Principles of Knitting - Knitting Methods

I'm in a study group reviewing the new edition of Principles of Knitting. The book is basically a textbook of knitting skills and techniques. It is dense and thorough. It's not really a guide for a new knitter, but it's fantastically technical, which I love.

Tonight we did chapter 1, which is ways to hold the needles. I read the chapter beforehand and found her terminology interesting. She doesn't use English and Continental, but Right-Hand Method and Left-Hand Method. She also distinguishes Right-Finger Method, which is where the yarn is around the right finger and thrown.

In the groups, we each showed how we knit. I'm a Left-Hand knitter, as were seven of us in our small group. Three are Right-Hand knitters and one used a modified Under Arm method, where she tucked the long needles into her hip. Terry, my boss and our group facilitator, easily switches between several styles of knitting, including knitting reverse of the standard (aka Left Hander's Knitting). We talked about the advantage of having an alternate style of knitting and we all swapped styles. I'm working on Right-Finger Method, which is basically the opposite of what I do now.

We also discussed in large group (about thirty of us) some of the other methods, like the Thumb Method in which the yarn is held around the neck, and an alternate form which hangs the yarn from a pin on the shirt, known as the Danish Method. It was interesting to hear one of the Learn to Knit teachers that she heard the same complaints from the experienced knitters learning new methods that she does from the new knitters. That gave us some perspective.

One of the comments that struck me was that the woman who tucks her long needles wanted to learn to "pick" (Left Handed Method) because she has Fibromyalgia and needs a form that takes as little effort as possible. We discussed this - my desire to learn Right Finger Method is, in part, because I expect a day in the future when my left hand doesn't function as well as it does now and I want an alternate method in place.

I find the study interesting. We do cast ons next month, of which there is 34 pages written. But until we begin that chapter, I'm practicing my Right Finger Method in addition to cleaning up my Left Handed Method to find the most economical knitting.

A Good Day!

Finally!

The weather was beautiful so I turned off the heat and opened windows to give my house a chance to air out a little. I got some cleaning and laundry done, as well as caught up on the ironing that has been building up. Knitting made some headway and I read for class tomorrow. No calculus, but hopefully some will get done tomorrow night.

I made rosewater out of the beautiful bouquet that Kyle got me for Valentine's (except the one that I pressed). I used the method from Care2 and it was pretty easy. I didn't remove the extract at small intervals and the initial amount was really strong, so I let it go awhile longer and got a slightly diluted form which I prefer. I left the pot on the stove (which was off) and let it perfume the house after I was done. Huzzah to a really good astringent and making use of something that would have otherwise gone into the trash. The remaining petals will be put in the flowerbeds outside.

Also watched the Oscars tonight (though I was on a delay to begin with because I got caught up in a Criminal Minds marathon and couldn't stop halfway through, so I DVRd the Oscars and got to fast forward through the commercials for most of broadcast). I wanted Hailee Steinfeld to win for True Grit, but Melissa Leo was so cute on winning that I couldn't be too upset. I also wanted Jennifer Lawrence to win for Winter's Bone (if you haven't seen it, go rent or Netflix it - it's amazing), however I knew there was no one who was going to beat Natalie Portman. And rightly so - Black Swan was utterly haunting. I hoped when she was thanking her parents that they would be shown so I could see her mom*, but I was disappointed.

My favorite speech of the night was David Seidler, the writer behind The King's Speech. His speech was funny and eloquent and seemed natural, rather than some of the forced humor in some speeches. I really loved his voice and it was just touching.

*Side note here: When I worked at Equinox, I had the distinct privilege of meeting (and signing up) Natalie Portman's mother. She was a classy lady who never once mentioned her daughter's name (she told me her daughter launched a line of vegan shoes, which she totally had) and was truly one of the nicest strangers I had ever met. I will never forget how sweet she was to me for the handful of months that I knew her and as much as I loved Miss Portman already, meeting her mother made me love her even more.

Putting my sickness to work

Another day of pain and thus, meds. There are certain things I can't do on medication reliably, such as studying or calculus, so I'm hoping I can do those things tomorrow. But it was sunny today so I was determined to do something. Yesterday was completely lost to sleep and that half awake space I get into when the percocet kicks in.

