On knitting

Inspiration!

I'm working on a pair of arm warmers for E, and I'm sitting here swearing at the yarn and being disgruntled. One of my favorite authors, Lynn Flewelling, is also a knitter and has compared writing the first few chapters of a new book to knitting a pair of socks (or anything in the round). The first few rows/chapters are always the hardest, and this is proving true.

See, I'm using a larger circular needle to join the first row of stitches together to begin the tube. But the beginning is never easy. One needs to get the right number of stitches, arrange them on the needles, and then sort it all out so that the stitches don't twist and end up turning into a mobius. This is infinitely more irritating with a larger number of stitches, because you can go a few rows before realizing that what you set out to make is now twisted and needs to be ripped out (when that is over 200 stitches, the desire to throw the yarn, needles, and anything close by across the room is very, very high).

Also the first few rows are just tedious. You're waiting for the pattern to appear, but you need to set everything up, so when the pattern does appear, it is where it is supposed to be. A missing stitch can be frustrating, but not so hard to fix as a twist. But there are are other things to deal with. When knitting in the round, whether it be on dpns (double pointed needles - very popular for small projects), two circular needles, or one longer circular needle, there are places where you end your rows and move things so you can start the stitches on the next needle. Often there are gaps between the needles, because getting the tension just right is a constant battle for each knitter. These gaps can be negated, for the most part, when the item is finished, soaked, and then blocked (blocking is stretching the fabric out to it's full potential and shows stitch definition and the pattern in its full glory), but they are frustrating while you are knitting.

Thankfully arm warmers don't have a heal to turn, but I've decided to make them just a bit more difficult by adding a partial thumb, rather than just leaving an opening for the thumb. I'm doing research on how to do this and think I have a plan, but I still have a ways to go before I need to worry about it, as I only just cast on the beginning stitches.

Each knit item has a story to tell. The hours that the knitter put into creating a piece, whether perfect, holey, three armed, or too small, it is an effort of love. Even if the item is something that knitter just happened to make and for some reason you fell in love with (or was gifted!), it was an act of love. The finished product has probably been sworn at, petted lovingly, tossed in a corner, visited numerous places (especially coffee shops!), and been bathed in wool wash. It has been in her hands for hours and those hands made a skein of yarn and two (or more) needles work in a beautiful harmony to create something simple, amazing, and precious.

(Written at the end of August)