Finding my knitting groove

[selenay]

I have the horrible feeling that I've finally worked out what kind of knitter I am and it's not the nice, easy kind of knitter who works on small projects in chunky yarn.

My mum is a cable knitter. She doesn't mind what weight the yarn is (although she prefers aran or DK), but she wants cables in her patterns. The more complicated the cable, the happier she is. Hats, mittens, sweaters, it's the complexity of the cable that gets her interested. Currently she's bouncing about the gorgeous cable jumper that she's working on, the one that I took one look at and vowed not to even consider.

I can cable, I've done my fair share of cables and I wouldn't automatically run from a project with a tiny bit of cabling in. It's just not something that I like to do a huge amount of.

My sister is still working out what she likes, having worked mostly with thinner yarns and lacy patterns so far but also having some thicker yarns queued to play with. I'm quite enjoying the seeing the process as she develops her style.

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm a sadistic knitter who enjoys making large items from skinny yarn. Yeah. I'm happy to tackle complicated lace (in lace weight) although I don't think that's my ultimate favourite. That stuff requires sealing myself away from all distractions and even then my mistake rate is high. What I really like is beautiful drapey fine garments, possibly with a pretty stitch pattern although I'm almost finished with a tunic in moss stitch and I'm still really enjoying it. Yes, even after several billion rows of moss stitch.

My next project is another fingering-weight thing with a lacy pattern that looks like it should be easy to memorise. I'm actually really excited about it.

At knitting on Thursday someone let me look through Knit So Fine, a book filled with beautiful patterns done in fingering-weight yarn. This, for the uninitiated, is the weight of yarn that I use for socks. Anyone remember the socks that I was making at Redemption? Yes, that weight of yarn. I want to make three-quarters of the book, it's been added to my wishlist and the only trouble will be deciding which thing to make first.

I do have an aran wieght sweater in my queue that I plan to tackle for the winter and I'm sure that I'll love making it, but apparently it's the fine knitting that I really get excited about.

That's me. Sadistic knitter. Or is it masochistic knitter? Whatever. My mum will be cheerfully cabling away in one corner while I'll be cheerfully knitting sock yarn into sweaters, tunics and halternecks on 2.5mm needles while my more sensible knitter friends look on with horror.

Comments

[catseatsocks.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure what kind of knitter I am. The kind that slowly takes on more complicated projects over the years? I do like cables a lot. There must be some kind of test.

[selenay]

I think that I'm just starting to realise what kinds of projects I really like. I'm getting more adventurous with time, but I'm noticing which types of patterns get me excited and which leave me cold. It's quite interesting because up until this year, I wouldn't have said I had any particular 'type'.

[evil_plotbunny]

I'm fond of thin yarns and tiny needles. Large shawls and socks in complex lacy patterns seem to make me happiest, though I need to play around with cables more. I think colorwork (fair isle or entrelac) might also scratch the desire for complex patterns, but I'm still sorting out how to hold the yarn.

[selenay]

Colourwork intimidates me, but then I'm not that into really complex stitch patterns :-) I like something that I can memorise reasonably easily and sometimes a good chunk of stocking stitch or garter can be very theraputic.

Do you get the crazy knitter look from other knitters when you pull out a big shawl project?

[evil_plotbunny]

I've attempted colourwork, but I always have trouble controlling the second yarn (though I'm getting better after all those Daleks).

Do you get the crazy knitter look from other knitters when you pull out a big shawl project?

Yes. Especially since I work in laceweight wools, so the shawl project usually fits into a zipped case intended to be used for pencils and such. If it gets too unwieldy to be carried in that case, it generally stays home.

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

I'm there with you, ma'am. Especially since I'm a big girl and really shouldn't wear those chunky yarns. I've started a waffle knit sweater in a fingering weight which I *might* have done in time to wear next summer. I don't have the patience for lace, although cables do give me a little happy. But the big projects still really intimidate me. I shall overcome, but at the moment I'm still clinging to my socks. Although there's a Scotty hat in my near future...

