Holy crap, first?

I love my new cat helpers. They want to help pull my yarn out of the tote to help me crochet. :)

The SWS is beautiful...must go get some now.

That is one beautiful cat there! Give her a kiss from all the internetters out here.

And that is absolutely beautiful geranium yarn. Gotta find me some of that. Hats away!

Hi. I've been reading your blog for about two weeks now and I've finally decided to comment. I have to admit I started at the beginning of the blog (I'm a Librarian in Training and it's finals week at the library I'm interning at) and you have made me both laugh and cry. I also took up knitting about two years ago and I have three cats who love to try to eat my needles. The fact that I use metal needles (they're hand me downs) does not deter my fuzzballs. Cute, yes. Smart, no.

Anyway, thanks for your posts. They've made library time go really fast these last few days. And I pre-ordered your book just based on your blog writing. :)

Oh thank you so much...I KNOW that shit-stitch and depending on my fabulous grip, it even gets a bit more ribald than that! The picture of Soba and her words are fabulous. First I laughed out loud at the shit stitch and then 'oooooohed' at the wonder-faceness of Sobokowa. My cube neighbors think I'm nutz again. I love your blog, every. single. day.

I was given a few skeins of a similar "colorway" (ooh ooh I sound like a pro-knitter!) to your geranium...I used the "my so called scarf" pattern
(that is much easier than it looks). It came out awesome and really looks great with the variations of pink. I found My So Called Scarf at "Sheep In the City" who credits it to "Imagiknit".

http://www.sheepinthecity.prettyposies.com/archives/000079.html

I don't really have a comment, just was thrilled that I got to post in the first 10 or so!!

Thanks Brianne, I also like to throw in words such as "colorway" to pretend I am a real knitter LOL. (see: Size Giant needles, etc.)

Cecilia, I also have an Eff Stitch ;)

And thank you Heidi, thank you.

Could someone please comment on resources for left-handed beginning knitters? I would like to knit...but am helplessly unable! I am in a small town with no SnB :( Maybe I could start one...if I ever figure out how to cast on properly....Thanks in Advance!!

Wow! that Geranium SWS is gorgeous! I bought the navy/brown color and I don't like it at all. I LOVE LOVE LOVE pink anything (although I look terrible in it; I am, as my daughter says, a "ginger") and that is beautiful!!

I am a tight knitter, too (neuroses in action) and always have to use a larger needle becasue my stuff always ends up 2 sizes too small if I don't.

Great job on all the projects from today! Give the cats smooches for me!!

Dear Laurie,

I've been putting a lot of thought into who should play the lead in the "Drunk, Divorced, & Covered in Cat Hair" movie and my first thought was, "Renee Zellweger, natch!" But the more I think about it, the more I feel that Emily Procter was born for this role. Any thoughts?

In addition to the sh!t stitch and eff-stitch, I also have a piss-stitch!

ROFL! When I got to the Shit Stitch, I'm pretty sure that I laughed enough to convince all my office neighbors that they share the hall with a serious crazy woman.

I also love the SWS. I made a wrap for my SIL out of it, but haven't had the heart to let it leave my house yet.

Susie, I adore you for thinking this is a possibility :) I am right now trying desperately to get through the "Oh my God I have to do a public speaking thing" for NYC, which I have actually had nightmares about. I used to be scared that people would hate the book, and that no one would buy it. Now I am scared that I will stand up in front of this audience and freeze like a posicle on the spot. Or fart. Or fall over. I need a drink just thinking of it. Except, I had to stop drinking this month in hopes of losing a pound or 39. Also, what if I sweat like that scene from "Broadcast News" or what if I open my mouth and no words come out? Or what if I get so scared I end up ditching it and making everyone mad at me? So, having said all that, it is nice to know someone out there believes it is a possibility that I won't somehow sink my own boat. So thank you :)

SWS makes great entrelac scarves! I've made a couple (one in the geranium colorway - http://picasaweb.google.com/spikeandi/KnitCrochetStuff/photo#4993945741647478802) There are a lot of other SWS entrelac scarves online too if you google it. And entrelac is a lot easier than I thought it would be once I got started!

Love the shit stitch! One of my earliest memories as a child was sitting near my Mom as she crocheted listening to her quietly count stitches to herself ..... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, shit. Then she'd pull them out and start all over! Sooooo funny to hear you do the same!

You're welcome! If you find yourself in a scary situation whilst in New York, just think to yourself, "What would Calleigh Duquesne do?"

Your. Cats. Are. Gorgeous. And they seem to have the same Listening Disorder that my Grace has!

Me: Don't sit on the paper! I'm reading it!
Grace hears: ...sit on the paper! I need you!

The SWS is really beautiful! And don't worry about your gauge; nobody knits wrong, and yarn is an absolute good. :)

Susie, I might indeed try that. Right now I have been doing a combination of fantasizing that there is an earthquake so I can't go and/or fantasizing that everyone in the crowd is drunk. At 2 in the afternoon. It could happen, right?

