I am trying to be a conscientious knitter.
I'm not sure what I mean by that, except that I have three WIPs on the go, and I am trying to talk myself out of casting on a fourth.
I've been reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's book, The Secret Life of a Knitter. As you might imagine, it is a book consisting mainly of essays on different aspects of her life as a knitter. Meg Swansen (daughter of the late knitting guru Elizabeth Zimmerman -- and if you don't know who that is, shame on you!) said it best, in a pithy quote printed on the back of the book:
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee turns both typical and unique knitting experiences into very funny and articulate prose.Typical and unique.
Not all of what she's written is funny, and that's a good thing. There are some strong doses of pathos in there. And not all of what she's written is typical. Thank goodness every knitter does not feel the unreasonable loathing for crochet that this woman does. And the story of her friend with the wool allergy makes my skin crawl -- simply because I cannot imagine a person who would behave as obnoxiously as Ms McPhee cheerfully describes herself behaving in this chapter.
Anyway, where was I?
Trying to talk myself out of casting on a new project (my first sock!) before finishing one of the other WIPs I have on the go. In reading SPM's book, I suddenly realize that three projects is nothing! My pitiful stash is nothing! (Compared to her, that is.)
Actually I like my pitiful stash. I got some more on the weekend. I needed something to knit socks out of, and Lens Mill has all Lily Chin yarn on sale for an additional 40% off. Considering that most sock yarn they have at Lens Mill runs at around $10-15 per one sock, $16 for 4 balls of Chelsea (that I can definitely knit two socks out of) doesn't seem so bad. Of course, if I got myself to Cloth and Clay in Waterloo, I'd have a wider selection of sock yarn. (I probably wouldn't find a better bargain, of course, just more choice.)
I had to cast on anyway. I used the five-needle method (which looks like four needles, but you use the spare to knit with, of course) shown in the Lime and Violet sock tutorial.
But that didn't work for me.
So I tried using the four-needle method given in Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks.
I got farther with that, but I'm still here now, back where I started, with a ball of yarn, several DPNs, and no sock on the needles.
So that's where I'm at.
4 comments:
Dude, I don't mind criticism, I really don't, but I like it to come with a dose of accuracy.
Perhaps you noted the title of the crochet piece? "Sour Grapes"? Tongue firmly in cheek my friend, firmly. (I was just preaching the benefits of crochet from my blog last week, and I've been known to crochet when necessary, although I do suck at it.) As for Sineads wool allergy, did you read where her only symptom was that she thought it was itchy? I assure you, I don't think Anaphylaxis is funny. Someone confusing finding wool a little itchy and not even coming up with a rash, and confusing that with a true allergy? That's fair game in the humour market.
Remember. Humour book. Humour books come into being with creativity, ideas, concepts and translation. The stories within a humour book are not tablets of divine truth brought down from Mount Sinai.
Hello, thanks for your comment on my blog. I'm so thrilled.
I get humour, and exaggeration in aid of humour. And I loved The Secret Life of a Knitter (except for the two parts I mentioned). Really.
Believe it or not, what I said is not criticism of you (maybe your writing, a little bit, but not you). "I cannot imagine a person who would behave as obnoxiously as Ms McPhee cheerfully describes herself behaving in this chapter" can be read in a number of ways. I don't know what really happened. I have only your "humorous" version -- which, as soon as it got into the territory of lying to someone so you could force woollens on them, ceased to be funny -- to me.
I haven't read every single thing you've ever written -- yet. (I'm working on it.) All I have to go on regarding your attitude to crochet is what I found in the book The Secret Life of a Knitter. I was fresh from reading Ravelry forums where crocheters bemoan the general bias they encounter in the knitting world, and then I read your chapter saying (meant humorously, no doubt) that knitters would never produce something as awful as a Southern Belle toilet roll cover. Dude! Have you seen some of the stuff that people KNIT in the name of children's toys? Fair's fair! (I find it kind of telling that your comment seeks to instill accuracy into my assessment, and here I am trying to instill accuracy into yours. We are on the same page, no?)
By the way, I loved the chapter where you wrote about your grandmother. And the chapter about your friend Lene was truly masterful. My third favourite was "I Can Do That", where your description of the contrast in attitudes was spot on. Despite having started knitting only 4 months ago, I already have two of your books in my library. I'll be buying more, as I find them.
I get the humour. Really.
dude, did she seriously refer to you as dude???
bsts
BSTS, it appears to be so. Perhaps it's a compliment?
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