How to Knit in Theaters

Twilight and I took Whiz to see the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" this afternoon. (Bonus: since Whiz's uncle works at the theater...our tickets were FREE!!!)

I took knitting. (Big surprise.)

Specifically, I took a pair of wrist warmers that I am making out of the yarn leftovers from the Martinelli sweater. I cast them on before I got to the theater, but only had time to knit one round.

During the previews, I did the rounds for the knuckles, and successfully navigated the button hole for the thumb. (I'm debating whether or not to pick up stitches for an actual thumb later.)

Once the film itself started, I merrily knit my 2x2 rib down the rest of the warmer. I figured I could get the sleeve finished by the end of the film.

Then...

...disaster.

I came to end of a round and realized that I had ended with a P1 instead of a P2. Somewhere I had messed up. But where? How far back? (and frankly...this occurred during an especially poorly lit portion of the film...night time, fog, smoke...so I didn't even have bright light from the screen to help me.)

Aside from the inherent headache of tinking when using 2 circular needles in the round...I was trying to tink in the dark. In a theater. During a movie that I wanted to pay attention to! The whole point of movie theater knitting projects is that they are not supposed to require ATTENTION!!!

I had to make a choice. Enjoy the film and have fidgety fingers, or fix the error and miss some of the movie.

In the end...the movie won. And it was a great film. Absolutely nothing like the book...but great in its own right.

(Incidentally, I fixed the error in the theater hallway while Whiz and I waited for Twilight to use the restroom. The mess up, it turns out, had only occurred 3 ribs back.)

Soft and Pretty

I finished 2 sets of wrist warmers on Saturday as a commission for my friend, Lovely. She asked for a luxury yarn, and was okay with the resulting price increase. I went with a merino silk blend. The silk made them incredibly soft, and the merino gave amazing stitch definition and warmth.

I decided that as long as I was upping the swank factor on the yarn, that I should up the swank on the stitch pattern as well. (It felt wrong to subject silk to a 2x2 rib...how demeaning!) Once again, I was grateful for my stitch a day calendar!

I did a mini cable rib on the cream pair. I have used this stitch on socks before. It is very simple and fast, I just need to count my rows so that my cables are a consistent length...the socks I made previously have some "charming" deviations!

On the black pair, I used a corded rib stitch. This was a new stitch for me, and very fun to do. It looks a lot more complex than it really is. Also, since it "knots" itself every other row, I didn't have to count rows as precisely. It was more intuitive. Better television knitting.

I delivered them last night, and Lovely seemed to really like them! (One more thing crossed off the "Queue that Should Never Have Happened"!)

How Did That Happen?

Somehow I have a pressing queue of time sensitive projects.

A queue which is bordering on the insanity of a Christmas queue!

It includes:

• Additional samples for the felted purse class


• Baby burp rags for friends who continue to reproduce


• The birthday gift for Sis-In-Law, which I am really enjoying making


• Commission wrist warmers and fingerless gloves (technically these don't have a due date...but it would probably be best to deliver them while it is still cold!)

In addition to these items...I also have several things that I would like to make for me!

I am only one knitter. I can only do so much.

(Breathe in. Breathe out. Remind myself that the fate of the world does not depend on my completing knitting projects. And be grateful for it.)

Proud of my Productivity

Today was a good day, knitting wise. Actually, this whole weekend was very productive on the knitting front.

-I wove in the ends and delivered two baby burp rags at a baby shower this afternoon (Bounce's mom, Vintage, is having a baby boy).

-I designed, knit, then fiddled with and redesigned the purse for the next adult Get Knittin' @ the Library program.

-I started the felting of said purse...unfortunately, it is still really cold, so the booger is taking FOREVER to dry.

-I winged it on yet another gift for Nephew...I will post pictures and pattern once it is delivered.

-I completed the body of Martinelli, one strap, and have started the second strap. It should be done by the end of the week. (Fingers crossed.)

-I got some more burp rags done to replenish the stash.

-I did a wee bit of work on my Gotham socks. (Have I mentioned those?)

-I lined up some knitting lessons with Mama L. I guess learning to knit was one of her resolutions.

-Finally, I picked up several commissions at church last night. 2 sets of luxery yarn wristwarmers, and a pair of fingerless gloves. (I have a new pattern I found for fingerless gloves that I am anxious to try out.)

Not bad for four days...especially four days in which I did endeavor to have some semblance of a social life (shopping trip, New Year's party, baby shower, girls trip to San Jose, dinner out with friends...)!

