Posted on 02/13/2006 5:40:20 PM PST by blam
I taught myself as a kid (yes, I'm one of those disgusting types who can learn at least some crafts from books), but didn't get serious about it until about 6 years ago. Now I am a knitting historian!
I too can knit without looking, but it took practice, and only if I'm doing stockinette.
The hard part about all yarn crafts is sticking with it until you are comfortable handling the yarn tension. With practice, it's a lot more comfortable.
And for new knitters I recommend wooden needles, because the yarn doesn't slide so much. And you should buy some quality yarn to practice with. It handles better.
You should see me knitting a watch cap pattern I have. It has 8 regular decreases, and I put them all on double pointed needles so I don't need stitch markers. People really get crazy when they see you knitting with 9 needles....
My favorite is #5 Lady Godiva
I know. Somewhere around here I have a book that talks about the knitting business in the Shetlands. A lot of it was done by poorer women who contract knitted. Often, the dealer supplied the yarn, which meant they were always suspicious that the knitter was shorting the pattern to keep a bit of yarn for their own business...women would do what they could, sometimes, to get their own yarn, cause they made a bit more if they supplied the yarn....
I knit sitting at the computer reading FR!
"I knit sitting at the computer reading FR!"
I am seriously impressed and I am totally series about that.
My beeper is stuned to the max!!!!!!!!
I can see you never contract knitted!
I used to make socks for historical reenactors. The market wouldn't bear much more than $30 dollars a pair, but it would take me 4 days of solid knitting to make them. I wasn't charging for my time, it was just pin money, but I certainly couldn't charge the $160 or so dollars they would be worth if I charged for my time.
You have to knit in time that's not profitable for you any other way....time you would be sitting on your duff, playing on the computer or something.
Practice makes perfect!
Caps are about the only thing I use dbl pointed needles for. My Norwegian sister-in-law introduced me to circular needles 25 years ago and I never looked back.
I don't use long straight at all any more. It's either dp or circulars.
I do have some rather long dps, though. It gets handy.
LOLOLOL!! I don't know why, but that just made me fall down laughing! I can hardly wait to get unpacked. All my circular needles are in there somewhere. Maybe I'll just go buy a couple of sets of sock needles and make mittens...
Many thanks! I've been to the site several times. It's not so red any more (never was really RED, more like a dark brown with red highlights), but I still keep my old nickname. I even have my picture on a site called "Red Hair and Freckles" or some such...
Lovely pre-raphaelite artworks....
Just think about Giardia, and why the Malheur River was called that after a trapper got quite sick after eating beaver....
You go right ahead, honey. We'll wait...
One cannot own too many knitting needles. I had to buy a small plastic cabinet for mine...
I prefer wooden needles too just because my hands get cold working on metal. And you might have too many needles(duplicate sets) but you cannot have too much yarn!!! ;)
Every time I read something like that, it makes me sad. When I left Valdez in 1988, my big, stuffed needle case somehow got left behind! I had every needle I owned in there, as well as all my afghan hooks and stitch-holders, counters, markers, etc. I had to start over completely.
LOL! Time for YOU to get a wheel and learn to spin, kiddo!
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