I'm not a knitter, but I do bead and jewelry work and can so totally sympathize with the tight stitch/tension issue. Beadwork is supposed to have a nice "drape" to it - not stand at attention like it's made out of steel girders.

LOVING that yarn, btw. I may have to go dig out my pink beads and completely rip off...er...I mean "emulate in a flattering manner" that colorway. Hey, whaddaya know, I speak "knitter."

Oh, and in beading we call it the "frog" stitch. You know, "rip it, rip it." But undoing hours (days) of work still sucks no matter what you call it.

the shit stitch & I are like *this*...real close buddies ;)

I'm having a love affair with Patons SWS right now. It started when I made a ribbed scarf out of the same yarn you're doing your rolled brim hat with. The only color I don't have is "Natural Green" and that's only because my Michael's does not stock it :(

Hey Brianne,

Do you think a novice knitter who has only knit 4 dishcloths (garter, stockinette, basketweave stitches) could tackle that scarf?

I just want to look at that SWS colorway ALL FRIGGIN' DAY LONG. It is beyond gorgeous. Would it be OK if I used one of your pics as my desktop? Puhleeeeaze?

Just a snarky thought - Since you give your stitch gauge (though not row that I saw although you do measure your progress in inches which is sort of like row gauge and so should be good enough anyway) then, regardless of whether you personally do or do not swatch no one can complain if their hats come out too big because if they do then they clearly have not swatched themselves. Anyway, what I am saying is that you are 100% blameless for your insanely tight knitting style messing up anyone else's hat. Though, you should try to loosen up your gauge a little bit hon, or you are going to give yourself a knitting injury! And that would just not be fun.

Laurie,

I haven't posted to your blog in ages, but I am so proud of you and am excited about Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair. I agree with Susie about Renee Zelweiger playing you. There is quite a resemblance.

I have my own shit and eff stitches too. Sometimes I feel that my expressions for such a ladylike craft can make a longshoreman blush.

Fianna- Lefty? use a mirror to reverse the images in the books or the videos. That should help some.

MY knitting PULLEDITTODAMNTIGHTAGAIN is I always cast on and the first couple of rows are wicked tight before I get into a good rhythm.

So all my scarves widen. I suppose I could k2tog at the beginning to compensate... but that's a thinking thing, and I'm really not about the "thinking while knitting."

Soba looks exactly like a kitty we used to have long time ago. Her name was "Waffle House" 'cause that's where we found her.

A broken rib stitch would be a nice complement to the hat - k1, p1, repeat around for one row, then knit the next row, repeat. It lays flat, too!

SherriW - Totally!
It's just repetition once you figure out the one side and then the other side. (great explanation huh?) slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over is side one, then when you turn your work it's just purl two together, then purling the first stitch again before you slide them off the needle (to increase by purling - which leaves you with the same number of total stitches you cast on with). Try a few rows with scrap yarn - it's magic!

Girl, that Natural Geranium is gorgeous. I am shocked it came from Michael's! And Frankie is lovely in the other colorway.

SWS is one of my very favorite yarns!

Shit stitch, piss stitch and damnit stitch are among my three basic stitch groups - all in the tighter than h-e-l-l group:) I knit socks at 10 stitches/inch on size 1 - takes a while to get 'em done...

Please tell Soba that the Interknitters think she's grand.

And if you're scared, just think of the Yarn Harlot at Represent in NYC last month. If you didn't read about that you should - http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2007_03.html go down to March 22nd. When she's at Northampton MA later this month she'll be at The Calvin - it holds 1700 people and I think it'll be full :)

And the SH*# stitch and I are on close terms.

Brianne, I'm going to try that, too, I have seen it before and loved the look of it.

Trixie! I know!!! I was shocked! It's actually much much nicer (in my opinion) than Noro Kureyon because it doesn't have all the twigs and leaves like Kureyon and it's almost evenly spun the whole length (while I do love my Noro, especially Transitions, the Kureyon yarn tends to go frome lace weight to bulky which is cool sometimes, but sometimes you just want plain old even yarn). The main feature though is the PRICE and the fact that Michael's is open until 9 p.m., so working stiffs such as myself can get a yarn fix even weekdays.

I clipped my 40% off coupon and so on Saturday when I buy another ball of this yarn, it will only be like $3.50 or something. A steal for something so pretty!

Yay tight knitters! Yay! That's me too!

Fianna, have you checked out Annie Modesitt's technique? modeknit.com

ooooohhhh, kitty cuteness. just what I needed this a.m.

You know that big green lace shawl I showed you? I'm doing the borders now, which are much more difficult than the body of the shawl. So I am becoming reacquainted with the Stitch family of Shit, Fuck, Dammit, and JesusHKeerist.

