So Many Things To Say About Knitting (And Something for Everyone!)

For starters, here's what I've decided to knit (for the second time):

Indicum Pullover by Hilary Smith Callis

I made it about a year ago and the only thing I don't like about it is the yarn I used. Remember this stuff? Um, it pills like a bitch and the colour scheme is iffy. Honestly, I've never experienced yarn that is more pill than stitch.

Please tell me (because I'm feeling a bit concerned) that this colour combo is going to channel a totally different vibe than my last version:

My circular swatch in Quince Finch... (I realize it doesn't look like a tube here...)

These are the colours I'll use:

Finch in Petal

Finch in Twig

It's been months since I've knit with wool?! I've been working with cotton/bamboo, linen, silk... It feels utterly odd to have pure wool on the needles. People, wool is SO SPRINGY! I mean, it recovers like a coil, not that it's in any way reminiscent of spring, alas.

What is it with me and the browns, when it comes to this sweater. I'm not really into brown, though I do feel that the cool pink of the petal offsets it beautifully and I also don't think of Twig as a brown. It's more like a mushroom tone so let's call it a true neutral.

I bought this yarn specifically to remake the Indicum and, it occurred to me, if I really don't want to reinvent the wheel (aka spend a lot of time fitting), I should do what I aimed to. Hilariously, my knitting tension has changed so much in the last year, I might as well be knitting a different sweater.

About Knitting Tension (which is so dependent on other factors)...

What factors are these? Well, namely knitting style and (weirdly) needle length. I'm not speaking of the gauge of the needle, but of the proportions of needle to cable (I always work with circulars) and the length of that cable. The shorter the cable in relation to the work, the tighter the gauge - at least for me.

Y'all know I switched up my knitting style last year. I now flick (a right-handed method that maximizes efficiency of movement) rather than throw (regular British-style wherein ones right hand leaves the needle to wrap the yarn). It's impossible for me to quantify this (cuz I haven't bothered), but I'd estimate my speed has increased in the degree of 30%. This method is also so ergonomic that I rarely experience any muscular tension as a result of long knitting sessions. I highly recommend it!

Of course, knitting methods are as individual as the knitters who use them. I say, give a knitter some needles and yarn, and you'll see every method you could have (or couldn't have) imagined in your wildest dreams.

I have tried Continental (left-handed) knitting a few times and, while I can swing the knit stitch (with weird tension) the purl stitch continues to elude me. Mind you, I've got a great groove going with flicking.

However, my knitting has gone from uber-loose to, um, in the realm of moderate-tight. I've been knitting with very slippery yarns this summer so the full impact of my tighter gauge did not make itself known till I made the swatch (above).

Last time I made this sweater, I didn't get gauge on the recommended needle size (my stitches were larger / the sweater would be looser). This time, I've had to go up a needle size - and I still wont' get gauge, cuz my stitches are relatively tighter than the recommended gauge. That's a pretty bizarre shift.

In order to ensure I'm going to get the size I need - and the fabric I prefer - I may actually have to knit on a larger needle than recommended?! Given that I'm the girl who usually goes down 2 needle sizes to approach recommended gauge, that's bizarre. In general, I do prefer my new tension - it creates a more knowable finished product and one the fabric of which appeals to me more. But it's never helpful to be at either extreme. I suppose this could be a momentary thing?

About That Swatch (Above) and How New Knitting Styles Facilitate My Work:

The swatch above shows double-stranded knitting (colour-work). Those who can work 2 colours of yarn do so in a variety of ways. Previously, because I threw the yarn (hand comes off the needle) and I couldn't work in both left-handed and right-handed styles, my only recourse was to drop one colour strand when I'd pick up another (all done with right hand in throwing style). However, when I learned to flick (and the hand doesn't leave the needle), I realized that I was half way to being able to work both colours without having to drop one strand. Alas, it involved learning how to Continentally knit (left-handed, hand doesn't leave the needle) for one yarn strand while flicking, for the other yarn strand.

The net result is that each strand of yarn is worked by a different hand, to improve efficiency. (FWIW, it takes a long time to pick up and drop each strand (my former way)... And it's SUPER fussy.)

