Knerdy Knitting
where spelling isn't as important as awesome

So a few weekends ago my friend Erin agreed to help me with a photo shoot. The LYS Fiber Nooks & Crannies asked to display my knitting! I chose eight or so garments from across my knitting career, from my first socks made early last year to the headband I finished the day before. One of my favorites is Tubey, a Knitty pattern by Cassie Rovitti. It has a really interesting construction; knit a flat panel for your back, attach a tube on each side for your arms and another tube at the bottom for your body. There’s almost no shaping, but the rib pulls it in just enough to look good.   (I did add hip shaping however.  My ass is a mighty force indeed.)  I did it in bold colors (which is subversive knitting but I’ll save that discussion for another day) with a now discontinued angora yarn. So not only is it fuzzy and warm, it also looks quite fetching. But because of the construction, you don’t see how nice it looks when it’s on the hanger.

Enter Erin and her photography skillz! She took pictures of me in all the garmets I wanted to display, including Tubey.  Here’s just a few.

Inspired by the Ravelry group Ply-By-Night, some of us at Corvallis Ravelers decided to have a spin-a-long using wool from Bellwether Wool Company. (Whew! That’s a lot of links!)

Here’s how it worked: we each got the same 4 oz of roving (2 oz of aqua, 1 oz of blue, and 1 oz of lime green) and then secretly, under cover of darkness, spun it up any way we pleased. The goal was to see how different people could start with the same roving and get wildly different yarns.

I decided to card my roving with hand carders, just barely mixing the colors. I mixed half the the aqua with the green and then the other half of the aqua with the blue. Here are a few photos of the process.

I then spun two singles, one from each of the mixes. I spun fairly loosely (as is my tendency) using a long draw. This, along with the carding, made for super fuzzy yarn.

I then plied the singles to create a balanced yarn. I believe I described it at Knit Night as “cat yak,” and I’m sticking to that. Not pleased with the results at all. But maybe with the right project it will look lovely. Here’s hoping!

An Essay in Three Parts

Part the First:  Nerd

Like most slang, the word “nerd” has no firm definition. It means different things depending on the location and age of the speaker. So perhaps the definition I will give here is more of an explanation, and it is important to know that it is coming from a twenty something living on the west coast of the United States.

“Nerd” has two sister words, “geek” and “dork.” Together they describe a certain subset of the population that doesn’t fit with mainstream expectations. “Dorks” are the most socially awkward of the the three. They are inadvertently rude, or speak in non sequiturs, or give too much personal information. They are clumsy and drop things. They dance in particularly unappealing ways. They may not have adequate personal hygiene. Dork is the most insulting of the three, and is rarely used positively.

Geek is the least insulting the three. It has widely been reclaimed as a mark of pride in one’s intense specific knowledge. Traditional geeks are knowledgeable in the hard sciences and mathematics or literature based on the hard sciences and mathematics. But the term can describe those passionately interested in any subject, including the soft sciences, music, film, and food. Geeks may have been ostracized as children for their interests and consequently poorly socialized. This is not an requirement, however. Geeks band together as adults, rejoicing in shared information about their favorite topic.

What, then, is a nerd? Nerds are so detail oriented that they have trouble functioning socially. They like facts, numbers, and statistics. This allows them to do very well in traditional academic systems, which in turn may lead to negative social interactions as a youngster. They are the most naturally logical of the three, but because they don’t see the bigger picture logic is not always to their advantage. Nerds do not understand insinuation, often have trouble with irony, and don’t take hints. “Nerd” is an insult, but can also be used as a friendly reminder to not be so myopic.

We now have half our definition.  Knerdy knitting is awkward, goofy,  intense, out of context, or just plain strange to the other kids.

Me:  Hi Dad, how’s it going?

Dad:  Oh, fine.  Anything new and exciting with you?

Me:  Mostly I’ve been working on a baby sweater.

Dad:  For you?

Me:  No, for a baby.

Dad: I mean, for your baby.

Me: *flashes of horror at the thought of being pregnant* NO!  It’s for a friend’s baby!

In Dad’s defense, this was shortly after I gained twenty pounds, left grad school, and started knitting like a fiend.  So in his world view, I am clearly going to have a baby.

Sometimes I forget that knitting has cultural connotations.  And that others, even those closest to me, will make incorrect assumptions about who I am because of my knitting.  Knitting is old fashioned, and so they may assume I am traditional in other ways.  Knitting is a time consuming and costly way to obtain clothing, and so they may assume that I am rich and have a great deal of leisure time.  Knitting is the work of grandmothers, and so they may assume that I’m a nurturing, mothering, femme woman.

But knitting is just a tool, a technique.  It’s pulling loops of string through other loops of string using two sticks.  All these values come from the observers, not from the knitting itself.  Knitting can be anything.  It can be a statement against mass produced, mass marketed clothing.  It can be a medium for showing love and protective feelings.  It can be a way to kill time.   These are the meanings I find in my knitting.  Luckily for me, knitting is a creative processes that produces socks, not infants.

