Busy Hands

I can not just sit and watch TV and not be doing another activity at the same time….I get fidgety.  I will read the daily paper, read a book, work Sudoko puzzles, browse the internet, hand quilt or knit to name a few.  I glance up at the TV screen when something catches my notice but a lot of time is spent on the other activity instead of watching the TV program...I just listen instead.

I realized I had not done any knitting for a while when a friend mentioned she could sure use a new dishcloth as the one I had made her a while ago was getting worn out.  I love this knitting pattern and can knit it up on short order so started knitting on some of the cotton yarn I have on hand.  I use the pattern Grandmothers Favorite and Sugar N Cream yarn. 

It had been a while since I had done any knitting so needed to refresh my memory.  I only have knitted squares or rectangles so am not an expert knitter by any means.  I have this website Knitting Help.com bookmarked so referred to it again.  It has lots of short videos that show all the things you need to know to start knitting and I have played them over and over.  When my niece first taught me the basics of knitting when she was 13 (she is now 18) she taught me the English method where you carry the yarn in your right hand.  At the time it was really awkward for me so used the Knitting Help.com website to teach myself Continental method where you carry the yarn in your left hand.  This seemed more natural for me as I am left handed.  I have knitted this way ever since….until now.  This week I looked at the English method of knitting videos again and switched how I knit and this time the English method didn’t feel so awkward.

I think it will be easier for me to do the Purl stitch (if I ever want to do something different) using the English method as it was hard for me to do it with the Continental method.  You have to bend your index finger over the knitting needle to do it and I was always loosing my stitch.  I thought I might have trouble switching but it went ok.  I did find that I knitted this dishcloth rather tight so might need to use one size larger needle to get the size I want, but  I also might knit looser after a few more hours of knitting in this new method for me too.

Until later,
Lynn

Tension Can Make A Big Difference

I finished knitting two more dish clothes.  I just love all the different colors of yarn and like to make them all from different colors.  I do have some yarn left after each one and eventually I will knit part of one dish cloth with one color and the rest with a coordinating yarn, tying on the new yarn as I knit.  Here they are…one made from a self striping yarn and the other with flecks of pink and green in the white yarn.

They look the same size don’t they?  Well, they are not the same size.  I think I have close to the same number of stitches on each unless I counted wrong but the white one with the flecks of color is so much smaller because I was holding the yarn much too tight and tightening each stitch too much.  I was having trouble getting the yarn to slip on the needles but by the time I realized that is what I was doing I kept going until the end so it wouldn’t be too lop sided.  On the variegated peach/brown one I worked to hold the yarn looser and knit looser.  It was so much easier to knit than the other one that was for sure.   See the mini and the maxi!

May try sewing soon as we are keeping our grandsons and they may just want to make scarves/hats like their cousins so I need to know if I can reach up to the machine myself so I can help them.

Lynn

Purple Dishcloth

 A little over half of a purple dishcloth knitted on the new knitting needles.  Again, Sugar N Cream yarn purchased at Wallmart.

Ta Da, the dishcloth is done.  The final corner (upper right corner) always looks a little funny.  Any ideas out there on how how to make it look like the starting corner on the lower left?  I know it is a dish cloth but but wouldn't mind improving my skills.  I do need to work on keeping my tension the same throughout as some rows are a little farther apart because I am knitting looser.  Maybe if I keep knitting and knitting these skills will come.

On another note - Physical Therapy is helping little by little to increase my range of motion on my right shoulder.  It does get time consuming to do the exercises several times a day but can see the results starting to happen.

Lynn

Broken Knitting Needles

When I was finishing up the yellow dishcloth the tips broke off of both knitting needles on the circular set of needles I was using.  The needle on the left is one of the needles with the tip broken off - the one on the right is a the same brand needle but different size needle with the tip intact.

I dug these 12" straight needles out of my knitting stuff and used them to finish the yellow dishcloth.  I don't like using these long needles as I am always hitting the arms of my chair with them.  They are very awkward to hold and knit while sitting in my recliner.

 When I was in Hastings the other day I purchased a better set of circular needles - the ones on the right in the photo.  The old broken needles were size 7 but the new ones I purchased are size 6.  I have found that size numbers on knitting needles are not universal so the sales clerk measured the ones I had been using with a plastic needle sizer that had holes of the different sizes - must have been the sizes of these Addi Turbo needles.  Anyway my 7s were a little smaller than the 7 Addi Turbo and a little larger than the 6 Addi Turbo.  Since I knit loose at times I decided to purchase the size 6.

These needles are really slick so are very easy to knit on.  They are more expensive to buy too costing around $16.  Don't remember what the Balene II cost but think it was in the $5 to $7 range but if they break after using them for a while it is not worth the cost.  I have made quite a few dishcloths with the set that broke but will enjoy these new slick metal ones for years.

Until Later,
Lynn

Knitted Dishcloth - Yellow

Another dishcloth finished – this time with a creamy yellow of the 100% cotton Sugar N Cream yarn.  Not fancy knitting but it is keeping my hands busy.  It takes a couple of evenings to make one dishcloth as I am not so fast, especially knitting the last half when I have to decrease by knitting two stitches together, twice on each row.  Those decreases take me a while as I am just not too coordinated as yet anyway.  Wish I could figure out a faster way to do them.

