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yesterday i managed to get myself invited to a knit+bitch group in the los angeles area by a very nice person known as q. the problem is: i'm at least 100 miles from los angeles. as much as i'd like to hang with sheep of the same fleece, it's not possible. it's probably a good thing because i'm socially inept; i can't play well with others. regardless, i was very pleased with the invitation.
i am going to blog about my knitting self today.
i was exposed to knitting at the annoying young age when kids run around asking adults, "what are you doing? what are you doing?" the neighbor i bugged taught me to do the easy e cast on. she gave me a ball of yarn and one needle so i would leave her alone. i would sit next to her and cast on and on. and then i discovered rope jumping.
around may of 2001, i received a belated valentine's day present from the mega talented miss jang, a terrific hat of her very own unique creation. i admired and admired it some more: even handed stitches, seamless color changes, perfect fit, etc. i was inspired. but not to knit, funny enough. i was inspired to give my very own hand made gifts.
in november of 2001, i decided to crochet scarves for xmas presents. some time during the production of the scarves, i realized that crochet stitches are not very tight. the nature of crocheting creates little voids whereas knitted fabrics seem very consistent in texture. this made me want to try knitting. i think the decision was also prompted by an article in martha stewart's living magazine. i had always been reluctant about wielding two needles until that article made me think i could handle it. so, i made g-lo take me to fabric town where i bought a pair of size 10 needles and began knitting.
at first i knitted by pure memory. the casting on was a snap but the knit stitch was not going well. i knitted into the back of the loops so all the stitches were twisted. i would knit little 2"x2" squares with a ball of cheap acrylic red yarn. this caused my husband to accuse me of being a communist for making little red squares. by the 51st square, i figured it out. i was so pleased, i gave it to g! i believe she still has it draped on the chest her lion gargoyle.
around january 2002 i found an early 80s instructional video tape by linda davis complete with big half-tinted glasses and bad electric guitar interludes. the first time jg saw her, he actually screamed. good thing that 80% of the video featured her hands. at the time, ld was my guru. she taught me to knit correctly and the technical lingo. she also taught me to do cables. i was elated.
i made hats. i bought cheap ebay yarn. i made more hats. jg wisely said, “if you are going to invest all that time knitting, you should get good yarn. i bought ebay wool yarn. i made more hats. at this time all my hats were replicas of the encouraging miss jang's. i made them in slight variations and was proud.
then i had to quit knitting so i could prepare for the licensing exam. over a year of no knitting progress.
around april of 2003, i discovered elizabeth zimmermann, the grande dame of knitting. in short, i became a knitter.
because of the big ez i knit the way i do. for example, i knit with the yarn in my left hand and i can knit independently of patterns. in her modest ways, she instilled this maginificent sense of confidence in me. i can knit anything i want.
that's how i feel at least. and so far, so good.
these days i knit a hat a week, sometimes two. i managed to perfect a fitted "seamless" beanie pattern that can be knitted on two needles. (it looks positively seamless although it does require one row of weaving in the end.) i always have one or two projects on the needles ready for tivo marathons and the occasional car trip. i can't knit in the dark yet but i'm working on it. my goal is to be able to knit and to calculate lateral forces simultaneously.
i will try to share my projects on this web site. hopefully in time i will have a better time management routine that will let me knit and blog regularly. i don't know if anyone would even care to read this stuff but if you're a knitter, please leave me a comment. just a hello would make my day!
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