But seriously, to knit 2 ways at the same time, with two different threads, takes a wholesale shift in brainwaves. You really have to stop thinking and just work.

Long story longer, I can produce a knit stitch (though not well) with my left hand but I still cannot purl left-handedly. I can, however, purl with my right hand (happily I can do it all with my right hand). To clarify, most of the time, when one does colour-work, one knits only. You tend to work in stockinette stich, in the round, so all the stitches are knit stitches. However, this sweater's colour-work is in RIB, specifically K2, P1. So, in creating the fabric I have to knit with one hand and purl with the other. Yes, it is harder and I can't choose which hand I'd prefer to do which action. Currently, I can only purl right-handedly and knit left-handedly.

I know that flicking has facilitated my ability to perform colour-work in a new style because the way one holds the yarn in the right hand, while flicking, is not dissimilar to the way one holds the yarn in Continental-style. So my brain has developed some plasticity which I'm applying to my (much less amenable) left hand. I can see a time when I might be able to do Continental knitting quite well.

So, that's today's news. What do you think of the colours I'm using for the Indicum? What do you think of the Indicum? How do you perform colour-work? Let's talk!

Pick or Throw?

In my endless quest to knit better - which is to say more efficiently and more ergonomically and (ahem) more quickly - I've begun to look into different methodologies.

Those of you who don't knit might be bored out of your mind to learn that there are 2 predominant schools: picking (aka Continental or German or Left-Handed) and throwing (English aka British or Right-Handed).

Apparently, English knitting is the more popular North American style. Continental is the style most Europeans use (except some British, who learned from those who were quite political about using the English method, particularly during the War).

I learned the English method as a teenager, when I practiced the art for all of 3 weeks, and promptly forgot everything. When I began knitting again in April of this year, I automatically reverted to this method which, intriguingly, came back to me very quickly. I find my tension even and I am rather fast. Note: I'm a proficient typist and the kind of dextrous, obsessive compulsive sort who grooves easily with the handwork of knitting. I also get a shitload of practice.

As you know, this fall I've undertaken a stupid goal - the knitting or baking of all my Xmas items (or purchase of the odd few on Etsy). Mainly, I'm knitting, which means I spend every moment that's not earmarked for work or sleep doing some sort of project.

My back hurts. It's tight as a body-builder's and the tension is squeezing up into my neck and head. I am often in a lot of pain lately. I mean, I'm no stranger to headaches (which are the result of muscular tension), but this is out of control. I've actually done relatively little knitting this week because I just can't manage the pain I'm already in - never mind whether or not the knitting is actually contributing to the problem. I have to assume it is.

Note: I do yoga to assist me in staying limber and to undercut the pain, but it's barely scratching the surface at this point.

Long story short, I don't imagine I will be knitting in this volume again. But what to do about the 3 gift projects I've got left (and my own work, going forward)? It occurred to me I should learn Continental style.

Apparently Continental knitting is more ergonomic, more efficient (because it requires less broad movement), easier for lefties and the method that the fastest of all knitters use (except for wacky-ass Cottage knitting - scroll down to see the awesome video in Mardel's post).

I've spent the day learning and, so far, I have to say it's not so fabulous. No knitting is more left- than right-handed IMO, because knitting requires both hands and both sides of the brain. I'm an ambidextrous leftie - I do almost everything other than write, predominantly right-handedly - so maybe it's not surprising that "right-handed" knitting is easier for me. Of course, maybe it's just what I'm used to. Intriguingly, it's the left side of my back that's really struggling. And when one knits English-style, it's the right side that really gets the workout by "throwing" they yarn over the right needle in the action of creating the stitch. I should mention, there's a lot of fluidity to the action when you get into the groove. It's not all willy-nilly, as the term implies.

Today I also learned from Katy that one can knit English-style without actually throwing the yarn. I'm intrigued to learn more about this. Is it known as "lever-style" (something I found while digging around on the net for a few minutes earlier today)? Can anyone point me in the direction of a video that shows this style?

But enough about me. Whatch'all do when you knit? English? Continental? Some other fringe method I've never heard of? Any thoughts or feelings about pain when knitting? About the type of tension or speed you achieve when doing one method over another? Please share!