Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks
224
Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks
224eBook
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781603420983 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Storey Publishing, LLC |
| Publication date: | 03/01/2006 |
| Sold by: | Hachette Digital, Inc. |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 224 |
| Sales rank: | 273,978 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
About the Author
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a.k.a. the Yarn Harlot, entertains knitters with her unique humor via her popular blog (www.yarnharlot.com) and her best-selling books, Knitting Rules!, At Knit's End, and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
What is Knitting and How Does it Get Like This?
If you picked up this book, I probably don't need to convince you that knitting is great. It's more than possible, however, that you could use a little help explaining to people why you do it, or why you do it so much, or why you can't stop doing it.
The bare bones of knitting sound simple, and they are; sadly, this is probably the beginning of the confusion between those regular people known as non-knitters, and the enlightened, the extraordinary people we call knitters.
Non-knitters can't quite get it. You explain the basics of knitting to them, then tell them that you spend all of your money and all of your spare time on this pursuit, and inform them that you bitterly resent any time taken from it by ordinary activities like laundry and employment, and they'll look at you as if there's crazy all over you, like plaid on a Scotsman. You can show them all of your yarn (although I don't recommend this; revealing the size of the stash while you're trying to convince someone you're not nuts is counterproductive). You can even make them touch and hold it, and they're still going to wonder if you're a few sheep short of a flock.
Admittedly, if you think about it from the non-knitter's point of view, the statement "I play with string for several hours a day and never tire of it" does sound as if you're touched, but that's because the bare bones of knitting is not all there is. These non-knitters haven't lived the considerable charms of knitting or, even better than that, gotten themselves a Knitting Lifestyle.
THE SUBTLE PLEASURES OF KNITTING
Non-knitters don't understand that it all starts with the simplicity of pulling one loop through another (and that at first it ain't so simple). They don't understand that there's the detail of getting the loop to sit on the needle just right, or that you can knit two together, or wrap the yarn and get one more, or, horror of horrors, drop one and sit stunned, afraid that if you so much as breathe the stitch will run all the way down to the start and you'll never, ever get it picked up again. They don't know that all of this holds the key to a tiny little world of genius intrigue.
Non-knitters don't know what we do, that when we first learn to knit, this sort of thing is exceedingly high drama, that the thrill of getting it right is like skydiving (except, you know, safer), and that the defeat of messing up is as nasty as losing the Boston Marathon by 10 seconds to a guy who didn't even train. How about trying to tell them about the surprise of discovering that you aren't knitting what you thought you were? That due to some bizarre and repeated error on your part, you're making a tube top instead of socks and despite the really big difference between those two items, you cannot, for the life of you, explain why. They don't understand that knitting is surprising, perplexing, and gripping, as you loop stitch after stitch through each other and make Something.
ENDLESS CREATIVE POSSIBILITIES
Once you get the hang of the act of knitting, you get to discover its variations — knitting, purling, decreasing, increasing, cabling, yarn overs, intarsia, Fair Isle, entrelac, Estonian, Latvian ... How about twined knitting or ... my, the mind reels, and it's only the beginning. Do you do it left-handed or right? Pick or throw? Use stranding or bobbins? Wool or cotton? Circulars or straights? Use four or five double-pointed needles, or never touch them?
The techniques available to you can take a lifetime to learn and the different ways to make these loops with sticks is engaging, clever, and not at all monotonous. Non-knitters don't understand that there's always something left to learn, and trying to tell them that there are so many extremely interesting ways to do something with string is folly. They weren't interested in the first way to do it, never mind all the ways you've read about. Non-knitters usually stop you at this point and tell you that you're out of your tree. Ignore them. Knitters have it figured out. It is non-knitters (even though they out-number us) who haven't grasped the magic.