It was hard to come up with a topic for this Project Friday.  Not because I haven’t been completeing projects — I think I’ve finished three different gifts in the last week — but because I haven’t been excited about any of the projects.  I already talked about the Dr Horrible wristers.  I already talked about the Snowflake hat.  (Which I really should rename because we all know snowflakes don’t have four points like the pattern has, but I digress.)  The only other projects I’ve been working on are a pair of Fetching and a very plain stockinette sock.  All in jewel tones and cool browns and purples.  Very appropriate to the time of year, and no doubt stylishly suited to the recipiants.

But.

I was getting tired out them.  So I started swatching some of my early handspun.  It’s from Abstract Fibers, in the fantastic colorway Chartreuse.  It’s all orange and rust and yellow and green.  I love it.  I love it so much I luff it.  With two Fs.  But I’m not casting anything new on until I finished my Christmas presents.  So I’m *swatching*, not knitting.

Ok, fine.  I’m knitting.  It’s so beautiful!  Even though I only have a few inches, I really enjoy knitting it and squishing it and petting it.  The pattern is the Yarn Harlot’s One Row Handspun Scarf, which works perfectly for the fluffy handspun yarn.

There are several conclusions we may draw from this.  One, that I need to be working on a project just for me sometimes.  I am not a completely charitable knitter.  Two, that I don’t knit just to turn out projects.  I am happiest when I enjoy the yarn I’m working with.  And three, that it may shock my sixteen-year-old self, but I like autumn colors more than winter colors.  Be still my screaming gothy heart.

My path to becoming a capital K Knitter was festooned with socks.  You see, although I learned how to knit when I was eight or nine, I didn’t become a Knitter for many, many years.  Many years.  Even when friends around me were knitting, I still only made a modest effort to pick up the pointy sticks.  One such friend is Erin, who is a fabulous, crafty badass.  She was knitting multicolored socks when I was trying to figure out why my acrylic bag wasn’t felting.  (Note to self: find ginormous acrylic bag and post photos.)  Those socks were beautiful, knit on tiny needles, and I remember thinking that there was no way I could ever do something that detailed and elegant.

Another such friend is Kim, whose awesomeness is a trapdoor spider.  She stayed with my roommates and I one year to go to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon.  I mentioned to her that I knew how to knit, but that I’d need lessons because “what I really want to make are socks.”  She jumped for a pad of paper to sketch out how easy sock making is and that I wouldn’t need lessons or even a pattern because here’s how you do it.  Somehow this did not dispel the sock mystique.

I did end up taking a sock class, taught by the wicked smart Leslie Verts.  I’m pretty sure that most of the sock construction tips in this continuing series come from her, but I know them so well now that I don’t remember learning them.  I hope you find them helpful!

Sock Tip #1: How to Avoid Wearing Through Your Socks Quickly

I’m tough on store bought socks, so I knew when I began to make socks that this would be an issue.  Luckily, there are several things you can do to keep wear at bay.

One option is not to wear the socks.  Just look at them.  Don’t put them on your feet.

Another option is to make the socks out of wool with a tight twist, spun worsted if you’re really getting into it.  It’s a sad truth that softer, squishier yarns don’t wear as well.  They get all pilly, and then you want to pull off the little pills, and even if you don’t they become full of holes.  An added bonus to making socks out of tighter, rougher yarn is that it makes option one easier.

A third option is to look for yarn that has a nylon content.  Nylon wears better than wool.  This may affect the yarn’s softness and/or squishiness.  If you are already set on a pure wool yarn, you can carry nylon reenforcing thread along with the pure wool yarn.  This is particularly useful in the heel and toe sections of the socks.  Be warned, however, that this method is controversial.  Some will say that the nylon thread wears a little too well, that it cuts through the softer wool like an egg cutter through hardboileds.  Others will retort that this may be true, but that you’ll need to darn the socks eventually and it is much easier if they have a framework of nylon stitches in all the holes.

A fourth option, my personal favorite, is to work the heels and toes on smaller needles.  This creates a denser fabric that resists wear.  But it can be depressing if you are already using size US 0 needles.

Lastly, you can work the heel in a stitch other than stockinette.  Look for something thicker and denser.  Garter stitch is a simple alternative.  My favorite is this two row method:

Row 1:  *s1, k1, repeat from * to end

Row 2:  s1, purl to end

That’s it!  Tune in later for Sock Tip #2: Avoiding that Little Hole at the Top of the Heel Flap!

It’s knerdy, it’s knitting!

I may be the last one on the interweb to learn about this, but it has completely eaten my brain. The site ChoreWars is designed to motivate children with their household chores. It works like an RPG for your housework. If you empty the dishwasher, for example, your character gains xp and gold and has a chance of fighting a monster and finding special treasures. You get to enter in you individualized chores and the rewards for completing them. Innocent and dorky, yes?

It was until the knitters got a hold of it. Specifically, the ones over at LimenViolet. Now you get xp for winding a skein! Dyeing for 30 minutes! Learning a new technique! I’m totally into it. And my lady YarnViking has been eating up the levels. Now I no longer have to choose between computer games and fiber arts! This is the coolest advance in computer gaming technology since I discovered I can knit IRL while tanning hides in LOTRO. (Crafting while you’re crafting totally rocks.)

