knitting

For some reason, knitting seems to be a social activity. Oh sure, you can do it late at night when the family’s asleep, or early in the morning, but it’s fun to share your knitting adventures with others, and share their adventures, too. That’s why a lot of knitters like to join local knitting groups that meet periodically. So, how do you find a local knitting group?

Well, may LYS (local yarn shops) create their own groups. Most of them are informal, you just come at the designated time and knit for as long as you’d like. Others are more formal, with beginning and ending times, and maybe even formal lessons while the group meets.

If you don’t have a LYS, don’t despair. Some libraries and book stores form groups to help out the community and get people into their stores, and you can always form your own knitting group, too. Talk to a local bookstore or yarn shop, ask them if you can post a message on their message board, and get a group together. Knitting in groups is more fun, you learn more, and you’ll probably discover some new techniques and yarns you never thought of!

Is there anything that you “hate” about knitting? Well, if you’re like me, there’s not much, but there is one thing that makes me a little crazy, and that’s weaving in the ends when I finish a project. It’s not that it’s hard, it just seems like a pain, or a letdown after you’ve gotten the project completed to your satisfaction.

Here’s how I make weaving in the ends of my yarn a little easier. First, I pour a glass of wine. (Just kidding!). I make sure I have a very large tapestry needle to use for weaving in the ends. It’s much easier to thread the yarn through the eye of the needle, and it just seems to move through the knit stitches easier. The only time I don’t use a really large needle is if I’m working on a very delicate lace project, and then I use a smaller needle that won’t damage the openwork and delicate stitches.

Next, I thread the yarn into the needle, and carefully work it through the back stitches of the work. I don’t just weave it through the fabric; I try to pick up the backs of stitches so the weaving won’t show on the front of the work. I don’t pull it too tight, because that will show on the front of the work, too. I always weave just as much of the yarn ends as I possibly can, and then I gently pull the knitted item, so when I cut off the last bit of the yarn end, it will disappear into the work when I stop pulling.

Weaving in the ends isn’t so bad when you only have one at the beginning and end of the work, but when you change colors a lot, it can get a lot more challenging. Be sure to weave in all your ends securely, so they don’t unravel and end up unraveling your project, as well.

If you love to knit and you love to travel, you can do both with knitting cruises! Several cruise lines and/or travel agencies offer knitting cruises, from a variety of locations from Alaska to Maine and the Caribbean. Think about it! Knitting with a group of knitting enthusiasts from around the world, and you cruise the waters of your favorite destination. Now that’s a vacation! Some cruises even offer materials for classes in the cost of the cruise, while others charge extra for every class you attend. Be sure to check on extra costs before you book your cruise.

Many of these specialty knitting cruises recruit well known designers and teachers so they can offer many different classes for the beginning to uber experienced knitters. On these cruises, you can learn new techniques, create new designs, and still have time for sightseeing and relaxing. It’s entirely up to you which classes you attend and which you don’t, so you can choose what’s right for your interests and knitting abilities.

Some of these cruises are short, only 3 or 4 days, while others can last up to a week or more. They range from huge mega-liner cruise ships to intimate sailing ships off the coast of Maine, so whatever you’re looking for in a cruise, you should be able to find it in a knitting cruise. So, if you’d like the best of both worlds – travel without leaving your knitting at home, look for the perfect knitting cruise, and you can have your knitting and cruise time, too!

Are you a late night knitter? I find that I get so into working on a project, that bedtime can come and go and I’m simply not ready to put down my knitting. The rest of the family can head off to bed, but I’m almost always ready to do just “one more row,” and then that row turns into another, and another. I never used to really like staying up to late, but more and more, I’m just not ready to put down the knitting and head for dreamland. Maybe because it’s so peaceful knitting at night.

The TV is down low, there are no distractions, and the rows just seem to go faster, somehow. The house is dark, the streets are quiet, and the cats are even all bedded down for the night, and still, I knit on. Last night was an 11:30pm night, and I got quite a bit accomplished on my current project. Who knows what tonight may bring, but I know that once I’m in the knitting zone, I’m ready for a late night knitting spree just about every time.

Another great thing about late night kitting. If you use wooden needles, you won’t get the clickety-clack you get from metal or plastic needles, and that means you won’t keep the rest of the family awake while you knit the night hours away. Are you a late night knitter?

When I first started knitting again, I invested in one of those Denise Needle Kits that comes with the tips, cables, and accessories. I figured I’d never have to buy a set of needles again, because they came in every size from 1 through 15. While I did like them at first, I don’t use them any more, and here’s why.

First, the cables are hard to really get tight into the tips. Even if you use the little “key” that comes with the kits to tighten the tip into the cable, they can come loose, and always at the worst possible moment. Imagine casting on 200 stitches, knitting a few rows, and having the needle come apart and lose a bunch of stitches. It’s a total pain.

These kits make it nearly impossible to do lace or yarn over work, too. The cables just don’t meet the tips with a smooth, seamless joint, so your yarn is always catching on the joint and hanging up, making it almost impossible for lacework. If you want to knit lace, stick with a standard circular needle with a smooth cable join.

Finally, as the tips get bigger the needles really don’t get that longer, so if you’re knitting a big, bulky piece, not only do you run the risk of the needles coming apart from the cables and losing stitches, you only have a few stitches on the tips to actually knit, and that can be cumbersome.

Frankly, I find knitting on standard circular needles much better than using one of these needle kits. I just keep needles in a variety of sizes and cable lengths, and use them for just about all of my knitting. I especially love the Harmony Wood Needles from Knit Picks, because they are exceptionally light, pointy, and slick, which makes them wonderful for lace and other small projects like socks. In fact, I love them so much, I’ll look for projects in the sizes I have, just so I don’t have to use other needles. What do you think about the interchangeable needle kits?

