I'm Knitting!!!!

I LIKE the look of that pattern! Tomorrow, I'll have to ask my teacher to explain the "knit into the back" thing. Thanks & CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

As neither fine, Irish, nor Catholic, I will add that "round here" Plastic Jesus is sung with a rural accent, and generally segues into "Drop Kick Me Jesus". The verses at the end of Sheena's link don't have anything about St. Chris either, and I am sure he figures in to a verse.

Dawne, still recovering from explaining to a nice group of Lutheran ladies how to get St Anthony to find lost stuff

I think what Joan was referring to was the difference between European/Continental style knitting and English knitting. European is where you hold the yarn in your left hand, behind the work (put in front for a purl stitch) and grab it with the right needle and pull it through as though you were using a crochet hook. English is where you hold the yarn in front of the work and using your right hand put the yarn around the needle and pull it through. The stitches look exactly the same. It's just a difference in method.

I'm sure there are clearer, better explanations for the two styles, but that's the way I always thought of it.

Continental is usually faster.

Lucille

Joan E. wrote:

Thanks, Lucille! I can never remember which is which, while "picking" and "throwing" I *can* remember! lol It sounds like TM is doing English. My mom, who taught me, always thought she knit "wrong", until I told her a few years ago it's just a *different* way!

Joan

HMMM I have the yarn behind MOI and hold it in my right hand, putting it over the needle from the back when knitting. For purling, I use my right hand and bring the yarn to the front between my needles and then put it over my needle. I can remember the difference between knit and purl because the needle and yarn are to the bacK when I Knit and to the front when I purl :-). The teacher had some other little thing she told us to remember the difference but it didn't work for MOI. I have finished my scarf except for the fringe and will do that in class today. I almost threw the (**&^%% thing away yesterday!!!! I was binding off -- not hard to do asnd I remembered it from years ago. For some reason, I kept dropping stitches off the needle. It took me 90 minutes to bind off 38 stitches!!! OY THE PAIN -- LOLOL. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Well, that's wrong! The yarn is behind the knitting, which puts it in front of MOI! Just got back from the last Beginner's Knitting class. Today we learned how to read a pattern for a little flower with knitting, purling which we already knew. What was new was to yarn over and knit, slip stitch andthen something abbreviated as psso which I think means put slip stitch over. This pattern makes a darling little flower which I completed and will now need to add to something, I just don't know what :-). CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Just a reminder, it's easy to get obsessive about knitting. That used to be my first choice. Alas, now there are two things that stop me-first and foremost, my hands and wrists won't allow me to do more then a couple of lines at a time and second-I live in Florida and there's just so much knitted stuff one can use. Even Puff has a couple of afghans and how many can one 8 lb. dog use?

L

The only way I could remember when I started knitting was to keep saying to myself, "Back is beautiful". It *was* in the 70s! lol

Congrats on finishing it! So you will be putting a pic on your webshots album??????

Joan

Yep -- I'll get a photo on Webshots, hopefully before I head out on Sunday for Austin, TX. I am taking my DSis on a 5 day cruise that leaves out of Galveston on Monday and returns Saturday. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

Tia Mary buy yourself "The Illustraeted Dictionary of Knitting " by Rae Compton, Interweave Press , 1988. It has al those terms, abbreviations, even `foreign terms` translated from French, German and Italian ,,it is realy a very great help ,, mirjam

Gill

I just calculated that i am knitting over 60 years ,,,Started like you at about 4 , i sometimes think i all my knits might cover 1 Ocean at least , if not more :>:>:>

mirjam .

Maybe she thought it had something to do with her pmp she adds to rotflmao ?

That was exactly the way I learned and my granny turned the heels for me. One has to wonder, which unfortunate soldier got to wear them lol

The teacher told us NOT to knit socks! The yarn is really expensive and then no one sees the work you have done -- LOLOL! Socks and other similar involved items are at a skill level far beyond anything I want to do. I'll be happy if I can make up a sweater that is a box with boxy sleeves -- LOLOL! OH -- and that's rotflmaowtimewPIMP :-))) CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Thanks for that info Mirjam. I have made note of it and will keep my eye open for it. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

"Tia Mary" wrote>

Nobody doesn't see the socks Sheena knitted for me! She used self-patterning yarn, so they have an intricate pattern with blue, yellow and black--you can't miss them! I wear lots of clog type shoes when I am not at work, and patterned socks are just made for them, since the shoe shows them off. BTW there are special clog socks where you embroider from the heel up the back of the sock.

Dawne

Equally good, The Donna Kooler Encylclopedia of Knitting - has excellent diagrams & explanations for things like various bind-offs, increases, decreases, and decorative stitches. I use it a lot. This was the 3rd knitting book I bought, first trying things with "Stitch n' Bitch" - such an irresistible title. Good basic reference, which then led me to the Maggie Righetti classic. Anyhow, if you're only going for one, I'm not familiar with the one which Mirjam cited, besides browsing it, but I really do like the clear explanations with diagrams of the Donna Kooler book. Also, the Vogue Complete Book of Knitting is a great reference.

Personally, I like having a book around for that "how do I do that again" need to see something in the middle of the night. Not that the advice from the experienced (not me) knitters here isn't fabulous, but.....

Some links:

for the Donna Kooler for the Vogue one for the Maggie Righetti book for the Stitch 'n Bitch book The links are Amazon, not that I'm saying buy there, but it's a good place to browse.

Glad you're having fun. My first project was a scarf done in "mistake rib" , out of a couple of skeins of gorgeous hand-dyed Manos del Uruguay (link to them - just in case:

DH actually wears it,and it was a fun pattern to knit, and made me learn about keeping thebinding edges well. Plus, alternating every few rows when using hand-dyed,'cause even the same dye lot can look different from skein to skein.Have fun, Ellice (who now has to go battle taxes things)

You're not alone, Sheena. It seems I know so many people that adore knitting socks. It's really fun, but I'm glad that I didn't try to do them until I'd gained some experience. And still, even taking a fun little class, I was still confused with short rows at first. They are fun to do.

They're not "cheap" - but certainly not really much more expensive than nice socks in a shop (not talking about white bargain athletic socks), and there is so much out there in superwash yarns now, that I think the care is easier than years ago - just IMHO. I can imagine you have some really striking socks!

Ellice