Lynn

Multicolored Dishcloth

Finished another one – not perfect but good enough to be a dishcloth.
Lynn

Keeping My Hands Busy

I finally am able to do a little with my right arm so decided to try knitting.   That makes it sound like I really know how to knit and  guess I do but definately not a master knitter by any means.  My knitting experience is quite limited and mostly I have just knited squares and rectangles.  I did start knitting a pair of socks at least a year ago but only got one done over the heel then put it away.  Must get it out again sometime and see if I can figure out where I am on it or start over.

I decided to make more dishcloths.  I love to use these dishcloths and this was the perfect project for me right now.   I use the directions for one called Grandmothers Favorite.  The website is called Knitting Pattern Central and has lots and lots of free knitting patterns all types.

It had been so long since I have knitted anything I couldn't even remember how to cast on and then after I finished it I couldn't remember how to cast off.  Luckily I had a fabulous website (knittinghelp.com) bookmarked to give me a memory boost.    I used this website to help learn to knit even though my niece taught me the basics.  For one thing, this web page has wonderful short videos on the different stitches.  The videos show the English method of knitting which most American's use...this one you throw the yarn over the needle with the right hand, and the Continental method which picks up the yarn that is held with the left hand.  The Continental method reminds me more of crochet and for me being left handed it just was much more natural feeling so taught myself that method and that is the one I use.

I would recommend the Knitting Help free web videos to anyone wanting to learn to knit.  They are very easy to see what to do and you can play them over and over until you get it or to refresh your memory as I needed this time.

I like to use the circular needles when I knit instead of the straight kind as I was always hitting the sides of my chair with the straight ones and the circular ones are more compact and I don't have that problem.  

Oops!

I did make a few errors when knitting this first dishcloth but you know it is just a dishcloth so I am not ripping stitches to start over.  I didn't do the increase yarn over a couple of times and once I stopped in the middle of a row to go do something and when I came back I picked it up and knitted back to the same end and didn't notice it until several rows later.  It makes the dishcloth have 1/2 row more on one side than the other.  This pattern only uses the knit stitch and is knit from one corner up on the diagonal with yarn over to increase at the beginning of each row until you reach the half way point then knit two stitches together to decrease.  It makes the dishcloth look like it has a lace edge with the yarn overs.

Two more errors.

I made one change in the pattern though.  I like a larger dishcloth so I knit rows until I have 50 stitches on the needles before I start decreasing.  The pattern says to increase until you have 44 stitches.  I use a size 7 circular needles that I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I like the narrow tips on the end of these particular needles.  I use the Sugar and Cream yarn an inexpensive cotton yarn that makes great dishcloths.  That is pretty much it - I do use a large eyed needle to weave the tails back into the previous knitting at the start and finish.

Have one done and started another with another color yarn last evening.  Don't know how many I will knit but now can knit these almost without thinking so can watch TV while knitting.  As I said they are great dishcloths, easy to make and they do make great gifts too!

Until Later,
 
Lynn

I can knit.....

Maybe that title is stretching it a bit but I can knit squares and rectangles. My 13 yr. old niece was visiting for about a week 3 years ago and was knitting on a 4-H project. I watched her for a day or so and asked her if she could teach me to knit. My mother used to make the knitted dish cloths and I always had a ready supply but since she can no longer knit due to her Parkinson's disease I needed to find a new supplier or learn to knit them myself.

My mother had tried to teach me when I was in high school but I really didn't catch on and never liked doing it back then. I am left handed so that presented another problem in my eyes at least. Never felt the urge to knit again until the last few years.

We went shopping the next day and I purchased a set of knitting needles and some yarn to make a dishcloth and C. set about teaching me to knit. She knits using the English method where you carry the yarn in your right hand. I learned with her help to knit and to purl and made my first dishcloth, just knitting back and forth until I had a square - I was so thrilled!

After she and her sister left to go home I spent time on the Internet looking up beginning knitting websites and came across this wonderful website KnittingHelp.com with short videos. It was here I learned there was another method called Continental where you carry the yarn in your left hand. I never felt the English method was comfortable and used so much wasted motion and the Continental method was more on the lines of crocheting. Watched a few of the videos over and over with my needles and yarn in hand and I finally got the hang of it. This was the method for me.

Another thing I found on the Internet was the pattern for the dish cloth that my mother knitted on Knitting Pattern Central which is full of free patterns. Click on Dishcloths, then on Grandma Black's Dishcloth for the pattern. My mother could probably talked me through if we were sitting side by side but she lives 2 1/2 hrs away and I wanted to do it RIGHT NOW!

I could knit a dishcloth in one evening while watching TV after a while. I knitted and knitted and knitted dishcloths. Gave them to all my friends and family members. Now some of my friends are disappointed if I give them a gift and a dish cloth is not included!

I have probably knitted 60 to 70 dishcloths in the last 3 years and most of them have been with that Grandma Black's Dishcloth pattern. Lately I have been experimenting with other ideas. I really didn't know how to purl with this Continental knitting method so made myself learn to purl by watching the videos on that stitch over and over. The checkerboard dishcloths are 5 knit stitches and 5 purl stitches then change stitches every 5 rows - the peach colored one is just like ribbing with 3 knit and 3 purl all the way.

I really would like to learn to knit something else now. I did make scarves for our kids, son in laws, grandchildren, and my mother a couple of years ago plus the one for the youngest grandchild this Christmas. I am seriously thinking of learning to make socks. Not sure I can learn that from the Internet or books or if I need to find a class.

I am presuming I can use something other than wool as it makes me itchy (think I am a little allergic to it). Will have to check out the yarn shops in Hastings and Grand Island and see what they offer for classes.

Until later....
Lynn