<p>Just checking.
When not distracted by a child needing to transition to a new life stage, or by work/career or aging parents, by friends or spouse…</p>
<p>I’m pretty much a crazed knitter and spinner.</p>
<p>So I would talk about that, but you can also find me on Ravelry. Same screen name. Same silliness.</p>
<p>I’m not a knitter, buy my sister is on Ravelry. (She has tried to teach me, but I just can’t seem to figure it out!! ) I will have to get her screen name. As a matter of fact, she and my niece are at some big Knitting thing this weekend in CT. They have gone for the past 3 years. She will probably come home with a ton of yarn!!</p>
<p>I knit (though a relative newcomer, and not a terribly talented one at that) and am a big time Internet user, but weirdly I’m not drawn to those knitting websites. I prefer going to my neighborhood yarn shop to look at the wool/samples/ books. For me knitting is all about warmth and texture, and that just doesn’t translate through the computer screen. Though I have gotten great deals on yarn online. That neighborhood yarn shop I love is a precious expensive little place that charges a fortune!</p>
<p>Yep, I’m a knitter. I taught myself to knit in high school and then didn’t touch it until law school. We started a Monday night knitting club to relax from the awful hours we had to put in while in law school. That was over 27 years ago and I still knit everyday. I browse through Ravelry and love the fact that, if you find a pattern you like, you can see it worn by different body types. It’s also great for weird information. My college age daughter fell in love with a red scarf that Sarah Jessica Parker wore on Sex and the City (movie 1). We watched the DVD and tried to stop the movie to figure out the pattern, but it was impossible. So I went to Ravelry and lo and behold an equally obsessed person developed a pattern for the scarf. It turned out beautifully with lots of cables and MUCH cheaper than the Chanel original. Her friends all wanted me to make them one, but they had no clue how long it takes to knit this up (it was about 12" wide and really long, which is usual for a scarf). My kids love it (sarcasm here) when we go shopping at JCrew and I whip out my cell phone and take pictures of their $100+ cashmere scarves, which I then knit using merino for less than half the price.</p>
<p>Count me in-- same screen name also! – and yes I browse ravelry - Knitter me relax - needing it more than ever with the college search in full swing.</p>
<p>Yep. I spin–schacht DT, knit, and occasionally lurk Ravelry. Lately, I am not doing much of these. Not sure why. Am more involved with making nuno felt. These things go in phases for me. </p>
<p>I totally get why some folks can’t buy fiber on line. I make nuno scarves and have not even tried to sell them on-line because the texture and hand of the fabric just doesn’t translate to the screen. How can a screen show the difference between merino and alpaca?? </p>
<p>Both kids are in school now, but the knitting and spinning sure helped last winter after all the applications were in and the waiting time dragged on!</p>
<p>merlin AKA fiberfrenzi</p>
<p>MoltoBene: When my sister sees something she is constantly taking it apart with her eyes and trying to figure out how she can knit it. She also belongs to a knitting club. I think hers meets at the Barnes and Noble. She also learned in high school, and started again when my nieces were out of the house. She happened upon her local yarn shop and started again. She then taught my nieces (both grown) one is in love with it, the other hasn’t gotten past scarfs. At that convention thing this weekend she is taking a class on how to knit like they do in Europe, something about using your left hand more and going under instead of over??? And also another class for a certain stitch. It all sounds Greek to me! but it does look very relaxing.</p>
<p>I used to be a knitter. H still has few sweaters I knitted for him when I was madly in love with him. It used relax me. I would love to own a yarn shop someday.</p>
<p>I haven’t knit anything since my 21 year old was four. I want to knit. I love the mathiness of it, but somehow there’s always something else I’d rather do, and I’m not practiced enough to knit without paying close attention to it. I’ve seen Ravelry because my sister-in-law is a serious knitter and love the site. I learned to knit from a German woman - our way is soooo much easier!</p>
<p>I’m on Ravelry but don’t actually hang out there much… Occasionally I’ll go look for a free pattern for something. Same screen name.</p>
<p>I knit most evenings while DH and I watch TV. I knit hats and blankets… both of which I can in the dark. And the occasional scarf, always using one of three patterns–a lace one that I have memorized (26 stitches wide, finish width depends on needle size), a 2x2 rib, or plain old garter stitch. The blankets are always garter stitch. </p>
<p>The hats vary a bit depending on the intended recipient. I made one for my sister last year that used two sheins of cashmere… it had a double thickness over the ears and a neck/ear flap besides. I got tired of her complaining she was always cold when she walked–she lives in upstate New York and walks every day, regardless of the weather. I ended up having to make her another for weather that wasn’t quite as cold… she has four or five of my hats now.</p>
<p>My daughter wants fingerless gloves for Christmas, with a cable on the back. Not sure I can knit those and watch TV at the same time… I may have to make that a “books on tape” project.</p>
<p>ProudNJmom: I think the skill your sister is learning is called Continental Knitting. Instead of throwing the yarn around the needle with your right hand, you keep the yarn on the left hand and pick it through the stitch, like with crochet. I can do both and will use Continental when I do fair isle work since I keep one color American style and the other skein of color Continental. I hate color work because the skeins get all tangled up. Over time I have taught myself lots of new techniques from books and videos online. Lately, I prefer working with DK weight yarns and doing intricate cabled scarves. There is a woman on Ravelry that has posted some beautiful patterns for free. I also get into periods when I do intricate lace shawls that are so incredibly gorgeous when you block them and they weigh almost nothing. I usually keep these in bags and give them away to friends when they get ill or have a tragedy in the family. I’ve been told that it gives them comfort to wear these and find a quiet time to deal with their problems. A friend who had breast cancer said she wore it every time she had Chemo since the hospitals are so cold and the shawl didn’t interfere with all the IVs.</p>
<p>Not knitting, but sometimes I like to drool over the alpaca yarn on etsy.</p>