To boldly go where many knitters have gone before
26 Aug 2009 6 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: cable, cables, cabling, coffee, knitting, ravelry, supplies, technique, youtube
A while back, I saw an ad on Facebook for a knitted coffee sleeve that had a cable running down the side. Being a knitter, my first response was not “where can I buy that?”, it was “I wonder if the pattern’s on Ravelry?” Surely enough, the pattern was on Ravelry, (actual pattern link here) and for free. The only problem was, I had no idea how to cable. Has that ever stopped me? No. That’s how I knit: find a pattern I like, then learn the techniques out of necessity with help of my mother, Ravelry, and YouTube.
I didn’t have a fancy cable needle, so I found a tiny enough DPN and went to town. It came out great, and since then I’ve knit quite a few for myself and friends for a yarn replacement donation (and latte fund donation) of $5 (drop me a line if you don’t want to make on yourself, I’m always down with making these). My mother and I even co-designed our own pattern, which is still up for sale (see Hugs and Kisses or order the pattern here). I later tried a cable needle and found that it was really difficult compared to the double point needle. I later learned that some people don’t even use a cable needle at all!!
While I’ve read how to cable without a cable needle or DPN, I don’t want to try it. Not because it sounds difficult, but I am scared to death of dropping stitches, and to me the anxiety caused by the free floating stitches while you are rearranging them is not worth the extra second or two I save.
The source of my anxiety, click for the blog it was taken from
I’ve learned from my knitting group and others that pretty much everyone has their own method of cabling and prefers their method to others. I like using a DPN, but some people have complained that stitches slide off too easily. I find this is easily fixed by resting the other end(s) of the needle(s) on my leg, or by knitting tight enough for the stitches to stay on.
What do you think, fellow knitters? What do you use to cable with, and why do you like that way? Do cables look better/worse without a cable needle? Inquiring minds want to know!
xoxo, Purl Girl
What’s (in) your bag, baby?
18 Aug 2009 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: iPhone apps, knitting, ravelry, supplies, travel
When I was in the Navy and wanted to knit my husband a scarf, I had no idea what to do. I hadn’t knitted in quite awhile (my last project was one baby sock before boot camp) and had to re-teach myself how to purl. I asked my mom for an easy scarf pattern, went to the store and bought myself the needles it called for and a skein of Red Heart. I sat down to begin and said, what do I do now? What do I do when it’s done? How do I know when to stop? What if I drop a stitch?
Thankfully, my mother, who is one of my personal knitting gurus, predicted these questions, and more that I didn’t even think of. A few days later, a package arrived with the kit to end all kits. It came with point protectors, stitch markers, a crochet hook, a really cute tape measure shaped like a sheep, all in a hand-knitted bag (or at least I think it did, it was awhile ago).
Now that I am a little farther along in knitting, and people have started asking me advice (which still astounds me) I thought I’d put together a list of items I have deemed “essential” for a knitter’s bag. Most of the items are things that I have forgot at knitting meet-ups and swore heavily that I forgot them.
Things you need:
- Stitch markers or waste yarn: I often find a contrasting piece of yarn works great as a stitch marker since I don’t have to move it when I’m knitting in the round, but that can easily be replaced with the safety-pin type markers. Many people, myself included, think they’re too good for stitch markers, but they are necessary for knitting in the round and dang useful when you need to keep track of hundreds of stitches.
- Crochet hook- very handy for picking up a dropped stitch, crocheting a border, or weaving in ends, although I prefer using…
- A yarn needle
- Tape measure
- Stitch holders if you are knitting socks, mitts, etc.
- Some form of row counter, either physical or an iPhone app
- Scissors
(A note on iPhone apps: there are a few knitting apps, but if you’re already on Ravelry, the only thing you really need is a glorified calculator. A good free app like this is StitchMinder, or its sister, KnitMinder Lite.)
Of course, if you don’t want all those things floating loose in your bag (or a little compartment), you can buy the handy dandy (and TSA approved) Knit Kit! I haven’t been able to buy one yet, but it would have made knitting while I was flying easier.
Also, this is not everything you’ll need while knitting, just while on the go. That’s a different list for a different post.
Did I miss anything? Comment with things you can’t go without when you’re knitting on the go.
-Purl Girl
