Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Shhhh...Don't Tell Anyone...

...but I knit too.

I know, I know. You all thought I was just an iconoclastic crocheting fool who nonetheless attempts to keep her finger on the pulse of her Inner Granny with each and every creation. Well peeps news flash...I knit as well. Just not as much (in recent years) as I crochet. However, around the holidays I unearth my needles with the hopes that I will be able to create wonderful handmade gifties for family and friends.

Why knit my handmade goodies, inquiring minds want to know, when I could simply crochet these items instead?

The primary reason: SPEED.

I have a confession to make, I knit mightily fast folks. Where my knitting muse is lacking in creative vision, my knitting engine makes up for in turbo speed. And anyway, who needs to be knitting pattern auteur when there are so many books and resources out there making any knitter's FO look like it could have come directly from the golden needles of Kaffe Fassett himself! From toys to a wardrobe for your tots, from sweaters (or jumpers for you Jane) to chapeaux and of course the ubiquitous scarf! I assure you, there is a pattern to please everyknitter (yes, this is a word!). Despite this well known fact, I have been known to chart a mean intarsia pattern, but NOT with Christmas looming just around the corner. Nope, I'd rather bask in the glow of someone else's painstaking patterning.

Hence this lovely capelet...





Knit entirely in garter stitch from a lovely Three Olive yarn medley, this cute little number worked up in a matter of hours.

Now, the flared legwarmers...



Cascade 220 and stockinette stitch combined with an evening in front of the tube and voila! Legwarmers for my tween.

And the soon to be finished gauntlets...



Wild, wooly and very, very easy!

Not bad for a few hours of work eh?

So, what's so cool about two sticks?

  1. Knitting makes a phenomenal fabric.
  2. Two Sticks + LadyLinoleum = Speedy "Knitter" Gonzalez
  3. Intarsia/Fair Isle addict found buried underneath charts. Love those intarsia knitting charts. Love to make 'em. Love to read 'em. Love to knit 'em. 'Nuf said.
  4. Riding the knitting popularity wave and collecting as many books, patterns and knitting paraphenalia as possible before the wave peters out. And it will eventually wane. Everything has its ebb and flow.
  5. The ability to frog eyelash and mohair yarn. Just try to frog that stuff when crocheted, I dare ya! Can you say nightmare?

What's my beloved hook good for?

  1. Crocheting is THE process for making items with structure, IMHO.
  2. C'mon, granny squares and doilies...OMG I love them!!! I'm serious.
  3. Be gone with those charts! Freeform finds it home in hook and yarn.
  4. Despite its reputation as kitsch, there is an amazing array of patterns, books, resources and designers who call crochet their own. Good crocheting company and some amazing creations to be had. So there!
  5. Knitting the Vegetable Liberation Army? Aaaaah, no. Ever tried to knit an eyeball out of crochet thread? Yeah, lame.

What can I say? I am just a yarn 'ho deep down. I've been knitting and crocheting for 29 years, that's 144 in dog years, and I love each and every stitch I've made, I'm presently making and will continue to make long after the current craft frenzy has fizzled.

23 comments:

Crafty Andy said...

Syncronicity of knitting and crocheting and your blog and mine. I agree with your assessment of the crafts. I think that each crafts has it's place. Thank you for sharing the fun. LOL.

MaggieBlue said...

That's some wonderful knitting you're doing. I can knit but don't care to because I'm so darn slow at it. For me crocheting is much faster.

Can you please tell me how to add links to other diaries to my diary? I mean like you have on the right side of your blod. Thanks!

MaggieBlue said...

Yeesh, sorry...make that "Blog" not "blod". :)

none said...

Are you modeling the capelet? Looks great, btw.

I hate that there is a war between knit and crochet...there is so a place for both of these in the fiber world. I would like to see more books/patterns that incorporate knitting and crocheting in them.

Unknown said...

And she kints too! Wow.
Does this mean you're out of the craft closet?
My hubby calls those of us who knit and crochet, bi-crafty.

Of course I am slower knitting than I am crocheting but it's getting there.

Knit, crochet, eyeballs, capelets... doesn't matter you are still fanfreakintabulous in my book!

Rebecca said...

bi-crafty - lol, kari!
great capelet! i can't believe you got that done so fast! i'm a slow knitter, but learning :)
glad to be back in blogland, i've missed your creations!

Anonymous said...

Of course you can knit, too! That's fine. But you knit fast? Not fair! Cute capelet, BTW.

Heather Cox said...

Intarsia...choke...I'm glad someone likes it. I crochet faster than I knit but I do knit fairly fast, it's this weird knitting pattern dyslexia I have that slows me down. And all the frogging that goes along with it. When I'm not following a pattern, va-voom!

I agree crochet is the way to go to construct shapes and stuff.

stuffed said...

I think it is easier to knit faster but since I knit without turning, I could be wrong. I haven't actually given comparative speed a thought. I also refer to myself as 'Speedy'. As in, "Look at Speedy go!" I think that I must be very annoying to hang with.

Excellent presents!

FinnyKnits said...

Really? Faster than crocheting you say? You're a machine. Usually I toss my needles aside for my hook around Christmas in order to get all the gifts done in time. MUCH faster with a hook. Love the capelet, super cute. That would take me DAYS -- can't believe you pulled that together in an evening. Rockin.

Anonymous said...

I love that you are so speedy. Really can't fathom being so speedy!!
Love the caplet - so sweet

Anonymous said...

the talent never stops with you :) Love those flared legwarmers.

Anonymous said...

It's simply not fair that you knit at lightning speed. Those of us who are mono-crafty do not need our confidence dented by a crochet monster, for goodness sake.

I reckon jumpers are English, bobbly, thick, don't fit well and usually come in horrible colours. Sweaters are for Jane Russell curves and are body-skimming, fully-fashioned, flattering and in tasteful colours.

LinknKnits said...

I love the bi-crafty comment! Something I will strive to be, one day, but am fine with my mono-craftiness right now!

Also, just saw the scorpion -- love it! Any ideas on how to do Virgo, though?

Anonymous said...

Spoken like a true woman at peace with her inner granny Lady Linoleum!

I guess I am monocrafty. I just can't get crochet right. I think it is because I keep holding the crochet hook like it's a knitting needle.

dizzy von damn! said...

i do both, but i'm not terribly fast at either...

maybe someday.

dizzy von damn! said...

i read this post yesterday but didn't comment because i didn't think you knew who i was...

but then you were at MY BLOG!

WOW!

Nancy said...

I had a feeling you were adept at more than one of the the archane arts...

what else would you call the ability to create fabric from string?

Stephknits3 said...

Your never cease to amaze me LadyLinoleum!!

From one bi-crafster to another, you make me proud to make granny squares!

Squishybear said...

I'm so glad capelets are coming back into style. I was thinking of making one for my little one with some funky furry stuff. :-P

Vera said...

Great post. I crocheted for years before I learned to knit, an it's opened up a new world of things to do.

I see crocheting and knitting like two kids who are different, but I love them both

I do crochet much faster than I knit, but I can knit fairly fast if the pattern is easy.

portergirl said...

i love your monsters! they (and LJ user ibugyellow's) inspired me to crochet. and now i learn that you knit too! argh. i wanna be bi-crafty too. not fair! :)

i made an eyeball btw. based on yours. i hope you don't mind. haven't gotten around to taking pix of it yet, but i'll do that once this Christmas rush is through. :)

Anonymous said...

I love the leg warmers! I've been searching everywhere for a pattern! How did you make them?!!!!