That last one is P2togTBL.

Fu1, Sh1, and Pi1 should be added to knitting glossaries everywhere, along with RRR (Rip, Reknit, Repeat). Thanks, Laurie, for giving us the courage to get up every day and knit, and for making us laugh.

I recently made this scarf with the RIB OF DOOM!

http://thriftyknitter.com/?p=79

And I was very pleased with the result.

Nice! You know what looks great in that Patons SWS -- the little felted bowls in One Skein.

Hey, you got Soba to let Frankie on the bed at the same time without a smackdown. Or did that come later?

I think now that you're a famous knitterly author-type you should strike a deal with a yarn company to make colorway Roy, colorway Soba, colorway Bob and colorway Frankie. I'd so buy that.

Do a Danica scarf in SWS! It works perfectly with the Entrelac: http://sheepofadifferentcolor.blogspot.com/2007/03/fo-post.html

Thanks for posting pictures of the natural geranium color knit up. I wasn't wild about any of the SWS colorways in ball form, but that one is super gorgeous when it's knit.

I am a lefty too. Try to find a book or instructions (with pictures) that teach Continental style. I think it is much easier for lefty's.

I have the opposite problem. Apparently I knit too loosely. Remember that fuschia sweater out of the Australian wool with the hot pink silk slubs I slaved over for 4 months? Supposed to be oh, 42 inches in the bust? Try 50. My youngest sister got a nice new sweater, so at least someone was happy.

I am now knitting a cardigan on size 3 needles because the 4s made the guage swatch half an inch larger on all sides.

Oh, I've been wanting to try entrelac and I LOVE me some SWS (I have a 6 foot stockinette scarf b/c I just couldn't stop knitting it! So pretty!). Now I'm definitely hankering for an entrelac SWS experience....

Here is a great explanation of gauge and why, in knitting at least, the size of the stick just don't matter http://explaiknit.typepad.com/

It's possible it matters more in, ahem, other arenas ;)

The knitting is beautiful. I'll second Brianne's suggestion: The My-So-Called Scarf pattern is really beautiful and MUCH easier than it looks. I'm sure it would work up beautifully in that yarn to match your hat. And when you wear that scarf after you knit it, everyone will compliment its beauty AND marvel at how clever you are.

Stephanie the Harlot gets exactly like that before every single one of her events, and we all assure her that we love her and we are all just knitters, after all, and if she can talk to one or two knitters she can talk to 89 bajillion of us, and we love her and she will be brilliant and afterward there will be drinking. And I can personally testify that this is exactly what has happened at all of her events that I have gone to. So: we love you, you will be brilliant, and afterward there will be drinking. (Not too much, in case some of us want to drive and/or lose weight.)

Did I tell you about my Control Issues Sock? In a yarn marked 8 sts to the inch I get about 13. Plus the sock has ribbing, because I need to make the yarn do something besides just plain stockinette so it will know that I'm the boss of it, so this sucker, we are talking one single sock here, has 120 sts in it. Let me assure you (because you will be assockilated) that this is way more than the normal number for a sock, even way more than you would need, I bet. Plus you would probably have the sense to use a needle bigger than size 0.

Do your cats like to perform knittus interruptus? This process involves 1) noticing that a human is knitting 2) sitting on human so as to prevent knitting. Chewing on yarn is optional but highly recommended. It looks like Soba has the skillz.

On the public speaking thing...a huge part of my job is presenting on a weekly basis on various health topics. I don't have an easy audience - men on oilrigs in the Scottish North Sea. You screw up and they eat you alive, get it right and they all want to be your best pal. So what works for me? Powerpoint is good (gives folk something to look at apart from your face). Fluids help the mouth stop drying up entirely and feeling like the bottom of a cat litter tray - I'd stick with water...alcohol isn't allowed in the offshore workplace for me! Notes - and don't be scared to refer to them if you lose your way. Admit it if you lose the thread of what you're saying. Your audience is willing you to do well and are on your side.

And all you have to do after that is be yourself - that's what folks are coming to see and hear.

P.S. why can't we get the Patons SWS in the UK - it looks gorgeous...b*stards!

"Shit stitch"

OMG I'm in hysterics here.

You SLAY me!

.

(echoing Lucia)

Laurie! we love you, you will be brilliant, and afterward there will be drinking!

the SWS is beautiful! I've been eyeing it for a time but havent purchased any because I'm trying to create some sort of budget and stick to it - at least for the next couple of months.
I know the shit stitch, the eff stitch, and in very extreme cases, the mother-eff stitch.

That SWS yarn looks soooooooo yummy, thanks for teasing a girl who lives in the middle of nowhere!!

I'm a lefty knitter as well, and I just knit the regular right-handed way. I figured it might be a little awkward at first, but I'm used to it and can just get tips from anyone and knit like everyone else. And I taught myself on the internet, woot!!

