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knitting_wounded
Gabber Extraordinaire
365 Posts |
 Posted - 02/10/2007 : 2:24:32 PM
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I take notes, but I always seem to miss the one thing I really needed to know about replicating it. I'll have the stitch pattern but have no clue how many stitches I cast on or something I was sure I would remember.
I also tend to "make due" too often. Wrong size needles, iffy gauge, a mistake I forgot to fix 15 rows down. There is a thin line between resourceful and lazy, and I stomp all over that little line sometimes!
Check out the Knitting Wounded Tent: http://knittingwounded.blogspot.com |
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MeezieGirl
Seriously Hooked
USA
623 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2007 : 1:35:42 PM
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Ceci,
What's wrong with putting off chores in order to knit??? I do it ALL the time. Don't say it's wrong!
I'm not as good with notes as I should be. I have a notebook but I don't always add the notes. But I do sleeves at the same time, and socks (on 2 sets of dpns - cast on 1, cast on 2, knit leg of 1 ...) so they don't get too messed up.
The major thing I'm working on right now is how I move my left index finger as I knit Continental. Instead of just moving the tip of the right needle around the yarn on my left index finger, I move that finger down and a little around for the needle to get the yarn. I'm sure it slows me down. And I'm so slow now anyway, with a hand tremor, that I need all the help I can get!
Dee
You can take the girl out of New York, but you can't take New York out of the girl.
http://meeziegirl.blogspot.com |
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lella
Permanent Resident
9697 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2007 : 2:32:52 PM
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I've been knitting so long-51 years-that I got rid of most bad habits to be able to keep knitting, grrrr!. But, there is one nagging habit. I find it very hard to weave in the ends on a large project like and afghan. So I just don't make them anymore. Maybe russian join will make it possible for me to grit my teeth and weave in the last little ends that are left, like I find no trouble doing on sweaters, hats, mittens or socks. <--- current passion.
Lella
[img]http://www.geocities.com/zippianna/turtle.gif[/img]
Blabbity blog
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Gelliott
Seriously Hooked
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2007 : 5:08:36 PM
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I do make a gauge swatch (after years of resisting this step) but I still don't take it seriously enough--I don't wash or block it; if my gauge is off a little, I switch needle size accordingly without makeing a new swatch; if my project is in the round, I still knit a flat swatch.... I end up giving away lots of garments that don't quite fit!
My other main probelm, is that i tend to go on autopilot when knitting, and i don't look at my work often enough, so i occasionally find mistakes in a pattern or dropped stitches well past when they happened. I have gotten pretty good at fixing mistakes, but sometimes I end up having to frog multiple rows.
Gelliott |
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knittingbaglady
Permanent Resident
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2007 : 5:31:10 PM
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For a long time I pulled needles out of an ongoing project to use to get another going. Then, when I want to go back to it, I couldn't quite remember what needle size it was. Of course, I WOULD know if I took better notes....but I'm better at both, now. But geez I did that for years.
Now it takes me too long to finish a project. I get them done, but would like to have less going at once so I finish them up quicker.
Martha.
http://www.greenmountainknittingbags.com/
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knittingbuzz
Permanent Resident
USA
1122 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2007 : 05:10:54 AM
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I can't seem to break the habit of putting knots in my work...ARGH...I think its like a security blanket, of sorts. Note taking.....now wouldn't that be nice.....I'm glad I'm not alone.
I never thought multiple projects were a bad thing...variety is the spice of life, right?....EXCEPT when I can't figure out where I am on a given project...SHREEK! |
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AuntyNin
Seriously Hooked
USA
771 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2007 : 07:05:26 AM
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Y'know, I used to think I was an oddball, with all my odd little quirks about knitting. No longer!
Like GFTC, I take notes, but frequently can't read them days later when I really need to figure out what I did.
Instead of taking needles out of an existing project, I'm more likely to buy more needles to start the new one. This has resulted in WAY more size-6 circulars than any rational person needs in her home. (then again, I stopped claiming to be rational years ago - too many people laughed themselves silly)
Another habit is to buy yarn that appeals to me, with no clear idea of what I'll make from it; then it sits in the stash for years, waiting for me to figure out what it should be.
I can't regard multiple projects as a bad thing - switching from one to another keeps each of them fresh, and working with a variety of needle sizes and yarn sizes and complexities of pattern is better for the hands.
Then again, when the list of currently "active" projects gets past about six, you could regard it as excessive...
AuntyNin
Everything happens for a reason, except possibly football. --- Terry Pratchett
http://home.earthlink.net/~lradiga1/ |
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gwtreece
Permanent Resident
USA
7254 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2007 : 08:12:50 AM
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I don't wash my swatch. I take notes but tend to lose them.
Wanda
My Blog
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Kusum
New Pal
11 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2007 : 07:03:53 AM
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I have all the above problems, but they don't bother me as much as buying yarn on sale with no set project in mind or buying just one or two balls of yarn.
This has resulted in a lot of yarn that I don't end up using or having to buy more yarn in different dye lot or not liking the sale yarn but being stuck with 15 balls of it and finally donating it.
Kusum |
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halmom
New Pal
2 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2007 : 10:09:48 PM
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I'm a fairly new knitter - however I realize I've got the bad habits:
I knit in bad light...produces surprises. I'm trying to remember to just wait until I'm in good light
I knit after my hands are in pain...more surprises. It is just so hard to stop.
