Laurie, you are so incredibly entertaining ... reading your blog is one of the brightest spots of my day! Thanks for everything, including the 'recipes'!

I'm a tight knitter, too! I must have issues! Love the hat, BTW!

Yay! First comment (I think)! I get the shoe analogy. That works. I will admit here, in public, that I have drawn out 84 little lines and then put a line through two of them at intervals to make the decreasing counting work for me. I am entirely visual and so if you need to draw out your decreases like me because adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing are too difficult, or use shoes, then so be it! :-) I may have my stepdtr read this, as she wants to make herself a hat but doesn't know how yet. This is a good tutorial for that, and saves me a bit of work too, lol.

For decreasing, I usually knit a regular row in between the first few decrease rows. I like that better so the hat isn't as square. But that depends on the hat.

Crap! Not the first comment! I don't know why but I feel like being the first offers some sort of prize. Well, maybe the biggest stalker prize, he he.

I can't BELIEVE I'm actually first!

Hey, I can't believe I'm......sixth? You do so brighten up my day and now I can Knit With Shoes! Love your blog!

The hat is looking quite Brangelinaish. Good work :)

i'm making almost the same hat, only it's all 2x2 rib and on dpns. i have no idea how to rip back on dpns if i make a mistake. tried it, but it wasnt pretty. what do you do when you mess up on dpns?

K-- I have no idea how to rip back on dpns, I always have to resort to "unknitting" where you basically knit backwards, taking the knits out and placing "empty" loops back on the left needle, what a pain in the behind.

Tina!! I have also been known to put 72 hash marks on a piece of paper and draw it out visually!! That's just how my mind works, but the shoe number formula takes all the drawing out of the equation LOL.

Oh Lord I cannot believe I think of knitting as "shoes" ... real knitters will read this and scoff. Scoff away! LOL

Laurie...is Sobakowa permanently attached to Roy? All the latest pictures have her gripping him in a death-lock, er...I mean hugging him!

You make math fun. Maybe next you could do a tutorial on balancing my checkbook! :0)

Nice diagrams - they explain decreasing very well! I'm a tight knitter, too, which apparently explains a lot.

Love the hat. :)

A friend told me this trick when I was knitting my first hat, and I swear it makes decreasing SO MUCH EASIER...I had to share:

Once you've decided your "shoe number," which I will call "X" because I am a math dork, knit one more row with all your stitches, and *put a stitch marker every X stiches* (8, 10, 12, whatever you decided). Then, as you decrease, you simply need to knit together the two stitches before every stitch marker...NO COUNTING NEEDED. I like this, because even though I like math, I have trouble counting things. I'm serious. The less counting, the better.

I also started doing this when I cast on, just to keep track of how many stitches I've casted on. I'll put a temporary stitch marker every 8 or 10 stitches, so then at the end of the casting on, I don't have to go back and count 60 or 80 stitches, but rather 6 or 8 stitch markers. Does this make sense? I swear it makes counting so much easier.

Laurie,
You ARE a real knitter. I swear you are!

Using markers for casting on is brilliant. It saves so much time. I did decreases with the markers too and I agree, it helps so much. Of course I did this after I drew out my hash marks, lol!

I swear by the Super Simple Hat Calculator at http://www.earthguild.com/products/knitcroc/marypat/hatcalc.htm

It does all the maths. You just have to find your gauge and how many inches around you want it to be, or at the stage you're at find the # of stitches you have already on page one and find the same place on page two. No maths. Just finding. It gives me more time for shoes.

Great hat! And thanks for the tutorial with illustrations. And how awesome are those illustrations! I have crocheted for ever, I've finally succeeded (sort of) in knitting. Purling, not so much but I have made 2.5 of your roll brim hats. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers.

Great hat! And thanks for the tutorial with illustrations. And how awesome are those illustrations! I have crocheted for ever, I've finally succeeded (sort of) in knitting. Purling, not so much but I have made 2.5 of your roll brim hats. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers.

Shoes! It makes so much sense! And if you picture it really hard, the purl bumps are the heel and the knit side is the instep....now who's the dork?

I love the shoe math! And you are a real knitter -- would a fake knitter have that much Up Country?

