Meghan, it is crochet).

Crafting variety is not a mere spice in my life it's a main course or at the very least a substantial side dish. That's okay with me. When it comes to creative variety I believe it's a crucial part of my well being so I keep starting new projects and finishing old ones and leave worrying about the UFO's to aliens.

The adult group of the Library Knitters meets every other Thursday at 7:00pm at the Prince Rupert Library. Next meeting is March 22nd.

Bring your UFO or better still bring something new!

The Miracle of Garter Stitch

Okay, maybe miracle is too strong.  But garter stitch is a great stitch.  It's easy, fast and versatile.

Top 5 Reasons Why I Like the Garter Stitch:

1. It is easy, just keep knitting and knitting and knitting...
   
2. It looks the same from the front or the back.
   
3. Garter stitch fabric lies flat and doesn't curl at the edges.
   
4. Garter stitch is not the same as a garter snake.
   
5. I use garter stitch to make small projects into a big projects and knit away spare time in 5-10 minute intervals.

For many knitters learning to knit meant learning the garter stitch.  It's the first stitch I learned and as far as I know, it was the only stitch my father learned.  And with that statement allow me to digress and reminisce.

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away....Westlock, Alberta, 1968-ish, when the moon was in the 7th house...

When I was a kid the winters were long and cold.  This isn't a story about walking for hours and hours through huge drifts of snow knitting my way to school on snow shoes 8 days a week or daring my brothers  to stick their tongue on the slide in 20 below weather.  It's a story about a blue-ish grey garter stitch scarf that I remember wearing.  I really liked that scarf (or did I? it was kind of itchy and it froze like ice and rubbed my chin raw. Okay, I tolerated that scarf).  Tolerance turned to love, when my father revealed that he had knit that scarf when he was a child.  Mind blowing information for 2 reasons.  Firstly, in my narrow little world of the 1960's only Brownies and Grandmothers knit. Secondly, my dad could not possibly have ever been a kid.   My Dad persisted through my scoffing to explain that during World War II, (dub-ya, dub-ya 2), all the kids in his elementary school had to learn to knit for the war effort.  The kids and teachers of my Dad's small Viking, Alberta, school spent some time knitting scarves to send to the soldiers overseas.  It didn't occur to me to ask why 'my' blue scarf did not go overseas with the others. For a while I pictured some poor soldier with a cold neck, but mostly my 7 year old self was just glad it ended up with me (except for when it was itchy and frozen).  The scarf and I parted ways decades ago, but I suspect my mother might know if it still exists. 

Back to the future my point and I do have one (barely), is that as knitters we've all learned the garter stitch.  

Why then, is it so often abandoned for better stitches like stockinette, cable, lace or moss?  I suspect it is  because it is the first stitch we learned and once we mastered it we moved on to greener knitting pastures. 

For those of you new to kntting, the garter stitch is what you get when you knit every  stitch of every row, back and forth, and back and forth and... I think you get the idea.  You say boring, I say hypnotic, which makes it a great stitch for people who like to keep their hands busy without thinking about what they are doing. When I decided to blog on a bit about garter stitch my initial thought was that it would be  a quick and easy topic, because it's a quick and easy stitch.  Wrong again Leah.

The simplicity of the stitch and the vast array of garter stitch possibilities makes the topic anything but quick.  I'll do my best to distill the topic down to manageable proportions.

First off, for those of you who need pictures, this is a photo of garter stitch.

Knitting the garter stitch creates a fabric made of simple ridges.  In fact 2 knit rows creates 1 garter stitch ridge.  The fabric looks the same from the front as it does from the back.  Before I carry on too far, I feel the need to point out that when I think about garter stitch (and I do), I think in terms of the knit stitch, because that is how most of us create garter stitch fabric.  We knit every single stitch.  But here's a head popper for some of you.  You can create the garter stitch just as well by purling every stitch.  So if you like to purl, by all means create garter stitch that way.  Just don't mix your knit and purl stitches, it's like crossing the beams in ghost busters...okay, no it isn't.  For the garter stitch pick one stitch (knit or purl) and stick with it.  

