I know that you're probably wondering what in the name of all that's holy this is. Well, I'll tell you what it is. It's not a leg warmer for a cat. It's proof that I can knit magic loop and that I can learn it from a book (but not a video). I do think that the very expensive needle that I had purchased to try to teach myself ML was also part of the problem, but I've already blogged about how much I hated that needle, so I'm moving on.
Last week, while I was in the middle of the Norman knitting, my Knit Picks order arrived! It contained the most wonderful things: My nickel-plated Options interchangeable needles (I want to stroke the case and call it my precious), and a booklet called, oddly enough, The Magic Loop. Because I was in the middle of a project, I oohed and aahed a bit over my order and then I dutifully put it aside. I'm trying to become a person who finishes one project before moving on to the next, which is against my nature, but I'm trying.
Since I finished Norman on Friday night, I took a little time yesterday, when I wasn't working a full 8-hour shift and shuttling Ms. Thang to work and back, etc., to check out the ML method. I am one of those people who learns better from books with decent pictures rather than a moving video demonstration. Not that I'm passing judgment on people who learn in other ways; that's just how I learn.
And learn I did! It's not big right now, and it's certainly not perfect. For one thing, I lost track of where I was in the round, and when I cast off, I realized that it's uneven, meaning I started my cast off in the middle of the round and not at the beginning (picture me hitting my forehead Homer Simpson style here), and the initial join was not as smooth as I might like, but dammit, I knit a tiny tube in the round on a long circular needle: Size 5 needle points with cable to make total needle length 32 inches.
Which actually brings me to another point. All the videos I saw told me that I'd need at least a 40-inch circular needle to do ML, but if the cable is flexible enough (like the Knit Picks), then it's possible to do it with a shorter cable, even for a first timer. I will be ordering some of the longer cables though, because the idea of knitting 2 socks at the same time on one needle using the ML method, is amazingly intriguing, but I'll need enough needle space to make that work, so longer cables it is. Plus longer will be better for flat knitting afghans, etc.
I was so damn excited about the whole venture that I called Mom (to make sure she was up as it was not yet 9 a.m. on a Sunday), took my project, over there and taught her how to use the Magic Loop. We don't learn the same way, so my demo worked for her, and she agreed that once you see how it all works, it's easy and makes perfect sense.
I'm going to go knit some more stuff in the round now.
Last week, while I was in the middle of the Norman knitting, my Knit Picks order arrived! It contained the most wonderful things: My nickel-plated Options interchangeable needles (I want to stroke the case and call it my precious), and a booklet called, oddly enough, The Magic Loop. Because I was in the middle of a project, I oohed and aahed a bit over my order and then I dutifully put it aside. I'm trying to become a person who finishes one project before moving on to the next, which is against my nature, but I'm trying.
Since I finished Norman on Friday night, I took a little time yesterday, when I wasn't working a full 8-hour shift and shuttling Ms. Thang to work and back, etc., to check out the ML method. I am one of those people who learns better from books with decent pictures rather than a moving video demonstration. Not that I'm passing judgment on people who learn in other ways; that's just how I learn.
And learn I did! It's not big right now, and it's certainly not perfect. For one thing, I lost track of where I was in the round, and when I cast off, I realized that it's uneven, meaning I started my cast off in the middle of the round and not at the beginning (picture me hitting my forehead Homer Simpson style here), and the initial join was not as smooth as I might like, but dammit, I knit a tiny tube in the round on a long circular needle: Size 5 needle points with cable to make total needle length 32 inches.
Which actually brings me to another point. All the videos I saw told me that I'd need at least a 40-inch circular needle to do ML, but if the cable is flexible enough (like the Knit Picks), then it's possible to do it with a shorter cable, even for a first timer. I will be ordering some of the longer cables though, because the idea of knitting 2 socks at the same time on one needle using the ML method, is amazingly intriguing, but I'll need enough needle space to make that work, so longer cables it is. Plus longer will be better for flat knitting afghans, etc.
I was so damn excited about the whole venture that I called Mom (to make sure she was up as it was not yet 9 a.m. on a Sunday), took my project, over there and taught her how to use the Magic Loop. We don't learn the same way, so my demo worked for her, and she agreed that once you see how it all works, it's easy and makes perfect sense.
I'm going to go knit some more stuff in the round now.
1 comment:
Hooray! You've been looking forward to this for a while...now you can teach me!
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