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Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 01:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
afunaI've been volunteering as a pattern tester over at the Free Pattern Testers group in Ravelry, and while my two experiences thus far have been lovely, I am beginning to feel the blah of being obligated to meet deadlines, so I'm promising myself that won't volunteer for anything unless it's:
1.) a hat AND
2.) it has no cables AND
3.) I'm absolutely head over heels in love with it
(I kinda want to say yes to arm warmers / gloves too, but there's the dreaded second-sock syndrome, so.)
Mostly though... these days, while knitting, I find myself wondering what would happen if I were to tweak $x ever so slightly, or add $y or remove $z or adjust or... YOU KNOW, and with the deadline plus the fact that I'm knitting to test other people's designs rather than to make any random finished product for myself, I can't indulge!
So here's to indulgence (and a copy of Debbie Stoller's Stitch N' Bitch Superstar Knitting); hopefully after this current project I can indulge myself more :-)
I don't know what's up with me and knitting/crocheting these days though. Right now I have ten projects in progress, only one of which is because I don't have enough yarn. About a third of what's remaining are suffering from second $stuff syndrome, and the rest are things like a tank top where I need straps, or scarves I'm saving for when I'm in queue or... mmm. I guess when I look at them as a bunch they look like a lot, but each project has a reason for not being finished so :D
There's only one in there that I absolutely hate. I started it because I thought it would be quick to knit up in a bulky yarn and huge needles, but the yarn feels like it's actively fighting me. It makes me want to bite something.
Meanwhile, my crochet learning continues. I've decided to space things out a bit by doing only crochet at my LYS where it's easy to turn to people when I get myself into trouble (:D), and doing only knitting at home when I'm trying to relax or need to zone out.
Because I'm only at my LYS rarely, the crochet project is going really slowly, but that's okay: better than stopping completely (which it would if I were at home. I've done knitting for much longer, so it's a lot easier, and it's a lot more tempting to turn to knitting when I'm relaxing, rather than struggle with learning crochet). However! Last time I was at the LYS I got into the zone and the motions for sc and dc started feeling natural which *fistpump* yay! Apparently it helps that I'm using appropriately sized needles and that I occasionally switch the way I'm holding my needle to reduce the stress on my wrists.
Things I want to try next in knitting:
* Travelling Loop (one-circular; variant on magic loop, with less adjustments required)
* some form of color-knitting, using the tips that I'm picking up from books to hopefully make it easier
* playing with the effects of various increases and decreases
* um. stuff. anything. everything. stuff!
I have at least tried out the interlock bind-off from the latest knitty; it's pretty interesting, and also really flexible! Not very pretty, but since I think it's going more for invisible and useful than pretty that's all right.
1.) a hat AND
2.) it has no cables AND
3.) I'm absolutely head over heels in love with it
(I kinda want to say yes to arm warmers / gloves too, but there's the dreaded second-sock syndrome, so.)
Mostly though... these days, while knitting, I find myself wondering what would happen if I were to tweak $x ever so slightly, or add $y or remove $z or adjust or... YOU KNOW, and with the deadline plus the fact that I'm knitting to test other people's designs rather than to make any random finished product for myself, I can't indulge!
So here's to indulgence (and a copy of Debbie Stoller's Stitch N' Bitch Superstar Knitting); hopefully after this current project I can indulge myself more :-)
I don't know what's up with me and knitting/crocheting these days though. Right now I have ten projects in progress, only one of which is because I don't have enough yarn. About a third of what's remaining are suffering from second $stuff syndrome, and the rest are things like a tank top where I need straps, or scarves I'm saving for when I'm in queue or... mmm. I guess when I look at them as a bunch they look like a lot, but each project has a reason for not being finished so :D
There's only one in there that I absolutely hate. I started it because I thought it would be quick to knit up in a bulky yarn and huge needles, but the yarn feels like it's actively fighting me. It makes me want to bite something.
Meanwhile, my crochet learning continues. I've decided to space things out a bit by doing only crochet at my LYS where it's easy to turn to people when I get myself into trouble (:D), and doing only knitting at home when I'm trying to relax or need to zone out.
Because I'm only at my LYS rarely, the crochet project is going really slowly, but that's okay: better than stopping completely (which it would if I were at home. I've done knitting for much longer, so it's a lot easier, and it's a lot more tempting to turn to knitting when I'm relaxing, rather than struggle with learning crochet). However! Last time I was at the LYS I got into the zone and the motions for sc and dc started feeling natural which *fistpump* yay! Apparently it helps that I'm using appropriately sized needles and that I occasionally switch the way I'm holding my needle to reduce the stress on my wrists.
Things I want to try next in knitting:
* Travelling Loop (one-circular; variant on magic loop, with less adjustments required)
* some form of color-knitting, using the tips that I'm picking up from books to hopefully make it easier
* playing with the effects of various increases and decreases
* um. stuff. anything. everything. stuff!
I have at least tried out the interlock bind-off from the latest knitty; it's pretty interesting, and also really flexible! Not very pretty, but since I think it's going more for invisible and useful than pretty that's all right.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-18 10:47 pm (UTC)Maybe the change of seasons is having an effect? But even if not, it's no sin to have UFO's and it's never bad to turn them back into yarn if the FO isn't anything you even want anymore. But don't bite things, especially if you're thinking of biting the yarn. Biting yarn leaves you with fuzzy teeth. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2011-04-26 08:30 am (UTC)I had a chance to try travelling loop, and it's a lot easier on the cord than regular magic loop! It's just a bit more finicky than two circulars, but will do nicely in a pinch when there's only one needle on hand (or all other needles have been eaten up by UFOs, oops), so I'm quite happy with it.
Oooh now there's a reason to actually finish or frog UFOs though -- get back a set of needles *g*
no subject
Date: 2011-04-26 06:28 am (UTC)Hear, hear!
If I ever have patterns to test-knit, I'll post on DW first to give you the option to turn me down before I let the masses of Ravelry tell me that I'm crap at things like designing. (Because I am. For serious.)
no subject
Date: 2011-04-26 08:31 am (UTC)