KarenJoSeattle

Row Markers

This week I only had yesterday to do errands and chores in the city, so I got no knitting done. Today, however, I had three appointments. For two I rode the bus and so knit a good four inches on the little Silken shawl. Tonight I got a bit done on the cardigan sleeve -- just enough for photos to go with the explanation of my chain of markers I promised.

I learned this tip for keeping track of row repeats while increasing or decreasing from Karen a few years ago, I think in a general tips and tricks class.

   

I usually use a chain of locking stitch markers equal in number to the row on which I need to do an increase or decrease. The last marker on one end is a different color than the rest. In this photo I decrease every ten rows on my top-down sleeve so I have nine orange markers and one green.

Alternatively, make a chain of knotted loops with some waste yarn. You want as many loops as your row repeat.

 

   

As you start your first round or work your first set of decreases or increases, place one end of your marker chain between the first and last stitch of the round. Each time you come back around to your chain, slip it to the next marker or loop, always going in the same direction. I work toward the green marker or toward the tails of the yarn chain.

After you slip your chain to that last marker, knit one more round. When you come back to your chain, do your increases or decreases before and after the marker chain and also slip the chain back to the first marker.

I keep track of the number of decreases/increases I've worked using hash marks on the photo copy of the pattern where I keep all my notes on that project. Every once in a while, I count my decreases to ensure that I've marked down all of them.

I use the same chains placed a few stitches from the edge to mark row repeats in flat knitting, too. When I make or delete stitches at the beginning of a right-side row, I pass the chain on the wrong side coming back without doing any increases or decreases or progressing the chain to a new marker. If I have shaping at both the beginning and end of my rows, I use a separate marker chain for each. I find I forget all too often that I'm on an increase/decrease row by the time I reach the end.

Knitting Tool Kit

I live in more than one place. Besides the usual bus trips, outings, and places where I may have to wait, my knitting projects routinely move from place to place with me.

Don't hate me, but I can't remember the last time I needed a small knitting tool and didn't have one at hand in my project bag.

I love tools but hate to stop what I'm doing to go find the one I need. A few years ago, soon after I picked up knitting again, I developed a traveling knitting tool kit that I keep with each active project.

I love my little kits. They feed my manias for tools, little containers, and organization in one compact solution to my laziness.

I include a variety of stitch markers in my kits; locking, split, and plain. More and more I just use the locking ones. Someday I'll probably weed out the others. I'm good at the initial set-up but not always on the up-keep.

I also have a tube holding a few T-pins (there should be more than this), two straight tapestry needles and one bent-tip, plus a needle threader.

And I have a small box of coiless pins in two sizes. I mostly use these to catch dropped stitches until I can get back to pick them up or mark where I found the error I'm tinking back to.

With the safety pins and tapestry needles I can also seam my projects without having to go get more tools. I haven't made anything with seams for a while, though, as all my recent sweaters I knit top-down.

The little containers come from the local Storables branch. I love stores like this and could spend way too much time and money on stuff to hold stuff. Luckily, I don't accumulate lots of stuff I don't use -- other than maybe stitch markers.

The kit of crochet hooks comes from Plymouth Yarns. These I use to pick up dropped stitches, unless I'm too lazy to get one out and just fiddle it with my knitting needle. The hooks work better for me, especially on a small gauge.

Actual crocheting of edgings and such happens with my nice wooden hooks stored in my needle file box.

Besides eight sizes on four two-ended hooks, the kit includes a medium and small darning needle. The small box fits nicely in the pouch and keeps the hooks untangled from everything else.

Gingher makes the compact clippers. They have very sharp blades and don't catch on the other tools or my fingers. One of the cats does have a thing for black plastic and needs to be watched around the clippers.

I also have a solar calculator, a needle-sizer/ruler/gauge check, a tape measure, one or two rarely used stitch holders, and a leather thimble for when my left middle finger complains about my style of continental knitting on small, sharp metal needles.

Most of the time the tape measure lives in the larger bag of an in-progress project along with a pencil, a photocopy of the pattern, and a few 5x8 cards for notes. For bigger projects I'll have a binder for pattern, swatches, and notes.

I made up three of these kits originally, then later added a fourth. At times I wish I had five or six. I usually have way too many projects going at once.

I use clear bags for my projects. When you have several projects started and in various stages of activity at one time, the clear bags save time and searching.

When I set up a new project or move an old UFO back into the WIP queue, I drop one of my tool kits in the bag with the yarn and needles. A project in a time out gets its tool kit taken away.

My organizing mania tends to be all or nothing but keeps me better sorted than the average knitter I know. I have no kids to wander off with my pins and tape measures, but they still evaporate and need to be replaced regularly. It's the nature of small, needed things, no matter how organized you are.

Randomness

JINX ON YOU

The Green Sock #2 Jinx continues.

While at Churchmouse Yarns yesterday, I grabbed another skein of green yarn. It was the wrong green.

The label tells me this is 017. The bands from my used yarn read 016. It's definitely darker. I can't exchange it until Monday.

The heel also has several small holes along the short-rowing edge.

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

I was at Churchmouse for a class given by Karen Alfke titled Confessions of an Organized Knitter. We share our organizational obsession.

One of the tips I learned will be very helpful as I'm one of those knitters with so many needles that I never know where all of them are. They end up in various projects and project bags rather than their file box home.

Karen uses a system similar to a classic library card system to keep track of her needles. She notes on an index card what needles she has removed from storage to put with which project. The card stays where the needles normally live until they return.

When I set up this system I'll talk more about the details.

TWO TOES

My 2-at-once socks look pretty good and fit well. However, I need about 3 1/2 more inches of foot plus gussets by 9AM Sunday.

Spousal-Equivalent's parents arrive for an overnight visit sometime tomorrow. I must get groceries before they get here.

At least S-E's family are all knitters or former knitters, so I have hope they'll tolerate my mad push to get the socks to where they need to be.

I've made some progress on the Small Not-Pink Thing.