Anybody else get the Knitting Daily newsletter?

POOOOOOR Melinda ,,,,, mirjam

No, no, don't do that. The fact is that anyone can become "fearless", as Sandy says. The reality for most of us is that we simply don't have the time to dedicate to our knitting to reach that ultimate fearless level. I don't do some techniques because I simply don't like doing them. You won't see me doing intarsia or entrelac because I find them too "fiddly", and I've tried Fair Isle but can't get the hang of holding yarn in both hands (and it would probably help immensely if I were able to knit Continental style, or pick, but I just can't do that; gods know I've tried many times).

My FIL's girlfriend once commented that she knows how to knit but could never make the things I could 'cause she hadn' t knit in many years. I gently reminded her that there are only 3 things you can do with an individual stitch - knit, purl, or slip - and everything else is just "extra credit", as it were. Amazingly, she picked up her knitting needles and crochet hooks again, albeit briefly. You *can* do this.

Let's see...transcription business, 3 kids, husband, cats, house...nope, no distractions here whatsoever Actually, I do the bulk of my knitting after my youngest goes to bed at night. I get a couple hours to sit and knit while watching TV.

I feel your pain, hon. I've had many projects go awry, to the point where they became eternal UFOs, and some got tossed when we cleaned out the garage a few months ago. My cats have trashed a few things I've made, including a nice little "more than semicircular" shawl I made years ago. I've since taken to keeping my WIPs tucked safely inside their respective bags, zippers closed.

That might be a good idea. Get the size and fit you want, then knit accordingly.

Maybe a storage container with a snap-on lid? I have a goodly part of my stash plus a few WIPs in one of these, and the lid fits so tightly that I have difficulty opening it sometimes.

Don't be discouraged. Keep plugging away. That sweater will emerge before you know it :-)

The Other Kim kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom

Melinda, I received KD newsletter and just went back to skim over both articles. I didn't see anything in there putting knitters down. If anything, it seemed to me like she was trying to encourage knitters to try new things, and also asking what knitters wanted from KD to help them become fearless.

I think you're very frustrated with this project you're working on. Here's my gentle suggestion. When I've had a project drive me nuts like your legwarmers are doing to you, I give it a "time out". Put it away for a few days or a few weeks until you feel you can tackle it again. I had a pair of socks that I had a problem with the pattern and had to rip out the heel THREE times on the second sock. Then I finally got them finished and realized I hadn't changed to a smaller needle for the main part of the sock. The pattern had called for a larger needle for the cuff. I knew I had to rip out the second sock to the cuff and start again. But I had Christmas projects to finish, so that pair of socks went into the bag and sat there for a couple of months until I was ready to tackle it again.

I agree with the other suggestion that you get a pup proof container for your projects. I don't have any little animals like that around, so I can safely leave my knitting out.

If the yarn is driving you crazy, how about making yourself a nice scarf and hat out of it, or just put it back in your storage and try another yarn for the legwarmers?

I don't think that's the case. As Kim says, try knitting when there are fewer distractions for you. You have to do what's right for you.

Just to let you know, I'm a fairly "fearless" knitter, but not for all types of knitting. I went to knitting camp last summer and the course was on Fair Isle, which I had never done. I thought "oh, a piece of cake". Hah! Not so for me. I had a terrible time choosing nice colours, but was able to conquer two handed knitting, but I'm very clumsy at it. The good thing that came out of that course is that I found out Fair Isle is not for me and I hadn't wasted any money on a sweater kit.

I've discovered I love lace knitting, and aside from all the careful counting one must do, it's really only knit, purl, yarn overs and knitting stitches together. If you've seen my Peacock Feathers shawl, please know that it took me three tries to actually finish it. The first two times I made a mistake on the yarn I bought, and the third try was the right one. Here's a link to the Peacock shawl:

know that this shawl and pretty much any of my knittingis not error free. There's a pretty big mistake in this shawl,and I wasn't about to rip it back, even though I did havelifelines. And we won't talk about all the little errors that Iwas able to fudge along the way.I guess this is a wordy way of saying "don't get discouragedand just do what is right for you". RCTY is a great place to vent your frustration, and there are always people who will try to help.