THE SPICE OF LIFE
I used to show yarn to non-knitters to help them understand. The materials we knit with are temptation itself. There's cotton, silk, and wool, for example, and fiber has come a long way in terms of sophistication. There's organic hand-dyed cotton, Italian crepe cotton, and Egyptian cotton spun fine for tiny lace caps. The silk could be softly spun, rustic, and slubby, or a floss that's almost as fine as the silkworm spun it and painted in colors that can break your heart.
That longtime standby, our fine friend wool, is no longer a sad itchy wallflower at the fiber ball; she has come into her glory. You can find handspun wool that's reminiscent of the sheep it left, cushy and bouncy, waiting to be warm mittens or a hat. There's thick bulky wool for cardigans as warm as coats, and merino spun so fine for lace knitting that the name cobweb is really appropriate. Hand-painted, soft spun, cabled, bouclé, self-patterning for socks. The list goes on and on, and we haven't even touched the world of manmade fibers. Railroad yarn that looks like it sounds, eyelash yarns that flutter fetchingly, hard-wearing acrylics so durable that you could use them to knit tires for trucks. I swear, no matter how your tastes run, your hour is now.
Turn me loose in a yarn shop and I can be at the cash register in four minutes with Shetland for the most traditional of sweaters or sequined rayon fun fur for a thong that a Vegas showgirl would think was over the top. It's enough to make knitters want to take off their clothes and roll around in their stash, but you can't tell that to non-knitters either. (Trust me. They don't understand the urge ... not even if you show them cashmere.)
As stunning as it may seem to us, the non-knitters are immune. Completely immune. They can't understand where we get the time; they can't understand the compelling and fascinating difference between a 50/50 merino/silk blend and a 10/90 merino/silk blend. They can't understand yarn as souvenir, yarn as comfort, or knitting as intriguing. They think of knitting as both too simple and too complex. They believe they don't have time and that we're wasting our time — that knitting is both so boring they couldn't be bothered and too complex and difficult for them (but they still want the hand-knit socks).
What non-knitters are missing is the personality-enhancing qualities of knitting. Knitting is a miracle worker. With knitting, people can suddenly do things they couldn't do before. They can wait in line without becoming impatient. They can sit through a grade-school concert with a smile. They can handle long meetings and lectures, all without bothering other people or pacing around like lunatics. I can think of several times in my own life when knitting kept me from slapping some fool upside the head.
Knitting makes boring people interesting and mundane things intriguing. The only other thing that does that has the disadvantage of giving you a hangover instead of a pair of socks.
AN EXAMINATION OF THE NON-KNITTER
Non-knitters are, to me, very interesting. ... As knitters, it's good that we spend some time getting to understand their confusing ways.
According to my calculations, knitters (past and present) make up about 15 percent of the North American population. That's astounding when you think about it. It's enough for a revolution (imagine a world run by knitters?) or a cult. Cults and revolutions often end badly, however, so no matter what you're thinking, we should probably put it out of our heads. We are still fiercely outnumbered. Considering these odds, it's also pretty likely that you are going to have to marry/live with/date a non-knitter.
FIVE REASONS WHY PEOPLE DON'T KNIT
Given the multitude of charms that knitting possess, why doesn't everyone knit? How come the other 85 percent of the world keeps looking at us like ... that? A brief and unscientific study (I asked some people) revealed the reasons people say they don't knit.
Reason 1
"I could never do that. I'm completely uncoordinated." Right. Well, that's an interesting one. Considering that since we've invented knitting (sometime in the 14th century) it's been child labor in many parts of the world, I've got to tell you that this one doesn't hold water. I find it difficult to believe that children all over the world can manage to learn this, no matter how poorly educated or unskilled they are, but a full-grown person who can read, write, drive a car, and work the DVD player is unable to.
Reason 2
"I could never do that; I don't have the patience." I have the attention span of a three-year-old full of chocolate bars at a birthday party, so I'm not buying this one either. Knitting grants patience to those who do it. Ask around. Most knitters will tell you they're at their most patient with the needles in their hands, and that this practice makes them more tolerant of ordinary setbacks.
