Knit Along: Traveling Vines Scarf from Magpie Yarns - DONE!

DestiKNITions finishes traveling the Traveling Vines

I’m delighted to have this finished. It’s soaking to block as I type, getting ready to make its Valentine’s Day debut. That’s right, I finished it in time to wear it on the holiday I planned--an Allie first!

A really lovely pattern, just intriguing enough to keep me challenged without frying my brain. And what girl can’t use some tiny sequins in her everyday life? That sparkle you catch out of the corner of your eye at the grocery store? It’ll be me.

Next up? DestiKNITions goes to the middle of nowhere...and likes it!

Knit Along: Traveling Vines Scarf from Magpie Yarns - Day 6

A nifty new trick...

Last weekend was knitting heaven. Sure, the meetings were long, but I had my knitting. As you’ve heard me say before, knitting improves my ability to absorb whatever it is you’re trying to tell me. Especially if it takes a long time to deliver your message. I visited a charming yarn shop you’ll hear about in a future episode, I ate good food with good people, made important plans, and had fun.

And got to the final yards--literally--of my Traveling Vines Scarf. Now this is one of those “knit til it’s done” patterns, where you’re not working to hit a specific length, nor even to a specific row in a repeat, you just go until you’re done. Those are nice, but they always make me nervous. I’m too much of a plan-ahead person not to worry that I’ll run out of yarn before I do the final four rows of garter stitch the pattern calls for.

But this time? I’m cool as a cucumber. Why? Because I learned the niftiest little trick at a cast on class at my local knitting store. A finishing trick in a cast on class? It’s not as odd as you’d think. We were talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the long-tail cast-on, which inevitably led to the dilemma of how long of a tail is long enough? Our teacher showed us the following technique to make sure you’ve got all the yarn you need:

First, wrap your yarn ten times around your needle. That’s a fairly accurate estimate of the yarn needed for ten stitches. Now, unwrap that yarn, and you’ve got a specific length of yarn to produce ten stitches. Simply fold that length back on itself the number of stitches in your row times the number of rows.

Let me explain in detail. For this project, each row is thirty stitches. I fished around in the middle of my ball to find the inner end of my yarn. Because it’s a workable number, I wrapped thirty times to get my length (this wouldn’t work with a 90 stitch row for obvious reasons). Since I know I have four rows of garter stitch to save up for at the end of my scarf, I folded up four times my initial length. I put a simple slip knot at that length--plus a little extra for added insurance--as my signal. Now, since this pattern tells me I can stop on essentially any row, I can just knit happily along until I get to my knot, then I know it’s time to start my four garter rows. No stress, no worries. And I get to use every delectable inch of this yarn--gotta love that.

I’ll be binding off any minute now. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get a glimpse of the finished product.

Knit Along: Traveling Vines Scarf from Magpie Yarns - Day 5

If you’re happy and you knit it...

Tomorrow, I’m going to drive two hours to sit in a six-hour meeting.

I couldn’t be happier.

It’s not the drive, pleasant as it promises to be. Nor is it the content of the meeting, important as it is. If you’ve been reading DestiKNITions for any time at all, you probably have already figured out that I’m delighted to have so much knitting time stretching out in front of me. I’m ready to go the final stretch on this lovely Traveling Vines scarf, and this is my chance.

Take a moment to think about what an extraordinary thing that is, how odd those comments would sound to the non-knitting world. Delay our flights for another hour, and most knitters just see it as the chance to get a dozen more rows done. Sit through a three hours class at a writing conference? I could knock out half a sock and still pay close attention to the curriculum.

Knitting changes your concept of time. Of down time, lost time, and the nastiest of villains, wasted time. I’m the happiest person I know in the airport during a rainstorm. I’m the happiest person in the doctor’s waiting room, the DMV, the long line for anything.

...Unless you take away my knitting. Then, sister, back off and duck behind a wall.

But with my needles, I’m a source of joy. I don’t think us knitters give ourselves enough credit for the positive influence we have on situations like that. There are enough people sending out mean, impatient, frustrated vibes in those situations; the world needs the peace and calm of knitters. We’re mood oxygen, people. The emotional rainforest, sucking up all the nasty stuff to give back happy, creative productivity.

The transportation and medical industries alone would be virtually transformed by the presence of more knitters. Health and auto insurance companies should give knitter’s discounts, if you ask me.

You know, they should sell yarn at the health food store.

Knit Along: Traveling Vines Scarf from Magpie Yarns - Day 4

Problem solving with yarn

I knew an executive once who kept a pack of cards in his desk. Whenever he needed to untangle a thorny problem, he would get them out and either deal them, play solitare, or build a house of cards. Naturally, we all thought he was goofing off, but he actually was tapping into one of the true values of knitting--or of any craft, for that matter. A value that many of us creative types would be wise to note: knitting occupies your brain.

More importantly, knitting (unless it’s something excruciatingly complicated) occupies just enough of your conscious brain to let your subconscious come out and play. This project is the perfect balance for such a use--more interesting than endless garter stitch or dreary ribbing, but not mind-numbing in its complexity. Creative occupation. It’s the same principle that gives you all your great ideas in the shower or while driving. It stops your inner editor, your inner sense of logic and protocol, and opens wide the brainstorm floodgate. Yes, folks, I’m a writer, I can wield a wicked metaphor when I chose to unleash my talents.

