Putting a spin on it

Several years ago, my friend Kate decided to take up spinning.  I remember watching her and thinking to myself that it seemed far too complicated and I had no desire whatsoever to learn.  Dyeing? Sure.  Spinning? No.

You will not be surprised to learn that I seem to have changed my mind.  Once again, I have podcasts to blame for this, because so many podcasters seem to spin.  They're always talking about all kinds of different fibers and spindles, and I'm listening half-lost and wanting so badly to understand, and also sort of warming up to the idea of spinning because its also something old-timey, and I will totally be able to survive the apocalypse if I learn (and if sheep are available). Also, I feel like being able to spin, dye, and knit up a project would be like some kind of knitting hat trick (GOAL!).

My friend Sam seems to also have caught the spinning bug, because as I mentioned in the previous post, she went to a class to learn the secret codes.  I am totally jealous (extra free time is an issue for me at the moment because of other activities).  We keep sending each other links to fiber and random spindles and wishing spinning wheels weren't so freaking expensive (wistful sigh!)

I'm still trying to figure out what I even need to start.  A spindle, of course.  Fiber (but what kind?)...beyond that I have no idea (spinners--any tips??)

Knitting in the dark

I've always been a little envious of people who have movie socks or movie projects.  I am completely unable to divide my attention between a new feature film and a knitting project--I have to be focused on one or the other.  Then there's that whole knitting in the dark thing.  Despite the fact that I've been knitting for five years now, I still have to look at it.  I can't look away and keep going, or knit by feel.

My friend Sam was talking to me about knitting in the dark the other day (she can't do it either), and when she admitted this while taking a spinning class at our LYS, the other women there looked at her like she was crazy.

So, fellow knitters--how many of you can knit in the dark?  Are we some kind of odd ducks who can't?  Is this a skill I should have added to my repertoire ages ago?

Color Choices

When I cruise through patterns and projects on Ravelry, I am often amazed by the colors people have chosen for their projects.  I wish I knew the secret codes of how they come up with their color combinations.

For example, one of my favorite projects EVER, is this pair of mittens by Ravelry user helloyarn (I'm pretty sure I've posted about these before, back on the Fiber Freaks blog).  Seriously.  I would never have thought to use a bright turquoise and a purple together, but it looks AMAZING.

There are several Truckee Shawlettes I adore, but one of my favorites is this one by Ravelry user Honeybee52; the contrasting colors are excellent!

And then, there's the Color Affection projects, of which I have many favorites (like this one, this one, and this one).

I understand that a lot of this (magical) ability is an understanding of color theory.  So many of my crafty passions require the use/knowledge/understanding of color theory (cake decorating, knitting, make-up), that you would think I would get it, but apparently not.  I am still constantly befuddled.

Awesome color theory poster by Nathan Bilbao.

I've read articles and watched YouTube videos all about color theory, but its still not clicking.  If anyone has any tips, I would love the help!  I'd like to (re-)try fair isle knitting again someday, and having a better grasp of color choices would definitely help.  Plus, now that I'm interested in dyeing, color mixing really does need to creep into my brain, or I might end up with some not-so-pretty results.

I am nothing if not insane.

I don't know what my problem is.  Didn't I just post that socks always burn me out?  Oh, right, I did.  So why in heavens name am I considering knitting another pair when I haven't even finished the ones on my dang needles?

Because I am insane.  And I hate giving up (I will conquer you, socks!  I will start completing you in less than 3 months!!! I WILL!)

I was browsing the internet the other night, still frustrated by this whole magic loop heel thing, when I came upon a glorious, glorious tutorial by Heidi Bears (who, incidentally, has an awesome looking crochet bear pattern).  This tutorial was not of much help to me previously, as I was doing my 2-at-a-time socks leg-down with a heel flap and the instructions at Heidi Bears blog are for toe-up socks with a short-row heel (which I've never attempted by itself, let alone on magic loop).

But then I got to thinking--why not try it?  There it was, all spelled out for me with fantastic instructions and pictures, and such pretty example socks.

So, socks are likely in my future once again, though probably not right after I finish my mom's green pair.  I'll probably have a buffer project in there of some kind (maybe the aforementioned Malabrigo handwarmers?)

I am a glutton for punishment.

Knitting quickly (or not)

About a week ago, I spotted a post on Knitting in Color about how not to knit faster, and it got me thinking about my knitting methods.  Not long before I saw that post, one of my knit night friends told me she'd changed her purls and now she could do it so much more quickly and efficiently.

Back on Fiber Freaks a million years ago, I often waxed poetic about how I wanted to adjust how I knit so that I could be faster.  I knit Continental, technically, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get the hang of picking.  So I basically gave up, and continued with my go-to method (which I've seen described on Ravelry as "continental wrapping"--turns out I'm not the only one to knit this way, yay!) 




Sometimes I do wish I could speed along like I see a lot of people doing in videos, and sometimes I also secretly wonder if I should switch over to English style since I like to wrap so much...but really, I'm pretty content with my style (for now).  It's comfortable, and I can be pretty quick at it (don't let the video above fool you--I get weirdly self conscious when knitting on video.  I swear!)

That being said, I would like to minimize my movements a little more, and to figure out a way to move my stitches along more smoothly.  I always seem to have to stop and shift the stitches around, and its very bothersome. 

But the biggest thing I need to do to improve my knitting speed?  ACTUALLY WORK ON MY PROJECTS!