I just tugged two older kids in a wagon for a good half-hour on sidewalks PACKED with sand and my left arm is dead, so that's all I can manage in typing for now LOL

Love your blog, Laurie!!

Suzi in NC, if you cast on over _two_needles, you solve this problem. At least it works for me!

And Laurie? I have the opposite problem--I have to _drop down_ two needle sizes to get gauge. Makes sock knitting quite a bear, at times!

Laurie, try my Bobble Scarf!

http://round-peg-crafts.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

Not pompoms, but a similar look.

One of the issues is that this NYC thing is not a knitting group, it's a book convention with many strangers and book people and probably seven knitters out of five bazillion attendees.

And as much as I adore folks invoking the Yarn Harlot (seeing as she's amazing and successful and fabuloso) my book is not anywhere even close to being harlotty, alas.

It isn't a knitting book, per se, it's a divorce memoir with some knitting. A novel, very sad in places, way too personal ... which is weird to read aloud to strangers. So it's not like we're sitting and knitting up a scarf and getting drunk. That I could do ;) That I would volunteer for! LOL

On the other hand, this event makes yarn store events seem less frightening. At least this is what my publicist says. I am still hoping for an earthquake.

You do know that when you machine wash knitted or woven goods to reduce their size and thicken the fabric it is called "fulling," right? Felting is a completely different process using unspun wool fibers arranged in perpendicular layers and then agitated until they mesh together to form a tight fabric. Your knitted hat will be a fulled hat not a felted hat.
Just in case you plan to write another book (perhaps on knitting), you want to have the terminology perfectly correct since that is, um, your style? Right?

:D

When you standing in front of people doing the scary public speaking thing, just imagine that everyone in the audience is sitting there in their underwear. Didn't that work for Marcia Brady, or was it Jan?? Perhaps Greg?

When you standing in front of people doing the scary public speaking thing, just imagine that everyone in the audience is sitting there in their underwear. Didn't that work for Marcia Brady, or was it Jan?? Perhaps Greg?

I like the idea of the 3x3 rib but if your looking for a different twist I found the Harlot's "One row handspun scarf" really easy and fun to knit.

Start: Cast on 26 stitches (to make it wider or narrower add or remove stitches in groups of 4)

Row 1: *knit 2, knit into the back of the next stitch, purl 1. Repeat from * till there are 2 stitches left. Knit 2.

Repeat that one row every row until you can stand it no longer, your scarf is long enough or you run out of yarn, whatever comes first.

For the event let out your inner Paris, have no shame. Don't wear panties and say Porn a lot.

Just don't drink and drive.

That entrelac is beautiful.

Tee hee - looks like your assistants are taking their job very seriously. Love the little hat - great colours.

Frankie looks fabulous in her new scarf! She's a pro on the catwalk.

I used to have deathgrip knitting skills, but somehow I lost them. Not really sure how though.

I bought my first skein of Patons SWS yesterday and it is absolutely gorgeous! Love it, love it...as much as I love reading your blog. It makes my day.

Congratulations on the book deal. Between your book and Drew's I'll be too busy reading to do any knitting.

soba is looking playful, coy, even, with her eyes slightly tilted up and away from the camera. she must have recently added something quite clever to her manifesto...or just got her own way about something ! GoSo!

You're not alone in trying to relax with the knitting, Auntie. It's a struggle when I'm trying to knit lace.

I love that color-way! That's the one I used for my felted bag. Now I'm thinking bracelet bag. :D And you know that cat hair makes everything better.

When you standing in front of people doing the scary public speaking thing, just imagine that everyone in the audience is sitting there in their underwear. Didn't that work for Marcia Brady, or was it Jan?? Perhaps Greg?

Diane, it's not a knitting book.

Also, I learned about felting from a place called "knitty" so I figured if they could call it that then .. you know, when in Rome:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/FEATfelting.html

I loved that article, I think Knitty.com is the best thing since sliced bread and screw-top wine.

I thought it was either Peter or Bobby Brady who saw everyone in their underwear....hmmm.

Being a New Yorker, let me assure you that most New Yorkers are miserable, depressed,and/or taking anti-depressants and will, therefore, be a terrific audience for you. Especially in their underwear.

Well, um. Three things.

1) Your blog is (now and then) about knitting, but it's mostly about life, the universe and everything, in a hilarious and yet occasionally sledgehammer-over-the-head-BTDT-painful way. We can easily surmise that your book might take the same approach.

3) Pretend we are all wearing nothing but much-too-tightly-knit socks.

4) We love you, you will be brilliant, and afterward there will be drinking.