So today, I got some laundry folded and got some more laundry done. My biggest accomplishments were making tomato sauce for the rest of the week (or a couple, depending on my meals) and making a loaf of Moroccan bread. I cut the recipe, which should make two loaves, just to do the one since it's my first time. It turned out really well and I had some of it when it was still hot with butter and honey. It was delicious. I will probably need to make another loaf this week at some point since it turned out well and it certainly beats store bought bread. It doesn't replace sandwich bread, but that's why I want to get a bread machine someday.

I have this dream of getting to a point where more of the food I eat is freshly made. Pasta is really easy to make. I make my own sauces anyway, but expanding on that selection is good. Bread too, now that I know how. I already avoid store bought cookies (except Oreos, which are crack, and even though I've made Oreos before, it's not the same), so it's just a matter of expanding that. Knowing what is in your food is great. The Moroccan bread is flour, water, oil, yeast, salt and sugar. That's it. And I can name all of those ingredients.

Also, I finished the second of what I think will be a set of three washcloths for my sister. I've cast on and started the third, so I might get that finished this week. I don't have any major projects until I learn to do socks over Spring Break, so I may just knit up a bunch of washcloths in the meantime.

WC Lessons

Last night I covered a WC shift for another tutor. It was interesting - I knew I had a writer coming in for help right at the beginning because I met him on Wednesday and he insisted on seeing me again. Turns out I was completely booked the entire night. I worked with a girl who was trying to write a personal statement for law school and a woman who really just needed someone to listen to her go over her response to a reading - she self edited as she read and I didn't actually have to do much. We worked out some confusion issues, but she really did most the work.

Thankfully, I'm finding patience I didn't expect to have. It's hard not to just give them the answer, which we're really not allowed to do since our primary goal is to encourage critical thinking. But I'm learning how to ask leading questions. It's frustrating since some of them are really terrible writers and they're in college - they should be at least basically literate. But I think my time there will be well spent and the other tutors are nice to talk to. Several of them are graduate or post-graduate students and one of them got her PhD last week.

I didn't have anything to do today expect for the SVA (Student Veteran's of America) State Director conference call (I'm the NY SD). Which is good because it's been a pain day. So lots of tea, time on the couch and watching TV (I got caught up on Royal Pains) and snacking. Oh and knitting. Knitting has finally gotten done now that it's been rescued from Kyle's house. I have some things to get done this weekend, but mostly I think I'm staying home. I don't feel well and I can't risk getting sick and missing anymore school.

Lessons of a baby blanket

Over the summer, I learned to knit. My boyfriend's mother taught me, as well as loaded me up with supplies (I have more yarn than I know what to do with). I track specifics on ravelry for those of you who are fellow knitters, but my big project right now is a baby blanket for my boyfriend's godson, who is due in a couple of weeks.

Except that he's coming as we speak!

I am a schedule person. I may plans for everything. Monica Geller from Friends? Yeah, she and I are a lot alike (though she's funnier...something about having writers...). We'll put aside my cleaning obsession for a moment and talk about plans. I make them for everything. I make plans for things that haven't happened yet. For things that might never happen. It's how I process the world.

The baby (whose initials are KET, which I find very cute) is on his way. He's early, like babies often are. He's off the plan. The blanket is not done. It's nowhere near done, actually. I have a whole ball and a half of yarn to do still and I really want to make an edging of some kind and add his monogram. Because of all of this, I've had to accept that it's late. KET will get his blanket when it's done. And that's okay. It has to be okay because that's how it's going to be.

Stressing about knitting is counterproductive. I find that when I'm trying to rush or am stressed at the knitting, I make mistakes, which cost time later and countless frustrations. So when I pick up my needles, I have to take a deep breath and relax. Otherwise, the knitting suffers. I think it's because of this that knitting has become my favorite hobby (though I do still want to learn to quilt). Like training Indy, my dog, that he sits when I pick up his walking collar so I can put it on him, I have to train myself that picking up the needles is a relaxing thing. Associations are strong tools and I use them for other people all the time. I just need to develop an association with this.