Knitting hugs Shelagh

I think you're right Shillelagh. I'm on a couple web based knitting forums and I see sooo many posts from new knitters who are paralyzed from going forward with a project or new technique for fear of doing it wrong. Or they want to know if this or that will work out instead. I try to encourage them to just DO it and if it doesn't work out, it can be undone and tried another way. To just play with the yarn and needles and try out different things to see what happens when they do one thing or another. Yes, I'm speaking from a lot of years of experience, but I taught myself long before home computers were even thought of, let alone the internet, and had no one to ask questions of. So I did this and that and figured out stuff on my own and learned from all of it.

sue

"Transcription business"? Me too! That is, I'm an editor these days, for the most part. Work for Medware. What's your company? Where are you? And PS--- I can only knit at night after my shift, too....and my kitties get into my yarn all the time! I also will have the longest arms in history because I often must hold them straight out in front of me because SOMEone is totally oblivious, snoozing away on my chest....as usual. :) Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way.

And I am really enjoying KD too. I can't do lots of the fancy things but sheer bull determination sees me through my fair isle doll sweaters. To me, it's the "thrill of the chase" and challenging new skills, not necessarily the actual item I am creating. At any rate, we all have our own reasons for loving what we do and sharing that (and our FRUSTRATIONS! LOL!) here as well. :)

Wendy A Knitting Fool in CT mysmt=3Dat=3Dsbcglobal.net

Melinda, Maybe you should thank your puppy for chewing the legwarmer. If it hadn't then you would have been working woth the Lion Brand Homespun that much longer. I hate that yarn! I made a sweater out of it for my great nephew in a toddler size 5. I swore I would never use it again. Anytime I see a yarn that has a fiber that wraps around the outside of the length of the yarn I think of the homespun and pass it by. No matter who makes it.

I am slowly but surely learning to knit patterns that uses something other than the basic knit and purl. I usually have to frog something 3 times before I stop making dumb mistakes or begin to really understand the pattern.

I am lucky that my two cats leave my yarn alone. When My DD#2 is home with her cat, that is another story!

You will get the hang of it. And like my husband tells me when I am getting frustrated, it is supposed to be fun! It usually is. Marilyn

"Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply" wrote in message news:4795b479$0$84162$ snipped-for-privacy@news.sonic.net...

I agree... some people love the stuff, but it just isn't for me.

As for puppy-proof containers, I recommend the totally clear plastic bins like Sterilite that are sold in places like CVS and W*lm*rt. You can see what's in it without opening it, which can be a timesaver. Some of them have edge clips that are easy to use. Depending on the size of the project, you might want to get one that is just big enough to hold the entire project, yarn, needles, pattern and all. Or you might like to try the larger size to put stash in. I'd say only get one at first, in case the puppy learns to open it! Smaller ones can be put on a high shelf, too.

=Tamar

I work as a subcontractor for a handful of sole proprietor types myself. Too chicken to get my own accounts, not willing to work for what big services pay. Have you met news:sci.med.transcription and

yet? Great places to talk shop.> And I am really enjoying KD too. I can't do lots of the fancy things> but sheer bull determination sees me through my fair isle doll> sweaters. To me, it's the "thrill of the chase" and challenging new> skills, not necessarily the actual item I am creating. At any rate, we> all have our own reasons for loving what we do and sharing that (and> our FRUSTRATIONS! LOL!) here as well. :) I enjoy reading about what other people are doing. I tend to do more virtual sewing and knitting than actual sewing and knitting. It's a nice change of pace to think about something else other than people's illnesses and innards.

Well, there is also merit in picking relatively simple and/or small projects until one's feet are totally wet in order to maximize satisfaction and reduce frustration. My daughter made her own Christmas dresses for 3 years, all princess-line velvet dresses, when she was 10,

11, and 12, and never would do anything else the rest of the year. After that she was so frustrated from dealing with velvet (and stubbornly refused to consider anything else) that she got sick of sewing and didn't want to do it any more.

I made a semicircular shawl (that I ended up not liking to use as a shawl because it wouldn't stay on while I was working/typing and sewed up the front and made it into a cape/poncho so that it would stay in place) out of Homespun and I love it. Mimi chewed that one, too, but thankfully it was in one small area that I could repair.