You're inspiring me to start my Lady Eleanor wrap from Scarf Style - I have 15 balls of the SWS in the colorway you used for your bag waiting for that wrap. I guess it's not best to knit a wool wrap in the middle of summer, but I can't resist! And that geranium yarn looks SOOOO much better knit than sitting there in the bin at Michael's, so I must go buy me some o' dat yarn! Rollin' wit da homies!

Hey Laurie, love your blog. You always crack me up. My all-time favorite is the "son of a stitch" And it seems I get to practice that one a lot.

The kitties are so sweet. I used to have a Frankie twin, so seeing yours always brightens my day.

Congrats on the book. Looking forward to it.

Btw... I will bet anyone a drink that it was Marcia who saw the guy giving her her driving test in his underwear. (Marcia and Greg take their tests at the same time. Greg is Joe Cool, Marcia is a basket case, up until the underwear part. Later, with dad officiating, they do a private, competitive road test; Greg is winning until the very end when he gets overconfident and knocks over a cone while parallel parking.)

(At least that's the way I remember it. If this is not a waste of brain matter, I don't know what is.)

Thanks Lucia! :)

It's funny, too, while we're on the subject of me being so wrong with knitting, Diane ... about thirty thousand people called me out telling me I was a dumbass a while back for saying "garter stitch" in the round. Yet I also specifically said "knit stitch in the round!" I didn't think anything of it. People knew what I meant.

If the very definition of "garter stitch" is to "knit every stitch" and you are doing that, even if you are doing it on a circular needle, are you not actualy gartering and knitting in the round, producting stockinette, simultaneously?

And do people really care that much? I was surprised. I sort of assumed people would just think it's funny how much I do love knit stitch in the round. Garter stitch. I never expected anyone to go all strident on me but ooohee I was wrong.

Maybe this is why people get scared to try knitting more complex things, I think, they're afraid someone will come along and yell "fraud!" as if we all have to be Vogue Knitting perfection.

Vogue calls it felting, too, by the way ;)

Oh, and

2) I do not know how to number a list.

I totally remember that Brady Bunch episode!!!!!

Hi Laurie

I have a couple of skiens of Patons SWS that are hibernating in my stash. If you want them, I can send them to you. I started a scarf with them, but I just can't seem to feel the love for SWS.

P.S. I can't wait for your book!

Laurie,

A scarf I'm doing in Noro, that would also work nice in the Patons Soy - get two totally different colors of it. Then cast on stitches divisible by two. Do two rows in the one color - in the K2 P2 rib stitch. Then switch over to the other color and do two rows, and so on. You could even use 3 or 4 different colors. But two works easier for me.

Linda in VA

I love Paton's SWS! I made two modified scarf width clapotis out of it (one in the natural geranium and one in the natural earth colorway) and it really shows off the awesome striping! Love your blog!!

oh yes, and the egg is on top of the cone and falls when Greg drives into it?!! But I also have this faint memory of one of the six having to make a speech in front of the entire school and he/she gets thru it by imagining the audience in their underwear. No? Maybe that just happened to me. I think my old age is catching up with me.

No matter your terminology, I totally understand what you are saying, maybe moreso when you don't use "proper" wordage.
Also, don't you know by now how many people adore you?!! You'll be great in NY and, if by some very slim chance the bookish people somehow don't like you (that won't happen because book people love crazy), it won't matter because we will all still adore you - maybe even more (because our adoration appears to grow each day).

Hmmm I wonder what it says about me that I'm a really, really loose knitter. I usually go down a needle size - or two for small needles - to get gauge. It makes knitting a sweater with DK weight yarn crazy.

You may be right, Laurie (too)... I think it may have been Jan, and it may be she who suggests that Marcia apply that technique to the driving test.

A while back I had to do a presentation at work and after I was done I told everyone "Okay you can all put your clothes back on".

I went all "Jan Brady" on them!

ahhhh, yes, it's all coming back to me, Lucia, thank you!

and Laurie, if the underwear trick doesn't work for ya', just imagine the audience all wearing CAP- sleeved t-shirts!

I LOVE the natural geranium, too! I'm currently in the process of making matching hats/scarves/mittens for myself and my three year old out of it! Both scarves done so far. I recommend doing a slip stitch rib for the scarf. The deep, lofty vertical stripes of the rib are a fun contrast to the horizontal color stripes in the yarn. It's my go-to scarf recipe right now. I can't think of it's official name, but you cast on a multiple of 4, plus 3 (19 or 27 stitches, for example), and the first row, K3, YIF slip as if to purl, YIB, K3 to the end. Then On the next row, K1, YIF, S, YIB, K3 to the end, ending with a K1. Repeat until you run out of yarn or lose your mind.

I thought I invented the shit stitch.
I was sorely mistaken. Oh well.
Any excuse to curse is good in my book!

All wonky stitches will be lost in felting. i have felted many a wonky stitch, and they come out perfect!