Thick woolly hats are a wonderful thing, but not when you are trying to wear a bike helmet at the same time. Since my mom rides her bike to work almost every day, knitting a bike helmet liner for her made tons of sense. This hat is thin and machine washable, and the double thickness of the fair isle design keeps it snug and warm. At least that’s the plan.

Now that I have entered the 21st century, I have a PDF of this pattern also available.

Materials
Two balls of Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby DK Solid (acrylic and nylon), one in white (A) and one in black (B)
Set of five US 6 dpns
Five stitch markers, one of them different to mark the beginning of a round
(Note: This pattern only takes about 75g of yarn, so you will have lots left over.)

Gauge: 6 stitches and 7 rows to 1 inch

Snowflake Pattern

(White squares = knit with A, Black squares = knit with B)

Decorative Round

*k1 with B, k1 with A, repeat from * until end of round

Directions

Cast on 120 stitches in A color. (Be careful these stitches are loose. I used a long tail cast on over two dpns held together.) Arrange the stitches on four dpns such that there are 30 stitches per needle. Place end of round marker one stitch from the end of the fourth needle. Join, being careful not to twist stitches.

Work five rounds in three by three rib, then knit five rounds.

Work decorative round.

Knit three rounds in A.

Work the next eleven rounds from Snowflake Pattern chart, repeating the chart twelve times around the hat.

Knit three rounds in A.

Work decorative round.

Knit five rounds in A. On the last of these round, place a marker every 24 stitches.

Work a five pointed decrease as follows:
*Knit to within three stitches of a marker, k2tog, k1, repeat from * until there are just two stitches between markers. Then k2tog around. Five stitches remain.

Cut yarn and draw throw the five stitches twice. Weave in ends and block as desired.

This is a pattern from one of the first books I purchased, Exquisite Little Knits. It turns out there weren’t that many patterns in that book that I want to make, but this one really jumped out at me. It uses a technique called “double knitting” in the book, but I’ve also seen it called “double sided knitting.” The idea is that you knit all the odd stitches in one color and purl all the even stitches in another. If you don’t tangle the two working yarns, you end up with two entirely separate pieces of fabric.

In this scarf, you have alternating sections of double knitting and knitting both colors together. This makes a long pocket down through the double knitting section. The pattern itself is quite simple and elegant, but there’s a really cool trick that give the pattern its name. You cast on with both colors held together. Then when you begin the double knitting, you still use the entire held-together cast on stitches. That is, even though you are now using just one strand of yarn, you knit through both of the strands used to make the cast on stitch. This makes the edge of the work pucker a little bit, which makes a very pretty scalloped edge. You can just barely see it in the bottom of the photo above. The scallops are supposed to look like waves in a blue scarf, but since mine is green I guess I should rename it. Wind in the Trees, maybe?

I’m really happy with how this scarf turned out, but it was very slow going. To speed things up I began to hold one color in each hand like I was doing fair isle. This took a while to build up the muscles in my left hand. And even though I used all the yarn I had, it makes a very short scarf. And since this line of yarn is discontinued, I can’t get more to make it longer. So, even though double knitting takes up a lot of yarn, but it is very warm. I wore this scarf all around London, and it was the perfect caulking in between my sweater and my beret.

I learned pretty much all I know about spinning at OFFF. One thing I noticed in particular was that the veteran spinners would spin a single, wind it off the bobbin into a center pull ball, and then ply the two ends of the ball together. Ta da! You don’t need to worry about having more on one bobbin you’re plying from. You always end exactly in the middle! I had to try this.

I’ve experimented with various ways of creating my own center pull balls. They have almost all failed miserably. Or at least in a tangled mess. But I got a new toy…. a wool winder! I’ve seen them work! They make magic center pull balls! I’ve seen it! How hard can it be?

Setting the Stage

Here are my weapons: a wool winder, Cynthia, and a slightly smelly single of mohair spun from the lock. I will use them to make yarn! I hope.

Step One: Spin a Single

Done and done. It’s some of my first spinning, and so dreadfully underspun. It barely hangs together. But I was so proud that I could spin thin! And I still love how it smells — a little like a goat dipped in Kool Aid. Funny that.

Step Two: ????

So I put the bobbin on Cynthia, strapped down the wool winder, and went to work. Getting a wool winder to, say, wind wool isn’t as easy as it would at first seem. The wool kept catching on the bottom disk and twisting around the base of the unit instead of around the post. And somehow I ended up with…. two center pull balls? On top of each other? Did I try to wind too much at once? I don’t think that’s it. Further study is clearly necessary.

Step Three: Profit!!

Now, to ply the yarn. I cut the mushroom into a top and bottom to make things easier. It’s actually really easy to ply from a ball like this. You sort of slip your index finger through the center of the ball and hold the outside loosely, rolling your wrist in a figure eight. And the ball doesn’t fall apart or get tangled! It’s awesome!

So that’s my 2-ply experiment. I think it yielded interesting results and merits further investigation at a later date.