Oh! I put markers at my decrease spots, too. Escpecially for when I'm knitting on the bus, because if the bus stop comes and you are midway through a decrease row, things get very bad on the bus ride home when you're trying to figure out where the heck you were in the whole mess. (voice of experience!! heh)

Soba loves her some Roy. She gets cold. He warms her up. Plus she tries to protect him from the vile girl who makes him take medicine.

I dunno, I kind of like the look of the Addi Horned Hat. Very Valkyrie!

i LOVE that picture of roy and soba.

possibly my favorite, with the caption.

it's just so funny.

She is rather expressive, that Sobakowa :)

You are so good at explaining this stuff. I can never follow the knitting books, but your explanations and pictures are so intuitive. Thank you!

Holy crap. Shoe gnomes. Fan-damn-tastic! I also enjoyed how the stitches are pink. :-) As usual, well done!!!!!!!

Soba loves her some Roy, but my question is, does Roy love him some Soba? Does he seek out Bob or Frankie and then Soba comes and smacks him silly?

(book) I've been printing out all these tutorials so that (book) I can have them in a notebook and go (book) back to them when I need to. They're (book) so much clearer and entertaining than ANY I've (book) found anywhere else. Ever.

You know, even if you just self-published, there are a lot of us out here who would self-buy. :)

I would pay just to subscribe to this blog. This is the highlight of my afternoons (sad, I know).

Stitches = shoes?? I didn't know I could knit me up a fabulous shoe collection! And here I've been BUYING the danged things!

I do love me some shoes, though, hon. In fact, I just ordered my first-ever pair of cowboy (cowgirl?) boots yesterday & I can't wait until they arrive!

Helen

Hey Laurie!

The hat looks great. I just made a 2x2 ribbed hat. What is your ribbing? 4x4? I love it.

Here's a look at mine. I used Manos Yarn. yummmmy!

2x2 Ribbed Hat

http://crazymexicangirl.blogspot.com/2006/02/1st-olympic-knitting-fo-medal.html

Thank you, Laurie! I know you did this just for little old me who begged you repeatedly via email! You rock! (And you crack me up, too!)

Oh, and by the way, I was watching Celtic Women on PBS the other night, (what the hell does this have to do with knitting), and I think you look just like the beautiful chick who plays the fiddle. Y'all could be sisters -- you must have some Irish in ya!

CAP Readers -- don't you agree? Check her out here: http://www.celticwoman.com/site.html (then click on the first blonde woman's head -- Mairead -- she has Laurie's great cheekbones!) Or here: http://www.celticwoman.com/images/18.jpg.

Happy Ides of March, or St. Patty's Day Eve Eve!

Laurie, have you seen this yet?
http://www.menknit.net/
Meanwhile, I love shoes! And I love knitting! Two great tastes that taste great together!

Oh, and here's an article on how to loosen up your tight knitting, (that is, if you want to loosen up):

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/FEATloosenup.html

By the way, umm, maybe you should write a book? The idea sort of just came to me...insprired, really...

Oh man. Oh man. I can't believe I just read an entire column about knitting. And I enjoyed it. Laurie, I'm hooked! (Get it? Hooked? Knitting? Har har!) You are probably the only woman writing about knitting that I could actually read. Love the photo where you label your nose. Great stuff. I even enjoy reading the comments. I swear, I'm straight!

Love the hat, by the way. Ever think of selling your stuff? I'll need a large one, I think black would be best. Goes with everything, almost. 2x2 or 4x4? How about 8x8? Whatever you think best for a guy.

Wink! Keep up the fun, Laurie! You're my new dreamgirl.

I finish my hats this way.......I knit until I have about 6 1/2 to 7 inches of hat and then I start my decrease row by row like this..
First decrease row, knit 10, knit 2 together till the end of the row.
Next round, knit 9, knit 2 together till the end of the round...
Next round....knit 8, then knit 2 together till the end of the row...
this continues...knit 7 blah blah blah, knit 6 blah blah blah...etc... till you get to
Knit 1 knit, knit 2 together row...
and you finish that round you just catch the remaining few stitches with a needle and finish the hat.
This works every time.
No crazy math involved.
;0)
Moon

Sorry about the double hit. My Mac had a server belch.

I was writing a book. It was... uh. Moody? Kind of... intense?

But then do ya'll remember when I wrote a few weeks back about some stranger in Trader Joe's giving me his card and ya'll were CRAZY romantic ladies with your most adorable (and appreciated) comments?

