Comments on: how I knit

By: nakia

nakia — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:22:22 +0000

Do you have to concentrate on relaxing your wrists for that speed? I knit the same way but I tense up when picking up that kind of speed. Very impressive.

By: JeanTownsend

JeanTownsend — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:38:52 +0000

that is the same way i knit. it is like throwing but with my left finger. i have never seen anyone else knit that way.

By: Judi P in Cleveland

Judi P in Cleveland — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:32:34 +0000

I’m in the process of switching from English to Continental for basically the same reasons with the additional point that, for my daughter at least, Continental ultimately results in a noticeably more even fabric.

Unfortunately, I’m not having that experience yet. I’m getting rowing-out and every once in a while a random, very-enlarged stitch for no apparent reason. I’m not givng up, though, and I believe that, like with most knitting challenges, stubbornness will out!

Anyhow, I really appreciate your description of how difficult the switch is, and even more your conclusion that it’s worth it.

By the way, I recently took a class from Annie Modisett in her “combined” knitting technique, and I’m adopting her Eastern-style purl (at the same time I switch to Continental, because that wasn’t stressful enough ;-)because I find it a lot easier to execute than the “correct” Continental-style purl. Unfortunately, I think it’s the Eastern-style purl that’s causing my rowing out. Annie explained that both the English and Continental-style purls require a longer path for the yarn to be wrapped around the needle than the corresponding knit stitch, and for many knitters, this causes rowing out in either style. With the Eastern-style purl, the opposite is the case, and the knit rows are actually looser than the purl rows until you get enough practice so that you automatically compensate (which must be what I was doing with my old all-English-all-the-time style, because I’ve never had rowing out before!).

Anyhow, I’m knitting a dozen small squares for a finishing class I’m taking on Sunday sponsored by the local guild, and that’s given me lots of practice. And I’m doing about 10 times more swatching for my next project than I ordinarily would. And it’s getting better! And I’m not giving up!!

By: Kate A.

Kate A. — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:08:33 +0000

Wow, you’re the first person I’ve ever seen who knits exactly like me! Interestingly, I knit that way for pretty much the same reasons you do: I originally learned English as a little kid, then was re-taught to knit Continental, and that combined with traces of my hazy early English habits into exactly the knitting you show here! Complete with all the excess movement of index fingers! I’m fast, too. Glad to know it’s not just me!

By: Nell

Nell — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:17:46 +0000

Watching yourself knit has to be like listening to your own voice. You notice a LOT more than you would otherwise.

I may have to try to learn Continental. I think it will be tough to change but it might be a fun experiment!

By: earthchick

earthchick — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:56:47 +0000

That is so freakin’ cool – WOW you are fast. I knit Continental, but it pretty much looks nothing like how you do it. In fact, it might be more accurate to call it left-handed English or something, I don’t know. But it’s so cool to see how you knit – AND to finally get a glimpse at how you crank out all those beautiful FOs!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:09:26 +0000

You knit at lightning speed! Now I see how you get so many great projects done so quickly. I knit with the yarn in my left hand as well, but it looks nothing like your technique. I am completely self-taught, using a really cruddy “learn to knit” book I picked up.

Love your idea of putting up a video with each FO!

By: leslie

leslie — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:33:04 +0000

you are my hero.
i want to knit as fast as you! damn!!!

By: penny

penny — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:26:25 +0000

though i just read up that there are some issues with imovie ’08 so read up on reviews and things (i’m still in older mac land…)

By: penny

penny — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:24:53 +0000

i knit continential but from my crochet years i never really learned how to wrap the yarn around my fingers so i could go zoom. i figured it out for purling but haven’t quite gotten knit. thank you for posting this (i’ve been trying /not/ to search through youtube) — i may have found a trick or two. :)

i agree, mac/imovie is the easiest/cheapest i’ve found for video editing. imovie is intuitive and lets you do lots of things right out of the box; if i figured it out, anyone can (i’m a complete dork with video/images). i’d love to find something free/open a la gimp but i’m not aware of anything …