Big Knitter got a box from Webs today. Is it the perfect yarn? BK hasn't opened it yet. He's still working at his desk...right next to the box....aaargh....
Hurry Up...Open the Box!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
How does a 50-something man take up knitting?
(When my husband first took up knitting, our son-in-law, who worked with him at the time selling equipment to construction workers, told him...do not, under any circumstances, bring that knitting to the office. It's bad for business! Since then, BK has sold that business and gone back to work for himself as a land surveyor and he takes his knitting bag wherever he goes.)
Anyway, getting back to the original question. When people ask me this question, I tell them: BK took up knitting because he flunked yoga. And I use the term flunked loosely, because I don't think you can actually flunk yoga. It's more like he and yoga didn't hit it off.
BK is a type A personality. He has heart disease. And he needed to find a socially acceptable way to chill out. He tried yoga. He couldn't relax. He came out of the yoga classes more stressed than when he went in.
One stressful day, we were driving along and I was knitting, as I often do. He looked over and said..."I could do that". Well, as a nearly life long knitter I had two choices right then and there. I could have said, no way in h - e - double hockey sticks could you do that. Or I could have said, sure you could and lets go to the nearest yarn shop right this minute and get you some yarn.
Obviously, I said that! At the yarn shop came two other very distinct choices. I could have said, lets go to the bargain bin and get you some cheap synthetic yarn to start off with. Or I could have said, lets start you off with some nice wool, it will feel good on your fingers.
Obviously, I said that! Right from the start, BK wanted to knit big. I was thinking washcloths, he was thinking blankets. So we bought 1500 yards of a pretty brown/yellow variegated New Zealand wool and some circular needles and off we went. I taught him to do knit stitches. And I taught him how to make a big, big, very big, wool, garter stitch, on-the-bias, washcloth...and he did...and, voila! his first blanket.
I really don't have a frame of reference for knitting as relaxation. I do not relax when I knit (I think about the next project.) But BK is a true knitting zen type of person. For him, knitting is the new yoga.
And that's how a 50-something man takes up knitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's some of our latest yarn acquisitions:
For Big Knitter, some new blanket yarn from our favorite lys. This will have to be a lap throw, the yarn's a bit too expensive, even for BK.
Anyway, getting back to the original question. When people ask me this question, I tell them: BK took up knitting because he flunked yoga. And I use the term flunked loosely, because I don't think you can actually flunk yoga. It's more like he and yoga didn't hit it off.
BK is a type A personality. He has heart disease. And he needed to find a socially acceptable way to chill out. He tried yoga. He couldn't relax. He came out of the yoga classes more stressed than when he went in.
One stressful day, we were driving along and I was knitting, as I often do. He looked over and said..."I could do that". Well, as a nearly life long knitter I had two choices right then and there. I could have said, no way in h - e - double hockey sticks could you do that. Or I could have said, sure you could and lets go to the nearest yarn shop right this minute and get you some yarn.
Obviously, I said that! At the yarn shop came two other very distinct choices. I could have said, lets go to the bargain bin and get you some cheap synthetic yarn to start off with. Or I could have said, lets start you off with some nice wool, it will feel good on your fingers.
Obviously, I said that! Right from the start, BK wanted to knit big. I was thinking washcloths, he was thinking blankets. So we bought 1500 yards of a pretty brown/yellow variegated New Zealand wool and some circular needles and off we went. I taught him to do knit stitches. And I taught him how to make a big, big, very big, wool, garter stitch, on-the-bias, washcloth...and he did...and, voila! his first blanket.
I really don't have a frame of reference for knitting as relaxation. I do not relax when I knit (I think about the next project.) But BK is a true knitting zen type of person. For him, knitting is the new yoga.
And that's how a 50-something man takes up knitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's some of our latest yarn acquisitions:
For Big Knitter, some new blanket yarn from our favorite lys. This will have to be a lap throw, the yarn's a bit too expensive, even for BK.
It's Laines Du Nord Korall Fancy merino, seems to be between worsted and bulky weight. It's already on the needles.
