After Friday's quick stop at the yarn store for straight needles of good quality, I have in my hot little hands yet another skein of sock yarn, and a couple sets of small circular needles. My goal for the weekend was to learn to knit correctly, rather than my way. Since I did not buy the specific item I went to the store for, 3.5mm new straights of good quality, I will work on my crappy old needles. I really hate these crappy needles.
Its time to learn how the rest of the world knits. If I can do that then I can convert everything to my way. And then I can do something I have wanted to do for several decades.
I have loved lace knitting forever. For years I hid my inability to interpret simple knitting instructions. I pooh poohed fancy knitting, as something that could be done far more swiftly in crochet (which it can), and hid my secret shame. Now that I am in this 12 step program (12 skeins of sock yarn, 12 sets of socks, leading to 12 skeins of lace weight - its is my personal principle of smaller and smaller needles.) I am determined to knit a loveliness of lace. It remained out of reach to me until a few weeks ago when I realized what I do differently than most people. I always work in the back loop on the knit rows, and the front loops on the purl side. I can tell you that it is quick to work because there is no yarn over, but it also tends to be very loose in comparison to most people.
Its time to learn how the rest of the world knits. If I can do that then I can convert everything to my way. And then I can do something I have wanted to do for several decades.
I have loved lace knitting forever. For years I hid my inability to interpret simple knitting instructions. I pooh poohed fancy knitting, as something that could be done far more swiftly in crochet (which it can), and hid my secret shame. Now that I am in this 12 step program (12 skeins of sock yarn, 12 sets of socks, leading to 12 skeins of lace weight - its is my personal principle of smaller and smaller needles.) I am determined to knit a loveliness of lace. It remained out of reach to me until a few weeks ago when I realized what I do differently than most people. I always work in the back loop on the knit rows, and the front loops on the purl side. I can tell you that it is quick to work because there is no yarn over, but it also tends to be very loose in comparison to most people.
If I really want to be able to knit lace, I have to understand regular knitting. So I am learning to start my stitches at the front, and purl with a yarn around the needle. After this simple stockinette vest
(yes it is an acrylic yarn) I am going to practise on dishcloths to learn to combine the fancy stitches, to do the right sort of tension. Right now, it's slow and feels strange, but when I understand it, when I can see the form of the stitches in my mind, and build them to suit, then I know that I will be able to translate the stitches to my way of working and I will once again be able to move at the speed of light. Or I will just keep working the more common way.It's like Forest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Or where you will end up.
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