Projects
Bang Out a Hadley: Procrastinate Now!
Dear Kay,
Unlike some people, I believe in the sanctity of a Knitalong Start Day.
I don’t judge the early starters, the swatchers, the pre-winders. I get it—I’m an early voter; I’m Group A on Southwest. But for a knitalong, I want to be in the mix. I like the festival atmosphere and the rope-drop feel of Knitalong Start Day.
And maybe I had some serious procrastinating to do yesterday. This knitalong is pretty much the perfect way to fuel procrastination. Foot-draggers of the world, unite!
I waited to wind yarn for my Bang Out a Hadley until the morning of February 1, and I performed the ritual dig-through-my-knitting-bags-looking-for-size-8s after reheating my coffee. (Why is the right size never in the tangle of needles hanging on my wall? And seriously, how do I own a size 3 needle, four feet long?)
I spent a while admiring the random flurf contained in a ball of Shelter. There’s all kinds of stuff in there: vegetable matter, blurps of totally random colors, fleckly bits. All good. Love it.
I spent another decent chunk of time cooking up a swatch. It was a halfhearted attempt—I’d dug up a size 8 needle and felt pretty proud about it. Whatever gauge this needle gave me was going to be great.
Except.
Even I couldn’t live with a gauge of 16 sts/4″ when the pattern calls for 19. That’s just terrible. So I went down to a size 7, after another loathsome dig through the needles, and I kept knitting on the same swatch I’d used with the size 8—violating all rules of swatch hygiene and orderly swatch-making. If this thing fits, it will be because the randomness of the universe was at work in my favor.
Size 7 it was, and off I went, k2 p2 on the ribbing.
For once in my life, I’m getting stuff DONE.
A Quick Survey
In a recent conversation with another member of the knitting ecommerce world, we landed on the eternal subject of “What Kind of Things Do People Like to Knit?”
We got down to many possible divides:
Sweater Knitters vs. #neversweater.
Shawl Addicts vs. A Crescent Is Not a Shawl; It’s A Dinner Roll.
Speckledy Yarn Folk vs. Oatmeal Yarn Nation.
We concluded absolutely nothing, except that we have really specific ideas about the things we personally like to knit. And we’re pretty sure that most knitters have particular likes and dislikes. What do you think? For example, are you Sweater Knitter or #neversweater?
Love,
Ann
PS Our giveaway continues: go here and scroll down for all the details. It is so fantastic to meet so many attractive, well-put-together knitters over in The Lounge! Welcome! Keep talking!
I’m a sweater knitter, wouldn’t call myself a shawl addict (though a surprising number of them have fallen off my needles this past year!), and if my “oatmeal”, you mean heathery yarns (vs tweedy yarns) then I’m a heathery/oatmeal all the way (pretty much hate tweedy yarns, and speckled yarn is too close for comfort).
I love to knit……….cables and multiple colors being my two favorites. I have yet to combine them. I love to knit sweaters, hats, shawls, scarfs, mitts, blankets. Seldom socks. Whatever I am
knitting, the yarn must feel delicious in my hands, the pattern must be interesting and engaging. If those two things combine well, it is less likely that the piece will rnd up in my UFO pile which is fimishing as I unravel those that I now can admit I will never finish
Oh how I yearn to be a sweater person! But neck/shoulder issues limit me to short bursts of knitting on small projects that are easy to pick up without forgetting the details – scarves, in other words. But I knit with beautiful hand-painted or hand-dyed yarn for the sheer enjoyment of those precious short knitting times. And I enjoy other people’s sweater projects vicariously through their photos!
4 foot size 3 cable needle, for 2 socks at a time on magic loop? Definitely sweater knitter, no crescent shawls, and oatmeal over sparkly.
I’m an equal opportunity knitter – I knit everything! Speckldy sweaters and oatmeal shawls and everything in between.
I’ve been a #neverapatterthatrequiresaguage girl for the longest time — until I knit a last-minute pussy hat and had to dig deep into my old-old stash to find pink yarn. All I had that was pink in that container was wool candide from the Seventies. I knit a swatch and fell back in love with the even, puckery texture of stitches that only comes from knitting in wool. I knit the hat and then quickly found more wool and made a scarf for my husband. The color and texture of both were so satisfying.
