Knitting can be a very solitary activity because it does require a certain amount of concentration even if one is making something simple. And it can be a wonderful way to find, use or justify time spent doing less useful activities like watching television or waiting at the doctor's office. So if you are more of a loner, knitting can be a great companion.
However, not all of us are loners and people like myself enjoy the company of others, even when we're knitting. Most LYS have their own variety of an evening when they open up the shop or a room in the shop for knitters to bring in projects to knit together. There is usually someone there who can answer questions, people you might know drop in and out, and of course the shop will sell whatever knitting supplies might be needed. The problem is you really should be knitting with yarn from the shop and preferably on a pattern you purchased from them as well.
Many knitters, myself included, prefer to find spaces other than the LYS to avoid these constraints. Knitting away from the shop means one isn't so compelled to be knitting on their yarn and since I have a habit of buying yarn all over, my options can be broadened. So after our last (and for me only) knitting class with the Gramps Sweater at the LYS, a couple of us are making a go at forming our own little group.
My knit friend, Tena, and I have been going either to her home or mine, transporting our latest projects and talking, oh yes and knitting, away for two hours one night a week this summer. We've decided to start with just the two of us to develop a core or anchor for the group. We'll see where we go from here, but for now it is quite pleasant just as it is.
Tena has been working on what I consider a complicated colour work pair of mittens. Look at how beautifully they are coming along:
Don't you just love the colour combinations; the red that morphs into an orange and then mossy green to robin's egg blue and finally copper, all on that dark charcoal gray background. These colours just seem perfect together. Once she finishes off the thumb, she has to knit duplicates to line these beauties. She has a very soft and fuzzy mohair yarn selected for this part of the project. (Do you see the size of the needles used in this pattern! They are slightly bigger in diameter than a toothpick and much smaller than a bamboo skewer.)
The pattern has been designed by Adrian Bizilia and if you click on this link you can see other colour combinations used to make up this pattern and buy it if you're so inclined. See that chart underneath the left glove and the orange sticky note poking out underneath the tip of that same glove? These two things are essential to being able to make up this project. Every square on the graph represents a stitch and depending on where you are in the pattern it also dictates the colour to use. The sticky note helps you determine what line of the pattern you are working on. Trust me it can get challenging sometimes because the squares are so small and you are working a row every round so you need the sticky note to help carry your eye across the line on the graph. Make a mistake by moving a stitch to the left or right by one and the design shouts, hey look here, you've messed up. Hats off to Tena for bringing this project to our Knit Night. Her ability to talk, follow the chart and knit is remarkable.
Tena's hard work deserves another look at one of her gloves and that complicated graph. Well done, Tena, well done.
Postscript: Tena says she couldn't have done it without the help of Alexa, the instructor and designer of the Gramps Sweater. I agree, it does help to have good instructions, you're right Tena, but it also helps to have attention to details and tenacity to see a tricky pattern like this through. Those qualities belong to you alone.
However, not all of us are loners and people like myself enjoy the company of others, even when we're knitting. Most LYS have their own variety of an evening when they open up the shop or a room in the shop for knitters to bring in projects to knit together. There is usually someone there who can answer questions, people you might know drop in and out, and of course the shop will sell whatever knitting supplies might be needed. The problem is you really should be knitting with yarn from the shop and preferably on a pattern you purchased from them as well.
Many knitters, myself included, prefer to find spaces other than the LYS to avoid these constraints. Knitting away from the shop means one isn't so compelled to be knitting on their yarn and since I have a habit of buying yarn all over, my options can be broadened. So after our last (and for me only) knitting class with the Gramps Sweater at the LYS, a couple of us are making a go at forming our own little group.
My knit friend, Tena, and I have been going either to her home or mine, transporting our latest projects and talking, oh yes and knitting, away for two hours one night a week this summer. We've decided to start with just the two of us to develop a core or anchor for the group. We'll see where we go from here, but for now it is quite pleasant just as it is.
Tena has been working on what I consider a complicated colour work pair of mittens. Look at how beautifully they are coming along:
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| Tena's Fiddlehead Mittens |
The pattern has been designed by Adrian Bizilia and if you click on this link you can see other colour combinations used to make up this pattern and buy it if you're so inclined. See that chart underneath the left glove and the orange sticky note poking out underneath the tip of that same glove? These two things are essential to being able to make up this project. Every square on the graph represents a stitch and depending on where you are in the pattern it also dictates the colour to use. The sticky note helps you determine what line of the pattern you are working on. Trust me it can get challenging sometimes because the squares are so small and you are working a row every round so you need the sticky note to help carry your eye across the line on the graph. Make a mistake by moving a stitch to the left or right by one and the design shouts, hey look here, you've messed up. Hats off to Tena for bringing this project to our Knit Night. Her ability to talk, follow the chart and knit is remarkable.
Tena's hard work deserves another look at one of her gloves and that complicated graph. Well done, Tena, well done.
Postscript: Tena says she couldn't have done it without the help of Alexa, the instructor and designer of the Gramps Sweater. I agree, it does help to have good instructions, you're right Tena, but it also helps to have attention to details and tenacity to see a tricky pattern like this through. Those qualities belong to you alone.
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