I usually look for yarn bargains when I knit. I love wonderful, yummy yarns, but they can be truly expensive, and if I mess up a pattern, I hate to waste time and money on a truly special yarn. However, I have “grazed” at my local yarn shop and come away with a couple of big splurges.

I already told you about the Taki Stacy Charles yarn I made into a beautiful scarf. Called “Ritratto,” it’s some of my very favorite yarn to work with, and it’s absolutely stunning in lace patterns. At $13.75 a skein, it was a major yarn purchase for me (2 skeins, gasp!), but I love it so much I’m watching for sales so I can get some more!

My other major splurge was a super chunky Misti Alpaca yarn in handpainted colors. It is absolutely the softest, snuggliest yarn I’ve every laid my hands on, I absolutely love it. I was planning on making a scarf out of it, but now, I’m rethinking that, it just seems like too nice a yarn to relegate to a scarf. I’ve come to realize that cheap yarns are great for a lot of projects, and you can find some really great deals on good quality yarns.

However, if you splurge on a really high-quality yarn, you’ll see the difference immediately, and you may just get spoiled! I won’t invest in these yarns all the time, I just can’t afford it, but every once in a while, I plan to splurge on a really high-quality yarn, just to see what I’m missing the rest of the year!

If you’re like me, half the fun of knitting is collecting gadgets that make your knitting life easier. My newest gadget is way too cool for school! It’s a pattern holder that folds flat for storage, but folds into an easel shape to hold your pattern upright so it’s easier to read. It’s about 8-inches wide by 11-inches tall, just the right size for a magazine page or piece of printer paper.

The very coolest thing about this holder is that it’s magnetic, all over! It comes with 4 magnets of different sizes, and it holds your pattern securely. You can even fold the pattern inside and close it with a magnetic closure, so you won’t lose your place in the pattern when you stop knitting. The magnetic closure has two different lengths, so you can position the easel the way it fits best on your table or chair, and then it will stay in that position because the magnetic closer keeps it steady and secure.

This is an awesome little gadget, and the more I use it the more I love it. Two of the magnets are long and thin, so you can use them as line markers in patterns, too. This is invaluable when you’re doing a lace pattern and can’t remember what line you completed when you stopped knitting.

If you’d like one of these gadgets for your very own, you’ll find them at KnitPicks.com. Tell them I sent you!

Maybe it’s just because my brain is worn out and I can no longer think straight, but I’m finding one of the most difficult parts of knitting now is casting on. Not the actual physical activity, I can handle the long-tail and knit-on methods just fine. Even the cable-cast on doesn’t have me stumped. It’ counting that seems to have me stymied.

Oh no, don’t get me wrong, I can count, I just can’t seem to do it for any length of time, or remember how far I’ve gotten after a certain number. That means that I end up having to stop recount, and count again, which takes a lot longer than it should.

I’ve tried using stitch markers to mark big groups of stitches (say every 25 or so if I have to cast on over 100). That works, but sometimes the stitch markers get in the way, especially if you’re using a lace weight yarn. And so, my dilemma. I can count, but casting on seems to daunt me more than it should.

I won’t attempt patterns that call for too many cast-ons, it’s just too daunting, and so, I’ve put off starting a totally beautiful shawl, just because I have to cast on over 300 stitches to get started. Oh, and did I mention I have to pick them all up to do the edging? No way!! If I can’t count that high when I cast on, I sure can’t count that high and pick up stitches too! Does anyone else have this problem????

Do you knit for charity? You know, do you create garments and throws for the underprivileged and ill, to create a little comfort in their lives? I have knit wee tiny preemie hats for a local hospital, and I have some afghans to donate to a senior citizens center, too. It makes me feel good to make items for others, and it keeps me knitting when sometimes I’ve run out of projects.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on yarn for these projects. You can buy it in bulk at places like eBay and other online merchants, or buy it when it’s on sale or close-out. I try to use acrylic or cotton yarn, because it’s cheaper, but it’s also washable, and that’s important when you’re making items for others. They may not be able to handle special washing instructions, so I try to make it as easy as possible.

Do you have a favorite charity? If so, contact them and find out if they can use donations of knitted items. A thrift store may be able to sell your creations to help fund their charitable activities, a hospital gift shop could do the same, and a local homeless shelter could probably use scarves, hats, and blankets for their homeless residents.

Knitting for charity is a good way to help some of the less fortunate in your own community, and it’s a fun way to share your knitting with others who will really appreciate it. Tell me your favorite charity, and why you choose to knit for them, OK?

With the demise of my favorite show, Knitty Gritty, I was really looking forward to the debut of the Public Television show Knitting Daily TV, an offshoot of the Knitting Daily magazine and website. However, I’m really bummed, as my local PBS affiliate isn’t carrying it, and doesn’t have any plans to.

It seems it is only showing in a very limited market, and only a lucky few are going to get to watch it. Of course, you can buy the entire first season on DVD, but I’d rather watch it first, so see if I like it and it’s really worth it.

DIY Network pulled Knitty Gritty and almost all its crafting shows, opting for building and “manly” shows, I guess they think women don’t do anything but crochet doilies. Obviously, they have to spend money on equipment and supplies when they have hobbies, but it doesn’t seem like DIY went after that market for advertisers at all.

I’m really disappointed the new show won’t be available for a lot of knitters, and disappointed there aren’t more shows for knitting and crafts like it. I always get ideas (and yes, buy yarns) to create many of the ideas I’ve seen on the show, and it’s a disappointment not to have that little creative spark every time I sit down to watch the show.

It’s sad that the only markets that actually speak to the creative people throughout the country can’t drum up enough business to keep them viable. Maybe we should encourage big box stores like Michael’s or JoAnn to support these types of shows, it will only benefit them in the long run.