I realized then: I must write a happy book!! Because Lord knows we all need a little lovin' in our lives. So, I don't know. When I get back from Paris maybe I'll write it. A Happy Book.

The thing about writing a book is... how? who? how does a person even sell a book? I sucked at selling girl scout cookies. I mean, it's not like you write a book and voila! It's a hit! Someone has to... do something with it?

I like giving the knitting stuff away because it makes me happy that I learn so much from ya'll too :)

good LORD woman, you make me laugh!

(p.s. - after all these months of reading your blog, i'm still mystified as to why you need large woolen hats and scarves in LA - for cryin' out loud - you should come to Canada, eh? you'd freeze your little butt off!)

Moon -- do you ever have leftover stitches at the end of a row? Do you just knit those, but not in any pattern sort of way?

And if so, do your decreases still make that swirly pattern on the top of the hat?

Steve, I deleted all 500 of your duplicates LOL. J/K. Really, it's the server's fault. It has... problems? PMS? Bad gnomes? I don't sell any hats, mostly I give them away to friends, though I appear to be permastuck on this pink hat.

I can't imagine I would be anyone's dreamgirl. Unless the dream was full of cat hair heheheheh.

I say, just put all your blog entries (and perhaps comments, too -- there are some funny ones, that's for sure) into a chronologically-organized book -- heck, I'd buy that! Easier to sit on the couch or in bed and enjoy your stuff that way then here at my desk! But it MUST have all the original illustrations!

Jacquie -- well. I do admit perhaps there's a leap of fantasy one takes as a knitter in Los Angeles ;) But truly we are big huge wimps who complain of frostbite at 64 degrees. I do not lie.

But!! I think Paris might be cold on our trip!! I hope it snows. I need to wear all my hadknit stuff. I may scare zee french.

Mary! I did indeed write this in response to your email, but I can no longer find your email so I winged it :) I have serious email challenges.

I am going to make printable PDFs of the patterns at some point. We'll see :)

Hee hee! I too am a vision in cat fur. Tres lovely, non?

I love that hat! I might have to make one myself, seeing as I live in Canada where those hats are more than just cute accessorites.

Sobakowa will probably get published before I do.

As an Irishperson, I must tell you that "shoe gnomes" are also known as leprechauns. :)

Love the Brangelina Prototype! I bet Wool-Ease Chunky would be good, or two strands of regulo Wool-Ease. When you post your recipe, I'm going to try it, because I look sort of dorky in most hats, which leads to me trying every single hat pattern I see in a search for a hat that doesn't make me look dorky! My beehive hat looks pretty good on me, and I need to try to recreate the hat Rupert Grint wore in "HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban." It looks like it would suit me. (Sorry. I might possibly need a nap. But at least I was grammatically correct today!)

If the publishing/marketing geniuses putting out knitting books by the venerable likes of the Yarn Harlot, Wendy, the Mason-Dixon ladies, etc. haven't discovered the untapped market of a CAP book, well, they're not working hard or in touch with their market base!

I predict you'll be talking to a publisher within a year's time.

You are just fabulous! Thanks for the math and knitting tutorial, between your shoes and pictures (so helpful!) I think I could finally do this on my own. Thank you! (and your awesome beloved cats for being such benevolent monarchs).

On an entirely different note: The needles with the pink balls looked like some kind of sex toy to me, but I completely dig the Shoe Math.

OOOOOH!!!!!!!

PURTY PINK PURL NECK-A-LACE!!!

The wee Monkeygurl would love it.

Dude - I think Steve D. would like you to knit him a hat. And if you don't, I will. B/c he's just sooooo danged charming!!!

Laurie, I love your decrease explanation! It's perfect and clear and wonderful. Hooray!

I, too, have been thwarted when trying to snag me some wool-ease chunky. All the stores seem to be carrying the Thick&Quick, which is great but not always what I want. Grrrr. Can Soba put the smackdown on some yarn stores for me?

I have an idea for a book you could write. A romance novel. Okay, wait now, this is actually a real suggestion. I know that they're all the same, but there are lots of them, there are lots of romance writers. You could get your feet wet with a book that is highly formulistic (sp?) then go on to bigger and better things. I went to a romance convention (not what it sounds like, many, many middle aged women, not so many men) and this is where the writers and the publishers and the agents and the book sellers all met up. It could work.