I still can't make a tesselated fish right without redoing it 4 or 5 times. I can, however, knit a Grandmother's Favorite washcloth with few problems. :)

It's just a matter of finding enough time to become fluent.

Melinda, sounds like you need to get back to the basics ... one stitch at a time ...

1.in through the front door 2.run around the back 3.peek through the window 4.and, off jumps Jack.

_ _ _ _ _ Millie snipped-for-privacy@eagle.ptialaska.net

9 shades of jade.

Other kim I used to think enrelac was hard , now i enjoy it extremely ,, just becuase i knit seamless , once i figured out i can do it in the round [ and on a Moebious ] , i really think of it as another st on mt pallete ,,, as to intarsia ,, have been doing it for years and never knew it`s name ,,,,

Legwarmers ,,,, measure calf and under knees ,,, GUAGUE your wool , cast on DPS enough st for the calf ,mark the begining of round , k1 p1 over 6cm, now divide cast on 6 st by * k 3, p1, k2 into1, p1* repeat to end of round ,,,work over 17cm , now * k3, p1, k2 into 1, k1, p1 *,,repeat to end of round , work over 7 cm , now go back to k1 p1 and work as much as is needed to get to your under knee measurement , mirjam

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Shelagh and Sue and all ,,, I learned the basics from my mother and other women ,,, but soon found my self experimenting esp with breaking some tabboes , and doing things i was told i shouldn`t do or Not doing things i was told to always do ,,, I think my Greatest BREAK THROUGH the fear element or Hesitation about my abilities , was at the time i knitted school sweaters and vest for my children [ all in a certain GREEN]. I didn`t see the point in making ROUND [ 4,3,2,1,1,1,1 ] decreases for a Vest`s arm opening ,,,,, these decreases were relevant if i wanted to add a round top sleeve , but they were bulky and uncomfortable for the children`s moovements ,, thus i started to decrease Vest arm holes 10 st at once !!! and knitting straight up ,,, than one day i just went on knitting shaping te shoulder WITHOUT ending the work , just used short rows, again short rows for other side knit down increased 10 st on each side and ended at hem ,,,,,,, Thus slowly i tried and did many things i later read about in books ,,,, my greatest help and right hand was GUAGUING AND SWATCHING !!!!!And last not least writing my experiments in my work books !!!! mirjam

I knit mostly on buses trains , when talking over the phone , while watching tv, between translating , Why do you assume we all have ALL the time in the world???? i never assume about the TIME tables of peole i don`t know ,,, ps i also crochet weave, sew embroider etc,, and yes i do have a working household washing ironing cleaning ,, mirjam

I hang mine in sewn cloth bags , on a coat hanger i hung on my workrooms` wall, mirjam

It is not a matter of finding time , it is a matter of sticking to it when you can ,,,, my knitting goes with me everywhere and i find that a st or 2 here and a row there , miracoulsly become a whole ITEM ,, mirjam

The sad thing, Mirjam, is that I know enough from spit-and-chewing-gum knitting over the years to be able to make my own instructions. I just can't keep track of what I am doing well enough to make sure that the finished product comes out the way it would if I had followed the instructions perfectly.

I knew exactly what I was doing with the legwarmers, had a knit-in-the-round pattern that I figured out by doing a buncha math, but after 5 tries I still couldn't follow it in the round and gave up and just knit it flat. That only took about 3 tries, and then when I had it finished and before I could sew it up to try it to see if it was right, the dog chewed a hole in it.

My daughter's legwarmers (that I also knit flat after multiple botched efforts at knitting in the round) came out perfectly, of course, and I haven't seen her wear them since I finished them, of course. I don't have any more of the yarn I used to make hers with (two smaller gauge yarns, one with sparkle in it and the other with the same basic colors in a different variegated pattern but no sparkle) and didn't really have the money to go out and buy new yarn for it anyway.

Your brain must be better than mine, or maybe you just don't have ADD. If I try to work on something in dribs and drabs, I lose concentration and make more mistakes.

Huh??!!!?!?!?!??!?!?!!? I have no idea what you are getting at here.