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I was knitting at the bus station a few months ago, and a very loud Portuguese woman started talking to me about knitting and how excited she was to see me doing it. She told me that she knitted Portuguese style, and almost without me asking she grabbed my knitting and showed me by wrapping the yarn around her neck and zooming down the row. (She made a mistake close to the beginning but I didn’t have the heart to rip back, so I just kept knitting and fixed the mistake on the way back.)

She was a bit condescending to me, advising that I slip the first stitch on every row, without even realising that I was already doing so. (She seemed to think it prevented your knitting from becoming a triangle, because you’re not really knitting the stitch and so it’s like a decrease.) All in all, it was a weird experience. When my bus arrived, I collected my luggage and she waved and told me to always remember that Jesus loves me. I mean, I’m as WASPy as the next anglican white girl, but that was a bit presumptuous. I smiled and thanked her awkwardly and left. I glanced at the ticket seller on my way out the door, and he seemed to think the whole exchange was quite chuckle-worthy.

The whole point of this story is that I found a cool YouTube video for Portuguese knitting. Despite the weird way I first came across it, it still fascinates me.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/uZ31pk05CBE" height="350" width="425" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/AaieOORrhnA" height="350" width="425" /]

Awwwwwww!!!!

Happy Socktober! These are my groin-kicking shoes, which have now become my sock-modeling shoes. You’ll be seeing quite a lot of my feet this month; for Socktober, I’m going to be modeling all my favourite socks for sockspiration.

Jaywalkers, started August 4th, 2006, finished September 22nd, 2006
Pattern: Jaywalker
Yarn: Regia 4-Ply Mini-Ringel Sock Yarn in Maid Marian
Needles: 2.25mm DPNs
Dimensions: One a bit wider than the other (I knit the second one at a tighter gauge, I think), but they fit quite well.
Pattern Notes: These are my first ever socks! I really like them. One problem I had with the pattern was that it specified things by numbered needles, but never said which number was which. Aside from that, really fun to knit.
Would I knit it again? Sure thing. I want to knit a pair toe-up, because I have just a little left of the Regia that I may as well use up. Hopefully it’ll be enough for a pair of anklets.

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Arlette has finished an Odessa chemo cap for the Pretty in Pink Contest. In cashmere! Thank you, Arlette! It looks so comfy.

That makes 4 entries into the contest, which is a 1 in 4 chance to win (for those of you who don’t like math). This means that everyone else should enter! Let’s make it interesting for these guys. Get clacking!

I’ve decided to finally learn how to knit continental.

I was putting it off, because I didn’t want my gauge to change in the middle of a project by switching from one style to another. I must admit that I never considered (until now) that I could keep knitting English for the projects that I still have on the needles, and only knit continental on new projects. For some reason I thought I would completely lose all English ability and be forced to knit everything in continental from now on. I must have been really tired or sick when I decided this.

So now, I have decided to throw (and very soon, pluck) caution to the wind, and knit a few continental swatches. My inspiration: Wendy’s post about The Big Divide. I’ve tried to knit continental once or twice, but only from memory of when my mom showed me a few hasty stitches. Wendy makes it sound so easy:

“I was an English knitter until I decided that I wanted to make a change. I read a book or two, looked at few pics, worked a few rows, and then I was a Continental knitter. I find it makes things a bit faster but the left shoulder hurts if I overdo it. And yes, I know, the pain could come from other activities like my rabid cherry-picking disco move I do in between rows, but still, nothing ever hurt when I was knitting English (except, of course my knitting speed.)”

I want to do cheery-picking disco moves when I finish a row! Hopefully it goes hand in hand with continental knitting. I’ll let you know.

I’ve decided to learn continental knitting through the internet’s favourite son, YouTube. (Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about Flickr! Flickr is the internet’s favourite daughter. Well, obviously Flickr is a girl.) Here are some great YouTube videos for learning continental knitting.

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I love Burberry. I want to knit a variant of this, seeing as I don’t yet have a nice wool hat for winter. I like the use of reverse stockinette in the cables; I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.

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It’s that time of the month again! Time for Yarnival!, a bullhorn for the knitting blogoverse. The focus is on dyeing this time; looks like a lot of us have been “drinking the Kool-aid,” and using it, too!

This issue of Yarnival! is sponsored by Pick Up Sticks, a yarn store run by Connie Meeke. Connie tells me she’s constantly on the lookout for unique yarns, and she’s not kidding: she carries Sweet Georgia, Apple Laine, Claudia Handpainted, and Posh Yarns (which is a cashmere/merino blend). She’s also supporting the cause against breast cancer by providing the prize for the Pretty in Pink contest. Go over to her website and support a fellow Canadian!

One thing I noticed about the submissions for this issue is that many of the people who submitted last time (but didn’t get in) didn’t submit to Yarnival for this issue. Please don’t be discouraged! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Even if you don’t submit, let’s hear your feedback! Send me an email or leave a comment at the end of this entry about which posts you liked best, and what you’d like to see in the following issues. (Here’s an introduction to the Yarnival! Carnival, if you’ve never heard of it before.)

Features

Kate is tired of luxury yarns.
I’m cheap, so I never really bought into the latest craze of wacky, high-priced luxury handspun with beads and ribbons and the kitchen sink woven into them (the ones that could only really be used to knit a funky scarf). For newer, richer knitters, this is a different story, and Kate’s got a bone to pick with upscale yarn stores that pander to this particular demographic. Selling the idea of luxury isn’t new; if it was, noone would ever buy a Cadillac Escalade. But selling it to knitters feels like a betrayal, because we’ve all got that concept of the little old lady yarn store owner with the cat and the bright friendly smile and the sweater by the cash register for her grandson. How could she do that to us? How dare she hike up the price?