Wow - I LOVE that yarn! I think my SIL needs a CAP hat and matching scarf for Christmas in that! Hmmm - wonder if my JoAnn's has that - I have a 40% off for there - do I have a Michael's one? Talking to myself - sorry!

Laurie, I made a beeeeeautiful scarf out of the Natural Geranium colorway last winter. I made a mini-clapotis, with fewer repeats to make it smaller. The bias and the drop stitch columns set off the striping perfectly.

I'm not sure about the correct terms, but when I first learned to knit, I learned to "throw," knittng the way I'd always seen it done. It's where you hold the yarn in your right hand and have to let go of your right needle for each stitch. This way used to hurt my shoulder, I couldn't, for the life of me figure out how to hold the yarn comfortably, I had wonky gauge and my tension was so tight I could barely knit the next row. So I learned to "pick" where you hold your yarn in the left hand and don't let go of your needles. This is like miracle knitting to me. It goes super fast, no pain and my stitches (I've been told) look perfectly symmetrical. It's a little weird to learn purling with this method, but once you get it, knitting is even more addictive because you can knit into the wee hours of the night and then stumble yarn-eyed into work the next day.

Bossy is wondering if the cats get a beefy royalty from your book sales?

I don't have time to read all the responses- time to shower/get ready for work and iron one of my 4 old shirts with sleeves that I have been wearing for the past 3 years..

BUT, forgive me if anyone has already said this: TO ALL THE LEFT-HANDED KNTTERS OUT THERE..

People.. just learn to KNIT the 'regular ole way' because BOTH HANDS have to work together in knitting, they both have jobs to do, it feels awkward for all beginning knitters.. and your entire life will be so much easier if you just learn 'right-handed.' ALMOST all illustrations and directions will be for right-handed knitting.. so, for the love of all that is crafty and good in this world..

WHY, WHY, WHY.. would you want to complicate your life by learning something that would cause you to have to always have to 'reverse' things?? WHY?

Seriously, both hands are knitting.. it does NOT MATTER.. it just takes practice (for all) and muscle memory to learn how to knit.

**AS a disclaimer.. I have taught many, many children and adults how to knit and I have taught several LEFT-HANDED ones.. and I just show them like everyone else and NEVER SAY A WORD ABOUT IT being any different unless they ask.. (*I'm sometimes an art teacher or/and I just teach beginning knitting classes anyway.)

Oh, and none of the 'left-handed' people (kids and adults) learning how to knit right handed had any problems. THEY ALL learned how to knit just as well as the right-handed ones.

You CAN DO IT!! GO! GO!! KNIT!! KNIT!!

From Jeannie.. who feels that life is already too complicated .. and sometimes wishes that she lived in a fantasy world where she had a home, (paid for) didn't have to work, (but, would volunteer when I wanted) and all the time to knit and watch Laverne and Shirley on TV.

KEEP IN MIND: Jeannie lives overseas (in the final weeks of a school year) where none of these things are happening... :D

I have been messing around with trying to find a reversible stitch pattern for a scarf that doesn't curl at the edges. I tried many patterns until I came up with this:

Cast on 20 or 30, knit 5, purl 5 to the end of the row. Next row, knit 4, purl 5, knit 5 etc to the end. Next row knit 3, purl 5, knit 5, you see where this is going. It make a nice subtle diagonal stripe. I used a solid color so I don't know how it would turn out with a striping yarn. Hmm.

Hi Laurie,

I just found your blog about a month ago and I completely LOVE YOU and all of your crazy and fun stories! And LOVE the cat pics the most. I have a tortie, Cleo who is Soba's identical twin. I swear smitten image. I have bought two of your books already. One for me and one for a friend who is going through divorce herself. Thought it might make her laugh and she needs that right now!

Anyways, just a shout out too how much I have enjoyed your blog! Have a fun weekend. You are really pretty by the way!

If you knit too tightly, and I knit too loosely does that keep the universe in balance?

Oh, I might also add..

That this school teacher (in her final last 5 weeks of school) has been teaching the past 3 weeks in a classroom w/ broken air-conditioning (1 box fan to blow on the children) and had just spent 10 days prior to that being in the hospital w/ pnemonia..

SO, let's just say the past 3 weeks have not been as enjoyable as they should have been.. and by the end of the day.. this teacher's hair was dripping wet w/ sweat. YEAH, that's an attractive look:

Tired, feverish, slowly getting well, worn out, straight hair dripping wet with sweat school teacher... who has recently realized that she will never be able to afford to buy a house in a nice safe neighborhood on a school teacher's salary.. sigh..

I'm just saying.. when I get well enough.. I'm going to the YARN MARKET and I'm buying SOME YARN!! :D

Jeannie, you ROCK. And you make me laugh, the good laugh :)

Here's another noncurling scarf pattern.

