Knit Along: Galaxy Scarf from Sophie's Fine Yarn Shoppe - Day 6

Once more, with feeling...

It’s a close cousin to second sock syndrome.  I’ve traveled all the way to the edge of this delicate, lacy scarf, and now I go back to the center, pick my my first row of stitches, and do it all over again.  Revving up the excitement takes a bit of work.  I’m bolstered, however, by my competency with the pattern repeat now.  I’ve gone multiple repeats without having to pull out messed up rows, and that feels good.  This pattern has stretched my stitch literacy--my ability to look at the stitch below and see what it is so that I know I’m at the right place in my pattern.  Sure, I can tell a knit from a purl, a yarn over from a knit-two-together.  But a SSKPSSO?  That’s a little harder to read.

My last tool to feature is one I picked up in St. Louis: my stitch counter.  At first I used to to keep serious track of where I was in the repeat.  Now I’m just using it to keep track of the 15 repeats I need to get to the end of the scarf.  It’s elegant, artsy, and effective--three things I’m very fond of in knitting tools.  Yes, I have a dozen different ways to keep track of rows, including my beloved Knit Kits (I now own one in every color made), but this one has captured my affections at the moment.

I know the limitations of my descriptive skills.  I do not think I can make the second pass of fifteen repeats captivating reading as I finish this scarf, so we'll end here and show it off later when it's blocked.  Ah, but not before I stoop to including pictures of my adorable dog--who matches the scarf quite nicely even though she doesn’t look very pleased to be exploited as a display model.  Looks a bit like Eeyore here, doesn't she? 

Remember, today marks the last chance you have to leave a comment and qualify for the drawing of a fine Sophie’s tote bag, yarn gauge, and Yarn Requirements guide.

I have wonderful New York City adventures waiting to be told....so stay tuned! 

Knit-Along: Elemental Changes Scarf from Aylin’s Woolgatherer - Day 5

The cure for what ails you...

I’ve finished the repeat of section C...it’s hardly worth a picture because it looks, well, just like the section C from last time. And, just in case you were wondering, the dreaded double daisy motif did me in again, but this time I managed to salvage the thing without having to rip out hoards of work.

Today, I had a chance to experience the best of what knitting does for me. Knitting is all about patience and connection in my world. I love to watch how people pay attention when I pull out my knitting in public. And, when you add up the number of hours I’ve spent in doctor’s waiting rooms this year, that’s a whole lot of knitting in public.

What I have noticed is a distinct difference in my state of mind versus those of my wait-mates. We’re all stuck in those vinyl chairs together, but I seem to be having a better time that most of them. Why? Because I’m not leafing through an eight-month-old People magazine or staring holes in the carpet. I’m knitting. The only thing I’m anxious about is whether or not I’ll get through this challenging row before they call my son’s name. Perhaps more importantly, I’m often too pleasantly distracted to imagine all the horrible things they’ll tell me (or worse, do to my son) once we’re let inside.

Today, as we waited a long time in a pediatric (translation: loud) waiting room at a major Chicago hospital where my son’s specialist practices, my son actually said, “hang on, she’s finishing a row” when the nurse called for us. Even if this is a tough pattern, I was embarrassed enough to stuff the knitting in my bag mid-row, risking a major error just to save face (a major error which didn’t happen, thankfully). It was still worth it. Score one for knitting.

Inside, knitting worked another connection. My son’s specialist probably sees hundreds of patients a week, based on the crowds outside her office. Yet, she remembers us. Why? Because I’m always knitting when she comes in the exam room, and her sister knits. My son, ever the guerilla marketer, told her about my blog and pointed out the cool KnitKit I was using at the time (and still use faithfully). She thought the gadget was nifty, and I wrote down my blog address so she could get the link because her sister needed a birthday present. We made a warm connection that first visit, right there in the sterile environment of a hospital. A connection that has grown stronger with each visit. Today, she asked that when we come back for our November visit, we bring Christmas gift ideas for her sister. You can bet I will. She’s a human being to me, not just my son’s specialist. Knitting did that, and I love that about knitting.

And that, folks, is one of the very best reasons to knit not only in doctors’ waiting rooms, but everywhere.

Knit Along: Peony Scarf from Gabriella's - Day 6 DETOUR!

Gadget Girl Scores Big!

Now, I could bore you with the endless rows of stockinette stitch I’m currently enduring in the pursuit of my sure-to-be lovely Peony Scarf, but I doubt that would make for good reading. So, trust me when I say I’m kitting my fingers off to get to the next section of my scarf and will provide you with all the fluffy details when I get there, but today we’re going to take a detour.

On my very favorite subject: gadgets!

I love gadgets. The Container Store, Brookstone, Sharper Image, cooking gadgets, my beloved Blackberry Storm, I love ‘em all. But a cool knitting gadget? Well, that about blows me away. And so my squeal of delight could probably be heard in Detroit when I encountered The Knit Kit. It didn’t matter that I hardly needed it--because I wanted it. And (worth mentioning because those kind of impulse buys don’t always work out well for me) it was a great find. All the do-dads you need in one kit. I’d show you a photo of mine, but I pulled this one off the website (credit for this image to theknitkit.com) because I saw they now come in cool black, and I have to say my one gripe with this marvel was the pink-and-white color scheme. I’m just not a pink-and-white gal, and I really like the black model. You can bet I’ll snatch up the first one I come across.

The scissors actually work quite well. You can bet a parent invented this because not many other people would understand the importance of a locking row counter (“Hey mom? click, click What’s this cool clicky thing?” click, click, click). Ha, no toddler scares me now. The curvy crochet hook comes in handy when you drop a stitch, and can switch hit as a cable needle on occasion. I tucked a craft needle in mine, but am wondering if the friendly folks at airline security won’t take to that (which is why I guessed there wasn’t one already inside--it seemed the only standard knitting accessory missing).

I love this thing. Okay, more than one person commented it looks a bit too much like a package of birth control pills, but I like the thing enough to defend it from its rude detractors. Besides, the addition of a black-and-white model takes care of that nicely anyway. It’s designed for air travel, it slips easily from one project bag to another, and it’s just plain COOL.

‘Nuff said. Here’s the website to help you get your own--I’m sure not lending you mine....