Reason 3
"I can't afford it." Nope. Real knitters (the ones who've fallen down hard and don't want to get up) would knit grass with sticks if they ran out of money. There are lots of ways to get by on the cheap.
Reason 4
"I'm not smart enough." Knitting, all knitting — every single item — is made up of two stitches, knit and purl. If you're wearing clothes and you dressed yourself, you're smart enough to knit. If you're wearing matching clothes or a coordinating accessory, you're smart enough to knit well.
Reason 5
"I don't have time." Don't start with me. We all find the time for what we love to do. Just admit it: You want to cross-stitch instead.
There are many kinds of knitters, and not all of them seem crazy when you look at them. There are knitters who have made their hobby a lifestyle and those who have a moderate, reasonable knitting habit that they engage in "some" of the time. Both kinds of knitters appear to be happy and (somewhat) well adjusted. Knowing which camp you fall into can help determine whether you should start planning a yarn stash for your old age.
IS KNITTING ADDICTIVE?
Many of us have been trying to figure this out for years, but it's a difficult question. First, yarn and knitting seem to affect different people differently. It could be a matter of genetics, availability, or experience, but not all knitters will end up with behavior that indicates addiction. There do appear to be several levels of yarn, uh, "involvement."
Level 1
Interested. The knitter engages in yarn activities some of the time, mostly in social settings in yarn shops or at lessons, or quietly in his or her free time. This knitter may attend a knitting club or guild, and may sometimes purchase yarn, though it doesn't really affect the budget much. The "interested" knitter has firm, concrete plans for all of the yarn. She occasionally bypasses a yarn store for a bookstore.
Level 2
Focused. The knitter now often "knits alone" and frequently allows her family to see her knitting. The "focused" knitter may now be actively trying to recruit friends and family into her yarn lifestyle and has been seen purchasing yarn with no clear intentions, just because it is "soft" or "on sale." This knitter may have several projects on the needles, and may actually be overwhelmed (occasionally and happily) with her own knitty plans. She still goes to bookstores and imagines herself putting down the knitting to read. (She doesn't.)
Level 3
Preoccupied. The knitter may now be spending all of her free time knitting but is still attending to other things, like job and children. The "preoccupied" knitter actively shops for yarn often, discusses yarn often, and occasionally has dreams in which knitting figures prominently. In a bookstore, she now treks only to the knitting book section.
Level 4
Obsessed. The knitter spends all of her free time knitting, and the time she considers "free" is expanding. She is likely now neglecting housework with a vengeance and is dreaming in knitting code. The "obsessed" knitter stalks other people to stare at their sweaters, and would rather sit on a train for nine hours where she can knit comfortably, rather than drive. This knitter has discovered books on tape, buys yarn like it's a job, and dreams of a way to make money from knitting so she wouldn't have to waste good knitting time earning a living. People in the neighborhood have started calling this person things like "that knitting guy" and the knitter does not care. Quite the contrary, he is flattered and has never been happier.
ASSESS YOUR LEVEL OF OBSESSION
Scenario 1
You and a friend are in a restaurant and while you're waiting for the food, you're (naturally) knitting. The waitress comes to the table with your water and says, "Wow, is that knitting? I've always wanted to knit." You:
(A) Take out the spare needles and yarn you have in your bag (for just this kind of moment) and, telling her that there was a time in your life when you too were a non-knitter, plop her down at your table and teach her how to knit in between courses.
(B) Ask her what she's always dreamed of knitting and encourage her to meet you at the stitch-and-bitch you attend downtown.
(C) Show her how stitches are formed on the needles, extol the joys of precision, and encourage her to get a book about the concepts of knitting.
(D) Give her some beautiful yarn and needles, as it will all come together when she's ready.
(E) Say, "That's nice. Is there any lemon for my water?"