All this advice applies to straight needles though. You can create garter stitch using circular needles, but everything I just said about picking either knitting and purling and sticking with it gets tossed out the window.  If you want garter stitch in the round you have to knit one row and purl the next, if you don't, you get stockinette stitch which is nice, but a topic for another day.

Here's a double photo showing garter stitch from the right (front) side and from the wrong (back) side.  Just to keep you on your toes the right side photo is on the left side of the screen. 

The other thing I did with the above swatch was start my garter stitch knitting all the rows and ending the garter stitch block by purling all the rows.  Not much difference, except in my case I was surprised to find that my knitted garter stitch gauge is slightly tighter than my purled garter stitch gauge.  Nerdy interesting and important to know when gauge is important.  I'm saving that for future cocktail party trivia.

In her Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book, c1974,  knitting guru Barbara Walker, claimed  that the garter stitch square is square because it has exactly as many 2-row ridges as the number of stitches cast on.  That is such a cool notion that I had to give it a try.  Sadly my gauge isn't up to snuff, because for the life of me I can't quite duplicate Barbara Walker's results.  I can come close but not exact.  Which will lead one day to a blog about gauge, but not today.   My current project involves 10 stitches by 8 ridges to get a square - not to Barbara Walker's standard but it was fun in a geeky knitting kind of way to test the theory.

My favourite way to knit garter stitch is in small squares that can be knit together to create bigger squares. 

These squares are from a pattern I purchased on Ravelry.  It was designed by Kay Gardiner and it is called the Mitered Crosses Blanket.  The squares were fun and easy to knit and all the proceeds from the patterns purchased went towards Japan Tsunami relief.  So I got to knit a fun project and feel good while I was at it.

The next project also features mitered garter stitch squares.  The pattern was designed by Vivian Hoxbro, and is called "Kalahari Tote".  I found it in the Interweave Knits Summer 2009 issue (available at the library).  Now that I have the squares together, the bag is supposed to be felted.  I'll get there, eventually.

My latest project is to try to knit a Double Irish Chain Quilt.  Okay, not quilt, afghan.  I don't have a pattern because I don't really need one, it's just a bunch of squares.  I started with one small garter stitch square and I'll keep adding squares until it's done.  I could knit the whole thing in one huge piece, but I'm a one block at time girl, so I plan to sew, knit or crochet my blocks together when I'm done.  I'm using 4.5mm double -pointed knitting needles and worsted weight yarn from my stash.

One of my more "elastic" new year's resolutions this year was to try curb my crazy yarn purchases.  The reason I consider this resolution to be "elastic" is because there is no way I can (or want to) go a whole year without buying yarn.  I want to curb, not quit. I'll be in Vancouver and Victoria in May. How could I possible go from a no yarn town (Prince Rupert) to yarn nirvana (almost anywhere else) and not purchase more yarn!  I don't have it in me, so far better to keep that resolution fairly loose, so I don't disappoint myself.  And as far as the Irish Chain Afghan goes, I already know I'll need a few more balls of white and perhaps green and then there's the borders to consider....  I think you see my problem.

If you want to explore garter stitch in small bites, you can google the web for Domino Knitting, Modular Knitting, Patchwork Knitting and Knitting by Numbers and you'll find a swack of reference materials.  Here are a few books that I have found very helpful and worth the reading. (They are available from the very friendly folks at your local library)(inter-library loan in Prince Rupert).

• Domino Knitting, by Vivian Hoxbro
  
• Exciting Patchwork Knitting, by Horst Schulz
  
• Modular Knits, by Iris Schreier

So take it one square at a time.  Choose something that you can pick up and knit without frying your synapses.  Keep the pieces small enough to haul around with you and you can say good-bye to reading 2 year old magazines in waiting rooms.  

Join the Library Knitters on March 8th at 7:00pm in the Prince Rupert Library multi-purpose room.  I'll bring my garter stitch.