I also believe it’s why I seem to yearn for my knitting when I am stressed or stuck. Not only is it soothing, it’s useful. It is not ever a waste of time. Ever. Twitter, Facebook, those can waste time (and I’m guilty as charged on all those fronts!), although I do occasionally find solution and encouragement in those things. But not anything near the level of what I achieve while knitting.

Which only leads me around, once again, to my viewpoint that the world would be an infinitely better place if we all knit. Next time someone looks at you sideways because you’re knitting in a meeting or knitting when you “should be working,” you send ‘em to me. I’ll set ‘em straight.

I have several long pointed objects to back me up, besides.

Knit Along: Traveling Vines Scarf from Magpie Yarns - Day 3

Why knitting is NOT like parenting...

You’ve heard me talk a lot about knitting is like parenting. And it is, in many ways. But this week, as things spiraled of control in ways that only two-teen family can do, I learned new things about knitting. And uncovered new reasons why I love yarn and needles.

Not much in this world works the way we’d like it to. One of the most frustrating things about not only parenting, but the publishing world, is that talent and effort don’t always bring results. Every one of us knows a fabulously parented kid who’s gone spectacularly wrong. Likewise, most of us can name someone who became an amazing adult despite every parental strike against them. Publishing is the same way. I know writers who have ten times my talent but only have a stack of rejection letters to show for it. I’ve read bestsellers with writing that...well, rots. And I’ve seen splendid books die a grisly death from poor sales.

Which is why I like knitting.

For the most part, you get from knitting what you put into it. When I use quality materials and pay attention, I get wonderful results. When things tangle, I can usually draw a straight line from that catastrophe to my lack of attention, or skimming directions, or fudging details (‘yes, Allie, there’s a reason this pattern calls for a size 19 needle, so don’t use a 17”). I’ve been paying attention to this project, and there’s a payoff. That’s so refreshing. Especially with the we’re-not-going-to-talk-about-this family drama going on this week.

I think that’s why knitting is so stress-relieving. It’s justice between the needles.

Knit Along: Traveling Vines Scarf from Magpie Yarns - Day 2

Progress and props...

The good thing about a 12-row repeat is that it doesn’t tax your brain cells. The bad thing is that after the first foot or so, it doesn’t offer much adventure. While in my crazy world that makes for peaceful knitting (“oh, look hon, I’ve done a whole foot and I haven’t made any colossal errors!”), it doesn’t make for exciting writing. I’m sure you all find it much more entertaining when I goof it up. And, while it is a small consolation, I do often say to myself, “oh, well, at least it’s blog material.” But after ripping out twelve rows of itty bitty stitches, it’s small consolation indeed. So, my perfection is your loss. Try to cope and I’ll try to find some way to spice things up.

Which I have indeed done, because today we’re going to talk about gadgets. I’ve been pleased to put several of my new toys into play on this project. Some of them, like the Signature needles and the spiffy handy KnitKit, you’ve already heard me rave over. Today’s addition holds the whole enchilada: Namaste’s stunning project bags. Yes, they are simply silver mesh rectangles with snaps on top--but they’re so much more. Like everything Namaste does, they’re thoughtfully designed. The mesh is fine enough not to welcome even the sharpest of point to wander through and snag in your handbag. You can clearly see what’s inside. And things lay out so nicely in the flat-enough-but-not-too-flat construction. In short, these do a simple job exceedingly well.

Going to the other extreme, I’m going to tout one of the joys of parental knitting. Namely teen or tween parental knitting: orthodontic rubber bands. Those bitsy bands you pay some professional thousands of dollars to stretch over your offspring’s teeth also make exceptional small-sized stitch markers. Put to tremendous use on my last tiny-needled sock project. They’re flexible, boast just the right bit of grip-to-slip ratio, and chances are you can easily filch a dozen from your teen’s medicine cabinet without him or her even noticing. An orthodontic knitting benefit! Who’d have thunk it?

What do you press into service for your knitting that didn’t start life as a knitting gadget? Come on, DestiKNITers, I’d like to hear your “knitting uses for everyday objects.”

Knit Along: Traveling Vines Scarf from Magpie Yarns

Sparkles

Oh my goodness this feels like a vacation from the tiny stitches of my socks. It helps that I get to use my luscious Signature needles, which always feel posh. The yarn has these tiny sequins strung together on a parallel thread, which adds just the right amount of sparkle, but makes for a bit of tricky handling. Still, how can you not love a yarn called Disco Lights? Get out your spandex and boogie down...

Like all of my favorite projects, this scarf designed by Magpie owner Jane Homeyer adds something to my toolbox. Sure, I had to google “purl two together through the back loop” and watch the video a dozen times. Yes, I had to make myself a little post-it note cheat sheet until I got the four-step process under my belt, but I feel smarter for having added it to my repertoire. And anything that makes me feel smarter, looks lush, and brings sparkle to my life is good, indeed!

And the progress! After slugging through 1-hour-gets-you-one-quarter-inch sock stitches, it’s refreshing to gain two inches after twelve rows and about 40 minutes. In a week where my “didn’t get done” list is twice as long as my “accomplished” list, that’s golden!

Now, given the purple color and charming sparkle of this scarf, I’m tempted to plan it for my Valentine’s Day accessory. You all know my history with deadlines--especially holiday deadlines (remember Easter?)--so I’m resisting the urge. It’s better for everyone if I do.