Cast on a multiple of 6 sts plus 3.
Row 1: k4, *p1, k5, end last repeat k4.
Row 2: p4, *k1, p5, end last repeat p4.
Row 3: repeat row 1.
Row 4: k3, *p1, k1, p1, k3.
Row 5: p3, *k1, p1, k1, p3.
Row 6: repeat row 4.
Repeat these 6 rows until done, ending with row 3 if your OCD demands symmetry.

Lucia, do you have a pic of that anywhere? (though I could do a swatch I s'pose LOL... I do love my swatches... they often turn into scarves...)

I am currently (sort of -- it's on the needles, in any case) knitting your basketweave scarf in the SWS Natural Geranium. Separated at birth?

Well, I mean, you're Southern and blond and all and I'm a western redhead, but we all knit the same tiny, cramped little stitches under all that difference...

Laurie.. hee hee (does this mean- that I am excused from another day of teaching in the sauna classroom?)

*You know how all those sports people/etc.. get on TV and yell out.. "I'm going to Disney Land!"

Well.. a knitters version of Disney Land is the Yarn Market in Seoul, Korea! So, when I get well enough.. "I"M GOING TO THE YARN MARKET AND I"M BUYING SOME YARN!" :D

When I get well enough (and the pneumonia lungs get well enough) to get back on the subway w/ manage to walk up/down all those stairs.. I'll take my camera and take some photos.. so, you too can.. gasp.. in amazement with all the yarn on display in the Knitter's version of DISNEY LAND!

I would *love* to see pics of the Seoul Yarn Market!

I haven't read the comments, but one thing I came across is that some people knit on the pointed tips of their needles and leave the new stitches there and start the next stitch instead of forming the stitch and shoving it onto the shaft portion of their needle to enlarge it. Might this be what you're doing? It will certainly give you very tight knitting as the stitch gets formed on the narrow part of the needle, usually stays there for a few stitches, then when you do the shove-the-stitches-further-down-the-needle-to-make-room-for -the-new they have to stretch a lot to move down the needle. And you pull your hair out on the next row. Just a thought...

there was a nice scarf pattern on Yarn Harlot's blog a while back, it was very simple: Cast on [(multiple of 4)+2]; knit 2, knit 1 through the back loop, purl 1 (each row ends with knit 2). Repeat on other side. I made a scarf and started 2 with this pattern, it's simple but quite nice and not as plain as the pattern would seem to suggest.

Laurie, you will NOT sink your boat, or anyone else's boat. You will be great, just pretend you are talking to Faith and you'll be fine. And be reminded we are all cheering for you.

When everyone jumps on your case and tells you something is "wrong" with your knitting or your terms, do what Stephanie the Harlot says in all her books~Smile sweetly and do it your way anyway. There is NO wrong in knitting. That's what made it possible for me to learn. Oh and you can always use the reason that its "freeform". All of mine is freeform. hah.

Beth, your entrelac scarf from the SWS is fabulous!
I love this SWS yarn and went to Michaels just on your recommendation, Laurie. I bought and my friend with me bought, now I can't wait to get started on something with it.

Hey Sweetie - I echo previous comments - you need to force yourself to loosen up (at least, with respect to your knitting). If it's any help, when I started knitting (for about the first 2 years), I was SOOOPA tight, too. Then I made a concerted effort to loosen up and I found I didn't have to wear the wrist brace all the time. Go figger.

And also, I've seen you speak in public. You will have no problem, even if you DO fart, sweat and indescriminately shout "PORN!"

(and also, just as an observation, you know there are some people out there that don't know the term "kitty porn"?! I got some odd looks when using it in public last weekend!)

Oooooh! Sue F. said "shoving it onto the shaft"! Hee-hee. I'm so 12.

I love the Paton's SWS, it is so soft and wonderful. I haven't felted it though, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished bags.

http://rhymeswithfuchsia.blogspot.com/2007/01/scarf-city.html

It's the third one, the one made out of the color-change yarn. Unfortunately, because digital cameras hate red (yeah, that must be it, couldn't have anything to do with the skill or lack thereof of the photographer), there's some flashing and the stitch pattern is not all that clear, but you can sort of see it. It's basically a basketweave interspersed with ribbing. Completely mindless once the pattern is set up.

It may have already been said, but you *may* want to try an entrelac scarf. I made one with SWS Natural Earth, and it's gorgeous. It might seem a bit complicated at first, but it really isn't, once you get into it. And since you knit tightly, that can be a GOOD thing with entrelac. Try the Danica scarf at knitty.com. Many have done it, and with good reason: it's gorgeous. 3 alls will make a scarf that's a little over 6 feet long, if you block it. It even looks pretty unblocked. And a few folks I know put pompoms on the ends!

You know, I had always thought SWS was too scratchy, but after all this talk about it on this blog, I gave some the once over at the craft store last week... it's softer than I remember. I didn't buy it but now I'm rethinking that decision, because those colors are gorgeous. The geranium...droool... surely I have a 40% coupon somewhere?

can i just say that you ladies crack me the fuck up? would that be rude? what with your shit stitch and all?