Now that I've taken up Touch Me Due, I realize I twist my yarn. Not sure of the solution for this one; just discovered it.
After reading the above posts, I'm going to use a notebook!! That is a GREAT idea.
Thanks for the topic!
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scarfitup
Chatty Knitter
187 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 06:36:20 AM
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I'm fine with just one ball of anything - for various projects I'm working on that are composed of small amounts of various yarns and fibers! My frustration is combining yarns (and I LOVE handling and looking at all the yarns I have) wondering just what is the best combo. I often test and test different yarns together before I decide for sure. This takes half the evening. I can always tell if I'm not SURE about it - because I knit slowly and without confidence. Then I rip it all out and start again. Once decided, I'm like lightening, but.......!
And if I make these decisions and then leave it until another time, forget it! No notes, no memory, so I have to start again. When will I learn?
Scarf It Up!
Wearable Fiber Arts
Blue Moon Showcase
Wilmington NC
http://scarfitup.etsy.com
http://creativewilmington.com
http://flickr.com/photos/scarfitup |
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Mickey
Permanent Resident
USA
1670 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 06:39:50 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by AuntyNin[/i]
Another habit is to buy yarn that appeals to me, with no clear idea of what I'll make from it; then it sits in the stash for years, waiting for me to figure out what it should be.
Well, yarn doesn't spoil, unless moths and the likes get into it, so this is not a bad habit in MY book! Not if our yarn stash hasn't clearly grown WAY out of proportion, that is. I think most of us are able to stop or at least cut back when we've crossed that line. |
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Annabelle
Chatty Knitter
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 07:40:23 AM
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I type all day at work until my poor hands and arms are in pain, then go home and addictively knit until the pain is unbearable, but keep going. I know I'm doing some damage, but I can't help myself.
I never keep notes so I always forget where I am, but thankfully I don't do anything so complicated that I have to frog it back to the beginning.
I don't fix my mistakes and just keep on going thinking they won't show until I'm half ways done and realize I'm a dope for not fixing it.
I did however get a needle organizer just yesterday so I'm halfway to getting better about keeping my mess together. And I also vowed to not start something else until I'm finished with the first, no matter how bad I want to start another project!
http://annabelle78.blogspot.com/ |
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sanity101
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
594 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 09:50:22 AM
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I too do thie thing where I poke my finger with the needle, but I've decided it's a feature not a bug. I only do it on tight knitting, like socks, and never on lace, so I've decided to sharpen my lace needles and blunt my sock ones.
This will force me to buy separate sets of needles and thus spare me from the habit of switching needles around.
I also knit when I'm way too tired. Which makes me make mistakes while I'm doing it, and grouchy the next day.
-C
blog: http://ellipsisknits.blogspot.com/ |
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KrazyKim
Chatty Knitter
USA
240 Posts |
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Texasknitter
New Pal
8 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 12:07:49 PM
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Gauge??? I hate to gauge! But I have never needed it before because I have never knitted a sweater or vest or clothing.
Scarves, who needs a gauge for scarves? Throw? So what if it is a little longer than the pattern?
But now I have learned to do socks and I think I am getting comfortable enough to try clothing. So I guess a gauge would be nice.
I am not sure what y'all mean by 'frog' but when I find a mistake I place a knitting needle about a row or two below the mistake and 'rip' that mistake out. It is so satifying when I do that because the mistake goes but I still have the project.
I find that metal kneedles can make my hands hurt after a while and the poke me. Since I do not tlike pain I switched to either bamboo or plastic. I can fly with these types of needles.
As for labeling circular needles, my knitting mentor places them in marked plastic quart ziplock bags, so I do the same. |
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kate@houseofmonkeys.com
New Pal
2 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 1:07:24 PM
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I am trying to teach myself continental knitting, but am not sure about the purling, so I use continental for knit stitches and throwing for purls. This is bad.
I also have a bit of a reversal of some of your claimed bad habits and instead of giving myself permission to start another project I may enjoy, I MAKE myself finish the project I am on. Now this may sound like a good thing, but I am knitting an afgan for my mother-in-law from yarn she chose. The color is lovely, but it is made from needles and fiberglass from what I can tell and it is miserable to work with. So I am taking FOREVER to finish this, but I am not enhoying it much either.
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kentuckyprrlgrrl
Chatty Knitter
189 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 1:18:28 PM
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I knit when I should be doing other things...like cleaning....organizing...even cooking...
I am such a baaaadddd bbbbaaadddd knitter! [**]
Ky Prrl Grrl
Step away from the bubble wrap and no one gets hurt! |
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Dom2
New Pal
10 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 2:27:14 PM
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I have all the bad habits mentioned: no swatches, no notes, way too much stash without identified projects.
Another bad habit; holding cable needle in my mouth between cables on those rows with multiple cables. Can't find any other place that is handy and secure. I bought a gorgeous finger/thumb ring at Stitches West a few years ago that holds a silver cable needle with a gorgeous stone setting but still put it in my mouth on cable rows. Any suggestions for that pesky cable needle? (Can't seem to get used to knitting cables without a needle.)
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highdesertrose
Gabber Extraordinaire
Malta
544 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2007 : 3:15:34 PM
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I never wash my swatches (it took me long enough to actually MAKE swatches...)and I never redo swatches. If it's too big, I just drop a needle size.
~Rena~
My DH isn't afraid of anything- oh, except for those two words- "yarn shop".
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What are your knitting bad habits?
