A to Z(ed) blogging Challenge - (my) Life in the TIme of CoVid-19
K is for Knitting
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| ooo - even added some colour on this page |
I am sure anyone who knows me would expect nothing less than K is for Knitting. For most of my life knitting has been a constant companion. (my) Life in the Time of CoVid meant even more knitting if that was possible. I am sure most days I can safely say I probably knit over eight hours a day.
So no surprise then that my logbook has many pages of hash marks, notes about decreases, colour planning, and calculations for yarn usage - how much I would need, or how much I have left.
There are many ways that knitters keep track of what row they are on, and how many times they have done a repeat. I have used phone apps, bead counters, click counters and spin counters that stay attached to my needles.
But my favourite method is pen and paper and hash marks. There is something very satisfying about making those four straight lines standing like little soldiers and then crossing through them all to make the fifth mark before starting all over again.
When keeping track of where I am on socks the first sock gets marked in pen, and the 2nd sock goes right on top marked in a colour, usually red. (see first picture at top of page)
Knitters (and crocheters too) often find themselves playing a game called yarn chicken. This is when you are getting close to the end of the pattern while at the same time getting to the end of your ball of wool.
For a math nerd like me this involves weighing the diminishing wool, knitting a row, and re-weighing to calculate how close I will be to winning at the game. Sometimes this involves cutting the pattern short - but more than one pair of socks has had the toe or cuff a different colour because I had lost the yarn chicken game.
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| case in point |
Hope your jab has gone well and no or limited side effects. I just lost at yarn chicken on my cardigan so just ordered 2 more 50g skeins.. . just in case 1 isn't enough extra. I mark rows with lines and when there's a decrease I put an 0 so a decrease every 8th row looks like 11111110. I cross through each bar when done.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the vaccine.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you, I am catching up with the ABCs of Blogging!
I've not had a break from isolating, but have been a homebody for several years, losing my social life after taking care of mom with Alzheimer's for years. Wouldn't you know it, the Dover Arms and Comox pub both shut down as I regained my freedom. Moved last summer to Tsawwassen and it has been very shut down during this plague. Hoping to make new friends as soon as we are immunized. Too many socks you say?! Foot length is 9 inches approximately. Colour/s unimportant but I do love blue and purple! Always wearing out at toe and heel! Please, please, please! Nice job on the property!
ReplyDeleteI much prefer pen and paper too when knitting. I try to always print out the pattern and highlight and scribble all over it!
ReplyDeleteHash marks still grace many of my patterns. I use chain row counters on plain Jane items but when a pattern says to repeat rows 8-12 30 more times then it is hash marks for the completed set of rows. You are right, it is quite satisfying. Knitting and crocheting have helped me so much during this pandemic. It takes me away from the issues of the world and into my own little world.
ReplyDeleteI never learnt to knit , I dont think I would have that much patience in me ... But your socks look so pretty...and 8 hours a day !! Wow ! That's a lot....and yes I hope there is light at the end of the tunnel we are all in
ReplyDeletehttps://pagesfromjayashree.blogspot.com/2021/04/l-for-library.html
I've crocheted for over 50 years and, until earlier this year, I never knew there was a name for the game I (and so many others) play with yarn and pattern starting to run out. The really fun part is when the store you bought the yarn in has gone out of business and your yarn was a store brand. That's happened to me more than once, sigh.
ReplyDeleteOr you just need a wee bit more and a new skein of the same yarn is over twenty dollars!
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