My Very Own Yardage Counter!

I have the greatest husband in the world. He also happens to be very handy.

When I told him I really wanted a sturdy yardage counter to go with my ball winder and my yarn swift he came up with this:

It clamps to the table and as you can see, has eye bolts to guide the yarn on its way.

Now I can divide those balls/hanks of yarn for my two at a time projects. Yea!

If you don’t happen to have a handy husband or if you’re not so handy yourself, you can get your very own similar counter at Knit Picks.

‘Static Happy Knitting!

Chart Keeping Tips

Keeping track of your pattern on a chart is something we all run into at some point. I’ve done this several different ways depending on the size of the chart and the projects.

I’m going to show you the “tried and true” and then something new and very handy.

First there’s the metal and magnets cross stitchers, crocheters and knitters have been using for years. Very easy to use. I’ve added the step of slipping the chart keeper and the pattern into a page protector sleeve. This protects the pattern and allows me to make notes or other marks with a dry erase marker to help me on my way.

Next up is a keeper that works the same way but comes in a prettier package, will stand on its own, and closes to half size for convenience and also to protect the pattern.

Finally there’s the method I’ve been using for my current Work In Progress. I’ve been working on a Fair Isle Sampler Poncho using patterns from a book. Rather than make copies of the patterns so I could load them onto one of the above chart keepers, I found this magical thing…. Post It’s by the roll.

I found the “tape” to be a bit too wide so I simply pull out the length I want and cut it in half.

Then I can put the strips directly into the book and move them as I work. No damage to the book. No hassle with making copies.

               

One more note, when I first started doing this, I would only show the row I was working between the strips. Now I show the one I’m working and the one below. It helps me double check my place on the row. Buy yourself some Post It Tape and try it out!

‘Static Happy Knitting!

3 Types of Books Every Knitter Needs

I Love Books. All types of books.

This means I have bought my fair share of Knitting books. I even have the one with patterns to knit your own dog.

But there are three specific types of knitting books that I turn to over and over to get my money’s worth out of them every time. Recipe Books, Stitch Dictionaries, and How To / Tips.

Recipe books teach you how to measure, calculate rows and stitches, and put the parts together for various garments. Like these two for creating Top Down Sweaters:

Stitch Dictionaries are just what the name implies, page after page of various knitting stitches. The two below are excellent examples. The 400 stitch dictionary has everything from basic garter and stockinette stitch to very complicated cables and lace. The 200 Fair Isle Motif book contains patterns from 2 stitches to 30 stitches and an equal number of rows.

How To is also self explanatory. The one below is compact and has answers to most any question that might come up.

I’m sure if you look you will find a few favorites of your own. One last piece of advice, I love Ebooks but most of the time I find I like my knitting books to be of the real paper type. Of course you may feel the exact opposite.

I’d love it if you’d share some of your favorites with me!

‘Static Happy Knitting!

Needles Needles

I’m not a knitting historian but somewhere back in time our knitting ancestors got by just fine with a couple of sharp sticks of about the same diameter. They figured out how big stuff would be using their particular set of needles and their particular tension and even their particular homespun yarn.

Lucky for us all that has changed and we can buy beautiful standardized needles in nearly endless varieties.

Try them. Try them and find the ones you love.

I have knitted with straight aluminum needles, circular aluminum needles, plastic varieties of both and bamboo varieties of both. I have used interchangeable circulars and single sized circulars. I can’t even remember all the brands.

I finally settled on what works for me.

And the winner is . . .

Knit Picks Circulars. (http://knitpicks.com) Single size for those too small to be interchangeable and interchangeable for all the available sizes.

This is a sampling:

I knit everything with these needles. Everything.

First and maybe most important, these needles are affordable. They’re comparable in price to needles you can buy in craft stores. You don’t have to pay a premium to get these high quality needles.

Next, the cables are super flexible which is a big deal when you’re using the magic loop technique.

They have a needle type for every need. I have two complete sets. One set of nickel plated tips for speedy, smooth knitting. One set of rainbow wood tips for those times when you want your needles to “hold” the yarn a little better like cables or lace. I’ve recently picked up a few Sunstruck wood tips just because I think they’re pretty. Ditto the Caspian wood tips. (I can justify the Sunstruck because they’ll provide a little more contrast with darker yarn.)

The quality is great. I knit a lot. Socks, sweaters, scarves, blankets, hats, and on it goes. I’ve never replaced a tip. I’ve had one cable break at the joint from wear which wasn’t a big deal because the replacement cables are not expensive.

Which brings me to my next point. The cables come in any length you need and the price means having multiple options won’t break your bank.

I said I knit everything on circulars and I do. I don’t need to have straights, DPNs and circulars when I can do the job with circulars alone. Learning the Magic Loop technique changed my life. Really. Find a video on YouTube and learn it. Knit Picks Tutorial  It’ll change your life too.