Scenario 2
When you wear your new shawl to a party, a woman comes up to you and compliments it. "That's so beautiful," she says. "Did you make that?" You reply:
(A) "Yes, I did, and you can make one too!"
(B) "Yes, and I'm considering making one in blue. Would you like to see the reverse side?"
(C) "Do you like it? I changed the gauge from 20 to 18 stitches to 4 inches and I think it really paid off.
(D) "Thank you, I'm glad it's the right size. The last one I knit blocked out so big that it ended up as big as a car cozy."
(E) "Thanks. I got it at Wal-mart."
Scenario 3
There's a sale at your favorite neighborhood yarn shop. You:
(A) Tell all your friends, knitting and non-knitting, then arrange a car pool and knitting lessons for afterward.
(B) Tell no one (you don't want the competition), but go quietly to the shop first thing in the morning and score that 850 yards of mohair you've been coveting.
(C) Go to the sale, but use your stash spreadsheet to make sure you're getting only the 500 pounds of yarn you really need.
(D) Go enthusiastically but buy very little, as the big box you bought at the last sale is still at the front door. Besides, you're really into spinning your own yarn right now.
(E) Go, buy lots of yarn, have a wonderful time, then put it in your closet.
Scenario 4
Seduced by a good-looking sweater pattern and a yummy yarn, you've begun a new project that's not really working out (by "not working out," I mean the sweater resembles a sweater the way a nun resembles yak fur). You:
(A) Take the sweater to your wide circle of knitting friends or have one of the more experienced club members help sort things out.
(B) Pour a glass of your choice of liquid concentration, then sit down with needles and yarn and experiment with the various decreases and stitch patterns you know until you've worked it out.
(C) Go online and check for correction to the pattern, then when you find none, pull out some graph paper and a pencil and work up a chart, using a calculator to rejig the stitch counts.
(D) Keep knitting, wondering what it's going to turn out to be.
(E) What sweater? You're at the local pub with the Thursday-night stitch-and-bitch group. Who has time to knit?
If your answers are mostly A, you are a Missionary. Missionary knitters are those knitters who, regardless of their skill level, are compelled to spread the word of the knit. Convinced (and quite rightly) that knitting is the best thing since sliced bread, they're forever attempting to spread the word of wool and convert ordinary people into knitters. Their enthusiasm is infectious and they're generous with lessons, time, and knitting supplies. Their motto is "Don't knock it till you try it" and they're the visionaries of the knitting world. Missionaries are by nature giving people, and will often make a gift of yarn and needles to a fledgling knitter to entice her and keep her knitting. Sometimes called "pushers" by other knitters, missionaries will always encourage a stash-enhancing trip, never turn down a knitting social event, and are usually the head of the local knitting club.
If your answers are mostly B, you are a Sensei. Senseis have elevated knitting to a lifestyle. Never without needles and yarn, there's nothing knitting senseis don't know, and many of them are natural teachers. Through a combination of experience, education, and good instincts, knitting senseis are walking knitting textbooks. Wondering how to make the top of a sock stretchy enough? Knitting senseis know a dozen cast-ons. Mis-cross a cable 17 rows ago? Knitting senseis can show you how to fix the mistake without ripping back. Knitting senseis never wonder whether a knitting project would be too difficult for them. If they haven't done it, it's because they choose not to. Knitting senseis know all, see all, and fear nothing. If they weren't so damned helpful, you would hate them. You'll recognize a sensei by their confident knitting style, the stacks of complex patterns, and stashes that rival the gross national product of a small country.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Knitting Rules!"
by .
Copyright © 2006 Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.
Excerpted by permission of Storey Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
one What is Knitting and How Does it Get Like This?,
two Yarn and How Not to Feel Guilty About It,
three Know Your Stuff,
four Gauge, Swatches, and Learning to Accept Them,
five Hats,
six Socks,
seven Scarves and Shawls,
eight Sweaters,
A Knitters Glossary,
Index,
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