public knitting and shameless self-promotion

Hi all: hope everything is well.

A couple of things: first off, I managed to get an article on my experience with public knitting published on WhipUp.net - it's a great on line mag for crafters of all types, so if interested, check it out!

Second: this is actually my most recent knitting in public (partly, anyway) project:


It is the Brioche Rib Vest from The Best of Interweave Knits. This is a bit of an unwieldly public knit as it involves using needles of two different sizes, and I'm using fairly long circulars. Thus, some flinging around of needles on the subway. People are keeping their distance. :-)

Third and last (I know I said "a couple of things", but anyway...) Holly and I have started up a cross border zombie killin' knitting-mad blog called The 49th Dimension. So, if you're bored - or if you want to learn more about American/Canadian relations! - come on over!

Cheers,

Kristina

No Knitted Gifts!--The Movement

[Please note--this is a repeat of a post on my Yarnhog blog. I just wanted to share it with you, since it fits right into the Outlaw spirit. Feel free to grab the button if you want it!]

Hello, my name is Suzanne, and I am a knitaholic. There is nothing I love better than knitting, except possibly receiving knitting-related gifts. And because I feel this way, I also believe that there is nothing better to give a loved one than a knitting-related gift. If I had any loved ones who knit, I would know exactly how to make them happy for the holidays with gifts of yarn and needles and tools. But since none of my loved ones knit, I try instead to make them happy by giving them knitted gifts. This does not always work.

Hard as it is to believe, not everyone appreciates knitted gifts. Even those who have witnessed first-hand the amount of time and effort that goes into producing them may not be all that eager to find one wrapped up under the tree. No matter how lovely the yarn, how intricate the pattern, how well-executed the design, they simply are not interested in receiving, owning, or wearing wonderful, wooly things that would melt the heart of any knitter. I won't go into the many sad tales I could tell of knitted gifts that earned a resounding, "Oh...thanks," and wound up buried at the bottom of a drawer or lining a pet bed. You can probably imagine, and anyway, I don't want to make anyone cry.

So this year, in the midst of all the buzz in the blogosphere about holiday knitting and deadlines and stress, I have made a resolution. I will knit no gifts for the holidays. That's right. None. Instead, I will knit things for myself alone. I will buy the loveliest yarns and find the most beautiful patterns, and I will wrap the finished gifts in perfect, shiny wrapping paper and put them under the tree. When I unwrap them, I will ooh and ahh over the softness of the yarn and the detail of the stitches. I will exclaim over how long it must have taken and how much thought and love must have gone into each stitch. I will put them on and marvel at the fit and the comfort. And I will be happy to receive such wonderful, personal gifts. Everyone else is getting Starbucks cards.

Now...who's with me?

Knitting in Court

Here in Shawnee County, Kansas, we have the Limited Actions Docket call (Limited Actions is like small claims, but the amounts are different, and you can have attorneys) at the Kansas Expocentre. I learned a long time ago to always take something to do, and I usually take my knitting.


Usually the docket is held at the Ag Hall, but today it was held at Heritage Hall, where we used to have it. Talk about a blast from the past. I managed to get the thumbs on the felted mittens I am working on set up (I do them magic loop and do both at the same time), and then I got about four or five rounds done.

Stress Knitting

Ok so my middle child had surgery this morning and i was stressed....actually stressed doesn't begin to touch it! But anyway the anesthesiologist asked me to knit something to cover his stethescope that was kid friendly.........I am thinking spongebob.......pondering it! I knit on my socks like a crazy woman for the 30 minutes my middle baby was out of my sight! Damn near went insane!

breakfast knitting

So I had my first negative public knitting experience. We were standing in line at a popular breakfast joint and the line is long. So I pull out my sock and start working. My boyfriend and his cousin are used to this (even though his cousin had only seen it a few times). It seems that there are a few people out there that aren't that used to it.

You see I noticed someone staring at me. So naturally i turn around to see what is going on. Just some guy about my age looking at me. So I smile and nod (just the normal thing i do) and turn back around. Next thing I know "You're in Public!" is being directed at my back. I turn back around and he's grinning like he said something really really funny. It was rather odd. But I just kept knitting. It's not like i'm trying to impress random people, i'm just keeping from being board.

The C-word

I've been knitting for 20 years and knit in public all the time. But I recently crossed over to the dark side and picked up a crochet hook to make a twin-sized afghan for my son's bed out of bulky boucle yarn that simply would not allow itself to be knitted. I've since been crocheting in public, which must be an illegal act for a devoted knitter!

Knit Like An Outlaw Day part 2

Is everyone ready for the knit Like An Outlaw Day?

In case you haven't heard of it, it's the day after Thanksgiving and we'll celebrate by... well... knitting like an Outlaw. Knit in public, knit at home while having Outlaw type beverages (and yes, Kool-aid counts), or knit like an Outlaw at the in-law's house. Anything goes but if you end up needing bail money it make take a day or two for the rest of us to raise the funds so CYA when possible.

sic transit mundi

I did all the knitted pieces for this on public transit and during staff meetings. :-)



Far more info than you wanted to know and pictures than you wanted to see on the blog.

The Couple Who Knits Together...

Knitting at a wedding? Not such a big deal, right? But what if you are the one marrying the Bride and Groom? You betcha! I am an Ordained Minister and really Really enjoy marrying folks. I've found that the half hour or so right before the ceremony is a great time to pull out the ole knitting and work away. Not only does the Bride calm down while watching the rythmic motion of my needles but one of "the Moms" is usually a knitter herself and will grab for my work to calm her own nerves. I've also found it's a great opportunity to ummm..."corrupt" a Flower Girl and/or yes, a Ring Bearer, so I always carry a "Newbie" kit of thrift-store needles and yarn for them to take home after the hoopla. I'm such an enabler. Teeheehee.
And just so y'all can see how versatile (Unstable? Whacky? Just plain weird?) I like to live life...here's a pic of me at the race track; in uniform and smiling with one of my favorite car owners and drivers. I'm trying to get his wife interested in learning to knit as they now have a young boy of their own but she says she's too busy picking up Tonka trucks, Hot Wheels and washing the race car. I'm not giving up on her though...there's always next Spring when it's still cold at the track and folks will be enviously eyeing my snazzy "uniform orange" knitted hat and scarf! Now, please tell me I'm not the only one who enjoyed left-over Halloween candy for breakfast this morning? While knitting on a piece of lace work perhaps?!?

Joining Yarn in Public

I think I might have hit a high mark for Outlaw Knitters. I was knitting away on the Alice Starmore pattern Fulmar when I was inches away from the end of my yarn cake.



Luckily I had more yarn with me, but as I wasn’t paying attention and ended up in the middle of my work. This pattern is a very tight cabled sweater knitted on size 2.75 mm or US 2 needles.

What to do? Do I tink back some 100 tightly cabled stitches to the end of the row? Heck no...on the train in full blown rush hour... I spit spliced my yarn ends together. Yes fellow Outlaw Knitters, I separated the plied ends, over laid the ends then spit on my yarn and quickly felted the two together by rolling them between my palms.

I really didn’t think about it until I was rubbing this slice in my hands...hum, I wonder if anyone was looking at me thinking What The Hell?

Hope you enjoyed my spitting story;)
Cheers Outlaw Knitters!
~ Kris (AKA: KniftyRed)