Looking at today’s closeups of your swatch has captured a memory of what I used to knit before I started making cotton #miteredsquareblanket squares and baby hats, where no swatch was required. I’m thinking of joining this knitalong, Ann. Love, #lapsedknitter
I’ll cheer you on, Judy! 🙂
I learned to knit specifically to knit sweaters. I like looking at shawls but only occasionally knit them, and if by speckledy you mean hand-dyed self-striping yarns I’m definitely an oatmeal type. I really don’t know what to do with all those self-striping yarns.
Sweater, all the way
I voted as a sweater knitter on the other site too, does that count as stuffing the ballot box.
I knit my first sweater when i was 14; I knit the second one as soon as I finished the first one: I did not use a pattern, I had already chosen my destiny. In those days, the yarn came from the dime store; I date myself with that, there are no longer any dime stores. I always buy yarn in sweater quantities; whatever is leftover goes to accessories or is used for charity knitting. I live in Minnesota. the sweater is one of lifes necessities!
I have learned that sweaters and socks are the most useful thing to knit. At least at my house, they are worn the most. I’ve also learned that basic sweaters are worn more often. Hope you blocked your swatch. I find Shelter to grow a little after a bath.
For relaxation I like shawl knitting. (Actually, I also love blanket knitting). I like to knit an occasional sweater.
Color all the way. Too much gray or oatmeal does not work for me, knitting wise.
I’m a knit-what-makes-me-feel-productive knitter. That means hats, children’s clothes, etc. That doesn’t mean I won’t knit something larger, but I love the rush I get when I finish something in a matter of days. I should also say I’m a knit-what-can-be-done-without-weaving-too-many-ends knitter, too! 🙂
Oatmeal Yarn Nation! Perfect description. And why has superwash become so ubiquitous that some yarn companies don’t even mention it in the yarn description, as if they assume superwash is the norm?
I pretty much just love to knit. I have been known to knit anything just for the sake of knitting. I’m not much into sparkles. I love the oatmeal Heathery tones. However they’re not particularly flattering in the oatmeal color. I do tend to like rich, earthy colors. My sister on the other hand, who I do a lot of knitting and sewing for, loves anything bright, sparkly and possibly Dayglo. In fact for the bang out a Hadley, I even chose colors that weren’t normal for me. The base color is a blue which my sister was happy to remind me that that color looks marvelous on her!
I’ve swatched for my first cardigan in a squishy grey yarn. Just need to stop casting on hats, cowls and socks and get started on it! lol I love all kinds of shawls and have my first crescent shawl on the needles. As for colors…anything goes for hats, socks, mittens, shawls etc, but I like the thought of neutral cardies.
Started out as a “sweaters only” knitter but moved on to socks as well. I also like to knit or crochet something just because it looks fabulous, or because the technique is ingenious, never mind whether I or any of my friends would want to wear or use it. This itch for the spectacular can sometimes be soothed by an extensive bout of practice swatching of stitch patterns or colorwork, but I feel the desire to embark on a masterpiece shawl even though none of my friends or I would wear one. Process knitter!
Yarn faves? Tweed, heather, marled, subtly speckled, uniformly-solid machine-dyed, semi-solid hand-dyed, smooth, rustic, bouclé, nubby, fuzzy, fine-gauge, sport, dk, worsted, aran, crazy bulky. Color likes and dislikes? Don’t get me started!
Forgot to mention gloves, mittens, mitts and hats in addition to sweaters and socks.
I’m an occasional sweater knitter, when you goad me into it. Two Stopovers. I find that I wear them more than my cardigans. Mostly I design and knit shawls: No gauge issues! I love tonal yarns, and can deal with the mildly speckly or variegated, but only in conjunction with those tonals.
Glad to see you’re a RULE FOLLOWER. Enjoy your Hadley! Going down just one needle size made that big of a difference? I find my cast on influences my gauge for quite a while, too.