And here's mine:
From Jane at The Yarn Grove, two colors of Duet sock yarn in Tiffany and Hip Chic. It's DK weight and ever so soft. It came with a free pattern and she also sent me a freebee row counter. Hmmm, should I start a new pair of socks??? It's calling me...
Some Big Projects
Oh dear! Blogging is addictive. Here's a quick photo of a few of Big Knitter's (aka my husband's) blankets. BK likes to knit Big!
First Little Projects posted
I joined the KOTR Dalarna knitalong, it's the first time I've ever done any knitting-along with anybody on the internet. It seems like there really aren't very many people knitting with me. I joined the KAL on February 8th and there have been less than a half dozen posts on the group since then. Even so, I am coming along nicely with mine and have actually completed one sock. Yay! I made it shorter than the pattern called for, then I had a bunch of yarn left over, so I may do some modifications later to add an inch or two to the cuff. Not too sure how I'll do that, since it was knitted top down. But I'm sure EZ would have figured out a way, I will check in with her first, if I can't find any advice, I will unvent a solution for myself. Now I have to get myself motivated to do the second sock. With so few people knitting along, that may be quite a feat in itself.
I recently purchased the sock blocker from Chappy along with a couple of "kid sized" sock blockers. They're my first sock blockers and I am really enjoying them.
I just discovered 'knitting blogging world' a couple of months ago, so I admit I am a real newbie to this format. But I've been reading Nona for inspiration and I decided to try making some knucks. Here's a photo of my first knucks knuckles.
In real time, I am actually up to the cuffs on knucks (knuck?) number one, but I don't have a picture of that yet. I didn't find the Perfect Yarn for these, so I am not too sure I like them, but I am trying to rehabilitate myself and finish some projects this year, so I will try to endure until they are done. And I will look around for the P.Y. for my next pair.
Why Blog??
Big knitter (the husband) doesn't know I started a blog and included him in it, so we will have to do without his postings for at least the time being. I am here to vent about what it's like to live with a newbie knitter, yarn junkie husband.
I'm the little knitter. I nicknamed myself that because I try to knit only smallish projects. I do this because I am the world champion project starter. I love to figure out new patterns and new techniques and new yarns but I tend to get bored after I get it all figured out and I do have a little bit of a UFO problem. Ok, I have a Big UFO problem. So my coping mechanism lately has been to think small. It sorta works.
Big Knitter (BK) knits BIG! I'm talking blankets here. And BK likes nice yarn. I'm talking Nice! BK doesn't like to look at price tags. As a result, we are constantly on the search for the Perfect Yarn.
So I will document the search...and if you don't mind we'll keep BK out of it for awhile...and we'll see where our search takes us. We do travel a bit in our small RV, always keeping our eyes out for knitting stores along the way. We also travel on the www, so you never know where we'll end up.
By the way, while BK is busy buying all his big yarn for his big projects, I usually manage to slip a thing or two into the shopping cart, so I will also have little projects to share...and if you ask me, my projects are always much more interesting than BK's. You be the judge!
Till next time...
I'm the little knitter. I nicknamed myself that because I try to knit only smallish projects. I do this because I am the world champion project starter. I love to figure out new patterns and new techniques and new yarns but I tend to get bored after I get it all figured out and I do have a little bit of a UFO problem. Ok, I have a Big UFO problem. So my coping mechanism lately has been to think small. It sorta works.
Big Knitter (BK) knits BIG! I'm talking blankets here. And BK likes nice yarn. I'm talking Nice! BK doesn't like to look at price tags. As a result, we are constantly on the search for the Perfect Yarn.
So I will document the search...and if you don't mind we'll keep BK out of it for awhile...and we'll see where our search takes us. We do travel a bit in our small RV, always keeping our eyes out for knitting stores along the way. We also travel on the www, so you never know where we'll end up.
By the way, while BK is busy buying all his big yarn for his big projects, I usually manage to slip a thing or two into the shopping cart, so I will also have little projects to share...and if you ask me, my projects are always much more interesting than BK's. You be the judge!
Till next time...
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