I have an idea for a book you could write. A romance novel. Okay, wait now, this is actually a real suggestion. I know that they're all the same, but there are lots of them, there are lots of romance writers. You could get your feet wet with a book that is highly formulistic (sp?) then go on to bigger and better things. I went to a romance convention (not what it sounds like, many, many middle aged women, not so many men) and this is where the writers and the publishers and the agents and the book sellers all met up. It could work.

Sorry about the double comment. Your server told me it didn't work.

Shoes make perfect sense

I was once (about '74) an assistant in a summer math program directed by a guy who taught long division by eggs -- twice as many eggs is twice as many dozens plus twice as many leftovers, and things like that. Whatever clicks with the listener.

And definitely lots of stitch markers when casting on as well as decreasing. There are so many of those little plastic ones in a package, might as well enjoy them.

The hat looks great on you! And so perfect for Paris cafes. Have fun on your trip! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Woo hoo! Now Monkeygurrl wants to make me a hat! It's about 35 here in Philly, so I can use all the hats I get. Thanx Monkeygurrl!

BTW, Laurie, when are you going to Paris? Are you still going to be writing while away? I'll need to know, so that I find another fix while you're gone...I'll miss you....

This is me @ work:
Did she post yet? no.
Did she post yet? no.
Did she post yet? no.
Did she post yet? no.
Did she post yet? no.
Did she post yet? no.
x100
Did she post yet? Yipee!!

Signed, Mo in upstate NY where it is still freakin cold ;-)

I love this hat!!

When it comes to decreasing, I generally do so in increments of 8 stitches, which goes fairly quickly. However, I also do a plain row in between the decrease rows so that the top isn't as flat as a table. Unfortunately this sometimes results in a pointy top, so I think I may do every other row decreases until I get close to the end (such as k2 k2tog) and start doing decreases every row at that point (k1 k2tog, then the good ol' k2tog then fin (that's French. I think.)).

ya know, if people knew that knitting can be fun and entertaining and enjoyable on top of that, there might not be enough yarn to go around. I wish there had been an inventive and fun teacher around like you to explain the ins and outs of knitting when i was learning! It wouldn't be so intimidating and scary. Hey everybody has thrown their shoes in the closet to pick up the bedroom, piece of cake! Not a thing to worry about. Good job and fun too!

When exactly do you go to France? Wouldn't that be weird if I was in Europe at the same time?? I don't think I get to go to France though. I'll be in Poland and Wales. My dates are still way up in the air - may not even happen which would probably make Minou happy since she has to stay home.

Don't do it, Soba! Noooooooo!

As the official A.D.D. knitter believe me when I say I understand the appeal of working on a hat--it's fast and so gratiyfing to actually finish a project!

As the official A.D.D. knitter believe me when I say I understand the appeal of working on a hat--it's fast and so gratiyfing to actually finish a project!

Thanks to your inspiration I have just knitted my first scarf. Yippee! And now I am going to copy your instructions and block it because it turned out way too short and way too fat but I am having such a good time. I think that knitting is this year's new hobby. Now my little girl wants one too.
Oh yeah and I also have your site linked from my site (if that makes sense?)
Well come and see the photos of my scarf in a few days. Also I may just try a hat like this one. People think I am a little strange to do this in the middle of an Aussie summer but what do I care?
Best wishes
Mia

WOW...photoshop
WOW
you are the Queen of 'shop.
makes me want to take up knitting...
not really

I love your blog/column, whatever you want to call it. Anyways im from starkville/columbus, like that has anything to do with you...really...anymore. Anyways I just wanted to tell you that i love your blog, and i too now must have a square watermelon.

You are like the Bob Ross of knitting! :) Do you remember Bob Ross? . . . and his "happy little trees"?

Hey - I see a comment from your friend Haji. We haven't hurt an update on his front - did he receive many hats/items for the kids? I never heard.

Ok, I don't knit (yet). (I have a feeling I'll get sucked in by this blog, dangerously soon.) But is there shoe math wherein you GET more pairs of shoes? Something like increasing instead of reducing? Yes, I know this makes not a lick of sense as I can think of no knitted thing that needs to get bigger like a funnel, but I have this thing about shoes...

