I refuse to look!
Sensing, not seeing, my way through every stitch.
INSIDE: delighting in learning a new skill, beautiful imperfections, an intriguing puzzle to solve + your crafting triumphs.
You all inspired me to be brave this week!
In my poll about knitting and multitasking, most people were knitting and watching something. It blows me away how knitters happily do that!
So to keep things interesting while knitting rows upon rows of knit stitches, I thought I’d practice knitting without looking.
For those of you who do this already, no doubt it’s just second nature!
For me, it was a sensory experience. I had to feel my way through creating each stitch. Luckily, the yarn I'm using is organic cotton with a dense structure and the loops on the needle feel solid and distinct.
Moving each stitch up on the left needle was easy enough. The tricky bit was inserting my right needle tip into the stitch on the left needle and not missing it!
So I practiced using the right needle tip to find the space between the first stitch and the second stitch on the left needle.
The connection of wood to wood had a ‘feel’ which helped me determine whether I was in the right spot. I’m using my Knitter’s Pride Deluxe laminated wood needle tips, which have a smooth surface and I love the colors.
The tip of my right needle moves down and meets the bottom of the first stitch, and slides in. Then I wrap my yarn around the needle to create the new stitch and place it on the hand needle.
It’s like magic! The utter glee I experience knowing I can knit without looking is so uplifting! I can even ‘feel’ I’ve missed the mark and then I try again to create the stitch. Still without looking!
It’s slow going but I’m so happy to be doing this! I’m being kind to myself and not expecting speed.
I still look from time to time, to ensure I’ve not missed a stitch or dropped one.
Exciting times! I want to build my confidence in not looking when I knit.
The sleeves are next and as I’m doing shorter ones, they won’t take too long.
I’m not up to watching a film at the same time yet! I could try, but that might result in countless mistakes, or missing half the movie’s plot! 😊
For now, I’m gazing at the art I’ve created on my wall. It leads me to a calm state. The rhythm of my needles is meditative and I’m mindful of the sensations.
Ah, the joys of knitting. Blessed be!
And another question for you: If you're a ‘crafter who doesn’t look’, what tips do you have for beginners?
Press reply, or leave a comment!
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Mystery Quote Of The Week
"In knitting and in life, it's the imperfections that make things beautiful.”
Which book is this from? Comment or press reply! No cheating! 😊
(You’ll find out if you were correct next week.)
Last week’s mystery quote authors were… Susan S. Izard and Susan S. Jorgensen, from their book, Knitting Into The Mystery.
Comment below if you got it right.
Crafting Trivia Question Of The Week
If a knitting pattern had this instruction: *K1, yo, K4, s2kpo, K4, yo; rep from * to last st, K1… What kind of pattern would it be?
And for a bonus challenge: what does S2KPO mean in knitting?
What’s the answer? Leave a comment or press reply! No cheating! 😊
(You’ll find out if you were correct next week.)
Last week’s answer to: which crochet hook creates stitches that resemble rows of knitting?
A Tunisian crochet hook! Congratulations to
for being correct. Did you get it right? Leave a comment if you did!Lifelong learning is so important to me, and expanding your abilities is one of the most satisfying parts of the making journey!
What’s a skill you’ve learned from your making you’re most proud of?
Leave a comment or press reply. Let’s celebrate your crafting triumphs!
P.S. Be here at the same time and place tomorrow to cast your vote for who I should feature next…
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Before you go…
I read aloud to my partner, who has very poor eyesight, and knit. Done this for years. I know when a pattern is difficult and involves lots of counting (lace or fair isle) because I pause more often. When I knit in a movie theatre though, especially ribbing or seed stitch, I realize from the errors I need to correct that ordinarily I take frequent quick glances at my work. Examining how this works, I read long phrases or sentences at a time, and that’s where the glances downward fit.
Slip 2, Knit 1, Pass Over Slipped Stitches. It's a centered double decrease. That paired with the YOs would make some kind of lace.
As for knitting without looking, I can do it very easily with plain stockinette, K1, P1 ribbing, or seed stitch. I can sometimes manage simple lace if I have enough stitch markers telling me what to do. Lately though, I've been trying to pay more attention to how I knit.