[selenay]

Hee, the Scotty hat would be fun :-D

As my first project was a 7' x 5' blanket, big projects don't really intimidate me. I keep getting called insane for considering socks a 'tiny' project :-D

I'm a busty girl so I can probably get away with aran stuff, but the big chunky stuff wouldn't help me :-) My wardrobe is filled with thin sweaters rather than chunky ones so perhaps it's not surprising that the patterns I glom onto are the ones for pretty fingering weight.

[elenopa.livejournal.com]

I'm primarily a DK knitter, although I use thicker wool occasionally. I never use four ply or thinner, and I hate using fancy wools with hairs, bobbles or fuzz.

Apart from that, I'll do cables or fair-isle if the pattern requires it. I have my favourite patterns which I use over and over; usually knitting for babies and children.

[selenay]

I learned the errors of my ways on novelty yarn. I have a gorgeous furry scarf, but never again! It's a good thing I can't wear mohair because I'd probably have the urge to stick my needles in my eye before getting anything finished in that.

Fair-isle intimidates me. Some day I'd love to give it a go, just to see whether I can, but it looks totally terrifying. The lace has been hard enough!

[elenopa.livejournal.com]

Proper fair-isle only has two colours per row, which saves too much untangling each time.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Yes, but you get things *finished.* I appear to be the sort of knitter who starts things, gets bored, thinks of something else to do with the yarn, unravels it, lather, rinse, repeat.

And if it makes you happy, then you're a contented knitter, and that's all that counts.

[selenay]

I've got a couple of hibernathing projects, but I pretty much do finish what I start and I haven't yet frogged something. It, er, doesn't occur to me as an option.

Hmm, contented knitter. I think that sounds like a good thing to be :-)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Contented is always good!

I had to frog the Summer Tweed project because I'd done my math wrong and cast on too large a square. *sigh*

[selenay]

How did you find the Summer Tweed? And what were you making?

I ask because my mum had a nightmare with it for a pair of fingerless mittens but I think that it was the concept of Summer Tweed + mittens that was the issue and I was wondering what it is actually half-decent for :-)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I found it when I was giving myself a very pretentious present; they sell Rowan at Liberty's of London and I'd promised myself enough for a lap blanket. The original notion was to buy 49 skeins and knit a block a week, then sew it together and have a souvenir.

The original notion didn't last long.

Now it's going to wait until the week after next - there's a knitting group meeting the second Thursday in June at the local yarn store, and that meeting's theme is stashbusting, with an emphasis on patterns and guesstimating yarn.

Odds are good I'm going to do a quilting pattern that I haven't seen adapted into knitting yet, not even on a Ravelry search - interlocking crosses.

[selenay]

I love Rowan yarns :-)

Hmm, a blanket probably would be a good use for Summer Tweed. At least in a blanket it doesn't matter if the fabric has no give. That's probably even a bonus!

Adapting a quilting pattern to a knitted blanket sounds like an awesome project! You'll have to put up progress reports :-) And post the design to Ravelry if you can.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

At least in a blanket it doesn't matter if the fabric has no give

Exactly. Okay, that and I like a lot of blankets because I used to be a quilter.

I'll post the design if it works out; so far, it's only in my head. However, it's such a simple shape I'm surprised that there aren't any projects already. I did look. It's going to work out better in knitting than it ever did in fabric - look at all the corners in:

+ + +
+ +
+ + +

In knitting, I'm thinking that since I just want to do a random pattern anyway, I can pick up along the edges of the previous +.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Aaaaand, HTML buggers me again. That middle row of plus signs is supposed to be offset.

[selenay]

Silly HTML :-)

This looks like an excellent idea. I love blankets because they can be so pretty and you get the happy feeling from completing something each time you finish a square/patch/section. Plus they're practical - I regularly use my first blanket to snuggle under on the sofa with the cats and a book.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

and you get the happy feeling from completing something each time you finish a square/patch/section

Yes. I actually have all the finished pieces for a blanket... but then I got more ideas and started staring speculatively at the yarn...