It never ceases to amaze me - your ability to make knitting decrease instructions entertaining. Really you make pretty darn near everything entertaining. I love reading your blog every day.

Laurie, I read a lot of blogs, and I'm not usually moved to comment (just lurk about alot!!!), but I just couldn't help myself today - you totally crack me up! The entire office is now wondering why I'm sniggering away in front of the computer (and your heartfelt dialogue in the middle of the nite sometimes moves me to tears). I sure hope you find somewhere to blog occassionally in Paris coz I'm really going to miss this (although I'm really looking forward to the piccies and your views on france! Luv to the catz.

Just read that back and it makes it look as if I'm working nightshift, when infact, here is snowy Ecosse (see how I'm working the French in??) it is infact 9.20am and I'm at work - this time difference thingy really confuses me when reading - I never know whether I infront or behind??

Great hat! I should seriously go back ad rip my ribbed hat back to before the decreases and do it over again. Gotta love fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants knitting! And your shoe theory makes total sense.
Sobakowa rocks my world.

What are stitch markers? I know that's probably a dumb question, but I don't knit, so I don't know. I want to knit, right now all I do is crochet, and sporadically at that. Laurie, a book deal is in your future, I don't knit, but understool ALL of your directions! If I knew how to get started, it might have motivated me to try it!

Jules-- stitch markers are just something (any object that is round, like a baby ring, or even just a piece of yarn tied into a little ring) that you place on your knitting needles.

The stitch marker sits there with the knitting, visually dividing up the stitches so you can remember stuff without looking at a pattern or counting stitches.

You can buy official stitch markers at the craft store in the knitting aisle, they're sometimes just plain rubber rings and they're pretty cheap. Lots of people make beautiful stitch markers of their own, they're like jewelry!

Kristy-- I will check in with Haji who has not emailed me (!!) or maybe it's lost in my inbox filters? Anyway. I will get an update and post it :)

Wow, I found your blog by clicking... um not sure where I came from..
Anyways poof here I am.
I was only going to browse but I have become full on stalker. I almost (no more time) read the whole thing.
you are halarious and spunky and so full of life.
I love your spirit.
I too once thought I would become a great knitter however I have forgotten how and have about 3 unfinished scarves (only thing I even attempted)that are sitting there begging to be finished and I can not remember for the life if me how to cast off..
*sigh*
I will live vicariously through your knitting adventures.

I'm lost in your inbox filters.
E-mail me back.
Yes...peeps are still sending me stuff.
Makes kids happy.
Purl fans are the best.
Rock on Laurie.

Another fond reader here! I found you through "Trixie in Transit's" blog and I am completely hooked.
Yes, yes, yes, please do consider a knitting instruction book. Your diagrams and photos and your style would seriously be a welcomed addition for those who want to learn. I've learned a ton from your site (blocking, shoes in lieu of math, all kinds of things!) And I've been knitting since I taught myself at age 10. (I'll be 51 in a couple of weeks.)
I don't know what you do for a living, but I know you are a great writer. You should publish a book or two or 100. Love your fun captions on the photos, too.
You also motivated me to finish a prayer shawl project I was working on. I've posted photos on my blog to document its completion.
OK, I don't want to sound like too much of a stalker crazy person.

Thanks so much for all your hard work and those great illustrations. Looking forward to the recipe.
:)

Laurie, could you please make a Cafe Press shop with some of your stuff on it? I would totally buy a t-shirt with Figure C on it. Or one with your Magic Scarf button on it.
(Disclaimer: I've never set up a Cafe Press shop. If it's a pain in the ass, please forget I asked.)

Hi Mandy!! hehehehe... I never thought of the Cafe Press thing. Too funny. Maybe I'll look into it!

I think maybe there should be a Soba shirt.

The hat is cool, and I wish you had taught me math in 10th grade. Maybe I would have passed.

Math geek here: I was about to post that 10 was not such a good shoe number, that I would have used 5 or 6 but I've decided that 10 is a perfectly nice shoe number for a 30 stitch hat. When I decrease every other row, with a shoe number like 5, that is very much like decreasing every row with a shoe number like 10.
Just wait for the look I get sometime from my Sisters of the Wool when "shoe number" comes out of my mouth. They look at me funny sometimes.

I can't believe it, my co-worker just bought a car for $88058. Isn't that crazy!