In light of some current controversy, Kate suggests a button and an up-to-date list of yarn manufacturers with unseemly business practices, to warn newer knitters about yarns that talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. I’m not sure how well that would catch on; I don’t think the sort that would be duped would come across it on the internet, because they wouldn’t think to look. The Yarndex, however, seems like a better option. Not many people realize that Yarndex has a review section. Until I specifically checked it just now, I thought they didn’t have one. It’s hidden at the bottom of the page, and you have to register to leave a comment. (This is probably because bad reviews mean decreased sales; Yarndex is owned by Yarnmarket.com.) But if more people actually did leave comments, think of the revolution! It could be like checking amazon for book reviews before buying a book. If you hate a yarn, leave a bad review as catharsis. If you like it, leave a good one. The newbies may still miss out, but the smart ones will have a new weapon in the war against fibre rip-offs.

For Julie, the messy bits are just as newsworthy.
The news broadcasters are trying to package everything as clean and simple, but it’s not. Sure, it’s their responsibility to present the news in as clear a manner as possible, but biases get in the way and sometimes there aren’t any clear answers. Same goes for knit blogs and WIPs. I’m guilty of this at times; presenting a project as nicely as I can, hiding loose unwoven ends, waiting for the finished object until I post. But just like the truth is sometimes messy, so is the knitting process, and we shouldn’t deny that process its time in the limelight.

Irene is knitting away, despite how hot it gets in herre.
I’m glad I live in Canada, because I always have an excuse to knit a pair of mittens or a scarf. I don’t have to justify it, or base my knitting decisions on how hot it is outside. I knit for fun, but also for necessity. Not so for Irene. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, in the kinds of temperatures that would make those of us above the 49th parallel wilt. How on earth does she put up with it?

Anne writes a letter of apology to her yarn.
This is the sort of story that makes your toenails curl. All that yarn, gone! My heart goes out to you, Anne. This is the kind of loss worthy of a Jimmy Stewart movie. It’s a wonderful life, Anne, don’t worry. Every time a needle clicks, an angel gets its wings.

Dye me a River

Kristin has produced a fantastic three part series explaining exactly how she goes about dyeing her yarn. It’s got lots of great pictures, and suggestions for products to use and tips for beginners. She starts with an ingredients list, which is a necessary reminder for the folks who want to start right away and forget about this or that chemical until they realize they have to dump it in within 5 seconds or the mixture will be ruined. (I’ve learned this lesson many a time while baking.)

Kelly presents her two part experiment in overdyeing, with colour comparisons and everything. Very sharp.

Aija starts her post with a picture of brains, completely winning me over. She continues with a great introduction to acid dyes, and why you shouldn’t fear them. There are also some great tips on where to buy these dyes. I may buy some myself, if I can convince my housemates to let me play in the kitchen sink. Err… maybe the bathtub would be better.

Finished Objects

• A fiendishly creative bag called “Jungle Love” in freeform crochet and knitting, probably a little painting and embroidery in there too… Words cannot express how jealous I am of artists like this.
• An absolutely gorgeous Kiri Shawl, knit with yarn inspired by a Van Gogh painting.
• A beautiful Estonian Garden Wrap, displayed in what I can only hope is an actual Estonian garden.
• Sounds like it really was an epic quest to get this scarf finished.
• Dinosaur!
• Here’s a great idea for sock knitters who succumb to Second Sock Syndrome: knit only one, and give it to a wacky friend who doesn’t care about matching. There’s also a great discussion in here about the shrink in needle size and growth in patience as knitters gain experience.

Those who can, teach

Jen has illustrated a tutorial for the Purl Long Tail Cast-On. I’m not sure how easily I’d be able to follow the illustrations (I’d do better with photographs that show where the yarn is at each point), but her suggestions for alternating between knit and purl cast-ons for ribbing is a great idea.

Knittopf

• Ruth has been neglecting her husband, and he seems pretty choked up about it.
• Knittymama writes the kind of dialogue you just can’t make up.
• Morgan does box comedy.
• Sprite writes about the lessons to be learned from knitting, and how they can be applied to life.
• Cara has knitting calluses!

The Page 24 Hunk

This is a bit of an old post, but noone submitted a hunk this time and so I had to find one of my own. Catheroo doesn’t understand it, but I don’t think you have to. You just have to enjoy.

Special Copyright Notice: The posts linked from this page are each the property of their respective authors and are subject to the copyright restrictions as specified by each site. Unless otherwise noted, no reproduction is allowed without express written consent.

If you were a fashionable teenaged boy and your sister knit this for you, would you wear this scarf and/or pair of mittens?

I think it would be neat to try to replicate this, especially since there’s some hip stenciling involved. I’m not sure, though, if my brother would think it was undeniably hip or square. Thoughts, please.

(Side note: this is described on the site as an intarsia scarf. GRRR!)

So I’m looking through the pictures for the latest MagKnits and I’m thinking, Wow, this Minimalist pattern looks so cute! It has the same style as my favourite sweater. I’d love to knit it, especially since its name indicates that it should be pretty simple.

…

Then comes the incredulous silence as I scroll through the hundreds of rows of shaping specifications. Minimalist my fanny!

I have a really pretty charcoal sweater that my mom bought for me from the Gap. It looks similar to this, except it’s bottom up and so there are no yarnovers at the top. It’s really really beautiful (my mom always know exactly what looks good on me, even if I don’t), and I’d like to knit something similar because after four years it’s starting to lose its shape. I may sit down with it at some point this fall and figure out the specifics; it’s just a turtleneck with ribbing at the ends, so it should be nice and simple to copy.