I have some of the Patons Soy Wool in Natural Geranium and decided that I really wanted to make some felted coasters out of it... So here I am knitting along...la la la... And a little way into it I notice that it looks like a breast because of the colors: it starts with a dark pink center, then comes the lighter pink, followed by the light brown. And then, well, the very center pink part kinda stands up a little on its own, just to enhance the effect. So, all, new ideas for your friends: a set of felted nipple coasters!

I am a horribly tight knitter also. My mom knits so loose it fascinates me. I also use a 10 or 11 for things others use 8 or 9 for. I try so hard to knit looser, but it only lasts for a few seconds and then something distracts me.

Oh the "shit stitch"--I know it well. Hee, hee, hee!

I've taught lots of knitters, and I have found two main ways that cause them to knit tightly. First, they work the stitch on the right needle at the tip, then push it back. When you do that, the "cuff" at the base of the stitch keeps the stitch at the same size it was when it was just knitted. So knit by ending the stitch farther down on the needle, where the cuff is around what is now a bigger stitch. The second way is that some knitters give a little unconscious tug after every single stitch. It tightens up the stitches (and is really inefficient too). I usually am very cruel with these people to get them to break the habit and tell them, "You just tugged" after every single time they tug. (I am so much fun to be around when I teach.) A lot of people who knit tightly are perfectionists, and with these people, I add a trick question: Why are tight stitches so much better? And finally, if all else fails, just buy bigger needles!

Fianna, there are some learn-to-knit books that have directions for lefties in them, I've seen them in yarn shops and craft stores like Michael's, AC Moore) usually as a special section for a general learn-to book (and it may say so on the cover). But a left-handed friend of mine who knits right-handed reminded me that lefties are far more used to doing things with their right hand than right-handed people are to doing stuff with their left. She's a right-handed thrower, doesn't do continental which you would think would be easier for her. Left- or right-handed, the right way is the way that works best for you. It's all good. Remember, only left-handed people are in their right minds.

and Laurie, we come here for your writing, pictures, and unique outlook on life, which sometimes includes knitting, and sometimes doesn't. I gather your book will be the same, some knitting content but NOT a knitting book per se. I WILL stop talking er, posting now.

you stopped drinking this month?! ooooh, do tell more!

I tried knitting on a plane this past week...talk about the "shit stitch!" It looks like I had one too many glasses of wine when I sat down to stitch...and bitch. Plus the other passengers were giving me the stink eye! I mean, really - these are folks who whipped out their blackberries and cell phones BEFORE we were cleared for such techmological nonsense after landing. And they were glaring at my weapons of mass destruction...I mean knitting needles? Get real, folks!

Smokey Joe, you crack me up.

You kinda remind me of the ex-hubby who used to hang out in Lesbian Chatrooms with a female screenname.

Only you gots the balls to hang out here with your real name.

Way to go, dude!

Well, bless their fuzzie little hearts! The little darlings! (Mine do the same thing with my projects!

What lovely assistants you have!

I just discovered your blog this past weekend and am enjoying it immensely. Thanks for sharing the fun!

*
.. sobakowa is smiling !

*

curious - are you able to be updated whenever you sell another book on amazon? i wondered how many you were up to now ;o)

Hannah -- Nipple coasters! The gift for the woman who has everything! That was Diet-Pepsi-Coming-Out-The-Nose LOL Worthy.

that's a beautiful colourway! let us know how it goes!

That SWS is so pretty. Reminds me of Noro, but softer. But will it felt, I wonder, with the soy content? I'll guess you'll show us.

Scarf ideas -- have you considered the chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts? It's gorgeous when knit with two contrasting variegated yarns. I've started one and have blogged about it here: http://tinyurl.com/3dwlz5

Enjoy the knitting, whether it be loose or tight!

Yes, SWS does felt and quite nicely. I made 'felted coasters' for a male friend and he loved them. I did too and had a hard time giving them away.

They may be tight, but they're also gorgeously even.

i thought they were hot water bottle covers but then I thought why would you need one in LA?!!

You know what I love about your blog? You are just a normal person who uses normal knitting words that we all can understand!

And - at Michael's when I looked at the Natural Deranium but decided I really should put off buying 6 balls of it (because I now love it so much) until I get my carpal tunnel surgery done and can actually knit again instead of just building up the stash yarn - they had a swatch of the SWS in stockinette and then a swatch that was labelled "felted" - so......

I meant Natural Geranium! OOPS!

It is incredibly hard to believe that you knit that on 10.5s. I do believe you, it's just hard. Lovely colorway!

WOW!! I don't know how you can knit that tightly without your hands hurting. The hat is beautiful though. I love that yarn.