Was that size 3 needle for your beautiful fair isle sweater?
IT WAS NOT MY FINEST SWATCHING, just sayin. It looked kind of smaller or whatever, so yeah. DONE.
; )
A purl row separating different needle sizes when swatching…fantastic idea for someone who has started a new swatch with a new needle!
equal opportunity (to borrow from another) knitter AND crocheter! Fine yarn over rustic – sweater over just about everything — socks at the bottom – but will do:-)
Hmmm. I doubt I will ever knit gloves or mittens, though I have done fingerless mitts. Other than that and, perhaps, legwarmers, I’m pretty open to adventure. One of these days I will jump into the world of Fair Isle.
I am an adventure knitter. I like to make sweaters, especially if they actually fit when finished, baby blankets, scarves, and cowls. I have made mittens and have yarn to make a pair of thrummed mittens. I have knit a teddy bear – and will be making another one. I want to learn to do brioche and double knitting. I haven’t tried entrelac yet and I want to be better at knitting lace. It is all so much FUN!
I do like to knit just about anything – except lace! It looks bad during the making although beautiful after blocking. Lately mostly smaller items like hats, mitts, socks, scarves, cowls.
Haven’t started a sweater in ages, but Hadley is definitely next up. Love the design and I do love Shelter. I like wooly, solid or heathery yarns, hand dyed and tonal too especially for socks and mitts.
I love to knit cowls. My sister says I need to stop, but I can’t. I knit a Stopover, and now I’m on the Hadley bandwagon. I ripped the ribbing out last night due to gauge swatch angst. I can’t knit the sweater on 4s and 6s. The stitches are too tiny. If the sweater turns out too big, I will give it to my mom.
I knit anything that strikes me but sweaters are my all time favorite!!
I just picked up your 2 field guides and a sweater’s worth of yarn today. I’ll knit anything.
Not a huge fan of “speckledy” yarn, I far more prefer it to the drab greens, greys, browns, oatmeals, etc that currently seem to be all the rage.
I used to be a sweater knitter until that lovely day of the first hot flash. Then I became a shawl/cowl knitter. Easier to regulate the heat. Since those personal summer days have passed mostly, I’m contemplating getting back with the sweater knitting crowd this year. I think I’m yearning for a long slog of stockinette. I’ll start with a cardigan.
I love the concept of sweaters, but I rarely finish one. I’m more about the process than the project (another way of saying I’m ADHD). I love all yarns and color concepts. This sweater is beautiful in it’s simplicity.
I think there may be another divide:
PerpetualSockKnitters vs. NotASockKnitterYET
I was a #fullycommittedsweatermaker for the first few decades of my knitting life, but am now pretty much a #neversweater person. I knit to relax and feel good and to achieve the satisfaction of finishing what I start. There is a #stopover languishing without arms somewhere because by the time I found my double pointed needles and then decide to do the two needle circular thing, I forgot what size I had knit the body of the sweater. I applaud anyone, you and Kay for example, who are capable of completing sweaters at such an impressive rate.
I start sweaters but don’t finish them until two years later (three so far, with one OTN; it’s been three years since I worked on that last one). It’s in the rule book, I think. Mostly I knit socks (probably ~50+ pairs), hats, scarves, cowls, and fingerless gloves. Smaller projects = lots of completions. Yarn is never thicker than worsted. Recently I knitted a hat, scarf, and mittens for a community warm clothing drive from some O-Wool Balance Bulky that I won in a contest and injured my left thumb joint. I had to give up knitting for week (SOB!) to let it heal. And that is why I avoid bulky yarns, amen. Always circs, all the time; then I never drop nor lose a needle while knitting on the go. Love the heathers and tonals, hate the current craze for speckled yarn. Wildly variegated is only good if I am double stranding it with a solid/heather/tonal to tame it down.
Can you recommend a sock pattern for a beginner. I get stuff k with the gusset.
Cheryl
Rarely knit sweaters never without a sock in progress, except for January 2017 when I was busy knitting lots of pink pussy hats.
Sock knitting is the best, somebody always needs socks.
I have the attention span of a goldfish.
That is all.