Broken Heaters

I got a text message from Vodka last week.

This is not unusual. We text a lot.

This particular message had the basics: she misses me, how is my life, we need to get together...

It also gave the interesting update that she loves her new job in Berkeley, but that the heater in her office building is broken.

The poor thing is freezing.

(Not to mention the fact that she has to take BART into work, and BART stations and trains are COLD!)

She needed wrist warmers. So, I obliged! (Actually, this was my ultimate frisbee project.)

We decided on olive green, since it goes with just about every other color. It wouldn't show BART dirt and grime as much as some colors. And finally, it just seems to be a good serviceable color that won't fade out! Why else is it used in so many military uniforms?

Depending on how this pair works out for her, and how soon they fix the heat at her work, I may be making more!

The Wearing of Handknits Begets the Wanting of Handknits

I loaned JoNo my handknit wrist warmer gauntlets during my brother's Halloween party for his rock star costume...the black ones that go all the way up to my elbows. As the evening wore on, a lot of us ended up around the fire pit in the back yard. I was in a toga, and therefore cold. JoNo, the epitome of a gentleman, gave me my gauntlets back to keep my arms warm.

Tenn was also out at the fire pit, and also dressed as a rock star. She was wearing black STORE BOUGHT wrist warmers that barely covered her wrists. We started talking about how much we liked wrist warmers. Both of us tend to get very cold, and the wrist warmers allow us to stay warm but still work/type/knit. The next day, as we were both shivering in the back of Brother's car, wrist warmers came up again. She asked about commissioning a pair, I quoted her a price, she accepted it, and we settled on a color. We also discovered that our hands/arms are the same size, so I didn't need to take measurements.

I delivered the wrist warmers stayed with Tenn last weekend when I was in town for the ultimate frisbee tournament (cheering/knitting...not participating...see the previous post). They are a lovely shade of dove grey. I think she was pleased, considering that she didn't want to take them off!

(Unfortunately, in all the weekend hubbub, I did not get a picture of her wearing them...)

It strikes me that had I not been wearing the wrist warmers on Halloween, Tenn would never have known about them, and never have asked for a set, and I would not have the commission fee to put toward stash building. (Especially since *GASP* I did not knit at all at the Halloween party...I know, the mind reels! How was that even possible?)

Conclusion: The wearing of handknits begets the wanting of handknits...sometimes my best advertising is me!

All Hail the Commish!

I finished another pair of wrist warmers for my co-worker, the Commissioner.

This makes 3 pairs so far.

He was the first person to ever actually commission me to knit something for him…a set of wrist warmers for his daughter.

I have had people request that I make things for them, or give me yarn and ask me to make things for them, but he was the first to actually give me cash!

I don’t particularly want to start taking a lot of commissions. One of the reasons I like to knit is that it allows me to be creative and de-stress. Deadlines and/or churning out products just doesn’t sound fun to me.

But, for the Commissioner, I will do just about anything.

(Besides…his requests are not difficult…first pair I cast on 24 stitches on size 8’s, knit in a 2x2 rib for about 6 inches, cast off 6 stitches, knit a round, cast on 6 stitches, knit for another inch and a half, cast off. This last one I did a 30 stitch cast on in a 3x2 rib just to mix things up.)

Time is Relative

I spend a lot of time knitting.

A lot of time.

I am often asked how long it took me to make something. This is difficult since I am constantly knitting. I knit in the car (as a passenger, not driver). I knit on my breaks at work. I knit during conversations with friends. I knit while watching television or movies. I knit at theaters before the show starts and, depending on who I am with, during the show itself. I knit while listening to professors lecture. I knit while waiting for the kettle to boil for my tea. Working on projects in spurts makes it nearly impossible to quantify the amount of time it took.

There are a few exceptions however.

Wrist Warmers: 1 Underworld movie per warmer.
Coffee Cup Cozies: 2 episodes of Monk each.
Felted Coaster Holder: 1 Sharpe movie (I love Sean Bean)
Felted Coasters: 1 lunch break each
Lace Scarf: Bus rides and breaks of one Grad School Residency.

I choose to not view knitting as a waste of time, but as a means of maximizing the time I have been given. I am going to watch the movies, I am going to listen to the lectures, I am going to go on car trips. Knitting enables me to make the time productive.

And, isn't that what a Superknitter does? Fight for truth, justice, and the American Way?

As the good American Protestant work ethic says...idle hands are the devil's tool!