Sorry about the skip yesterday... it was a bad day. It's never a good day when you bleed on the floor. There was minimal pain and no life lost, and I'll spare y'all the gory details, but it was a bad day.
Anyway, there was a whole pile of stuff I was going to mention, and I'll probably forget half of it, but here goes.
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I got a package in the mail Monday (the husbeast is definitely getting jealous), and it turned out to be a lovely note and some very cool yarn (fluffy pink with sparkles) from Cindy, thanking me for hosting the steek-along. She's very welcome, and it's very kind to send a note and a gift. Thank YOU, Cindy.
Is it common to send a note and gift to the host of a knit-along? Am I behind in knitting etiquette, or do I just have exceptionally nice, generous participants?
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Speaking of knit-alongs, we'll be doing the Strikke-along, starting October first. I'll open up signups at the beginning of September, but I'm reminding everyone now, in case they have to budget for yarn, like I do. The point of the Strikke-along is to be inclusive; everyone who wants to join, join. I'm serious. We'll find some way to call any project you're doing related to Scandinavia, somehow. Or maybe you have Scandinavian ancestors (or ARE Scandinavian), or your knitting needles come from Norway, or something. We'll figure it out.
I've also cooked up the knit-along for late winter, already. Or rather, one of the regular readers has, and we're going to try to run it out of here. It should be a crazy one, so brace yourselves. I'm going to keep it mysterious so you all get curious.
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The Baby has moved on to verbs. "Hop" is the first one she learned, that I know of. Next up, compound sentences. She's also begun arguing, of the yes-no-yes-no-yes variety. For fun. She'll walk up and start saying 'no', for no good reason, and giggle when you say 'yes' back. She varies with 'nope' and 'nuh-uh' for a change of pace.
I see some really fun teen years on the horizon. Ha.
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Eunny Jang is back. Her blog, See Eunny Knit, has been shut down - or at least, the comments have been turned off and she's said she won't be posting there any more. But she's leaving it up for everyone, which is kind, because there's a pile of great info over there. Her new blog is being run from the Interweave web site (stands to reason), and she says she plans to treat it like an extended letter from the editor. We'll see. Unless she's got something in her contract, I bet she'll be doing more great tutorials before long. She's also on Ravelry as EunnyJang. Yay!
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So, this crochet thing. It's supposed to be fast, isn't it? That's what I always heard about it, from people who preferred it over knitting. Comments like "Oh, knitting's nice, but I don't have the patience for it, I can crochet an afghan in nothing flat." I assume, like everything else, the speed comes with practice, because I am slower than a lame turtle right now. (Using really splitty yarn isn't helping things a damn bit.)
I figured out that what I have been doing when I bind off lace, I THINK, is chain stitching (knew that), with slip stitches (didn't know that). We get paid today, so I may go out and buy a BOOK on the subject, tonight.
You know I'm serious when I buy a book about it.
Bleeding on the floor???? You KNOW you have to give some details - did you stick a crochet hook through a finger???? What the hell happened?
ReplyDeleteI taught myself to crochet before I taught myself to knit. I used a book that I bought at wal-mart for under $5. I don't remember the title but it was one of those little 4X6 or so books. It had a section on knitting, crocheting and I think tatting. I think it was one of the most valueable books I've bought. Hope it helps.
ReplyDeleteDitto what crys said, although I bought mine at Jo Anne's and it didn't have any other crafts... maybe the way to think about it is that knitting is created horizontally, and crochet is created vertically... even if you're working across, each stitch when done right adds a lot more height...which is why people say it goes quicker. Also, crochet is bulkier--that's why it's so good for afghans. (And a YO is a whole different thing in crochet than it is in knitting...) no more bleeding on the floor? PLease? For me? (Oh yeah--the Cave Troll can do a rousing argument of 'rabbit season/duck season'. We're so proud.)
ReplyDeleteGood Lord! Bleeding? On the floor??? I'm glad to hear that you are OK. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Crys' comment about those cheapie books being the best "tutorial" books out there. It's an inexpensive way to get the gist of something before investing in the more involved tomes. That said, you are one who values books for their content and history so you might prefer to have something more "solid" at hand.
It's good to have choices! :)
Hang in there, Julie. Crochet is much faster... at the very least, you don't need to worry about dropped stitched, if that was in fact a worry of yours with knitting... Thanks for the Eunny update. I'd even stopped checking her blog.
ReplyDeleteI taught myself to crochet and here's a tip you won't find in the books... there are different shapes to hooks, depending on brand. One has an "in-line" (with the shaft) hook and the other doesn't. I always use BOYE hooks because they don't tend to split the yarn much. Brand X gives me fits. You might check what hook you have. Splity yarn sucks. Hang in there. It really does go faster then knitting once you are good at it, but there are some effects that only knitting can give.
ReplyDeleteDeborah
That bleeding does not sound good - health issue or knife accident? Can you give clues?
ReplyDeleteCrochet is faster, I think, because you're only ever working with one stitch and the stitches are taller so the work grows faster.
That is my budget tip for the day ;-)
ReplyDeleteOpps I have one more, I am going to knit some socks for the knit along. Hopefully I won't find some horribley expensive yarn to use.
Pam
Oh come now. If there's blood involved, we all really want to know the details.
ReplyDeleteCrochet hasn't stuck with me. I've tried a few times, but I haven't really figured it out yet. It feels unnatural to me.
Yeah, cheap instruction books are good - as are second hand books from the 1970s if you can get any!
ReplyDeleteOr a magazine, if you can have a look at the pictures in the "how to" section before you buy it to see how useful they are!
Oh, the strikke-along sounds great. Being Scandinavian, it should pretty much be impossible for me to fail, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd be careful with that bleeding on the floor thing, it doesn't sound too good.
Geeze, I have one word for you spendthrifts: Library!! You might even be able to check out videos that will SHOW you how to do it.
ReplyDeleteKnock it off with this bleeding on the floor stuff! And give us details.
Lastly, teach Baby to say, "Negatory," and "Affirmative." Her dady's buddies will be charmed!