Men Who Knit Promoting and inspiring the art of knitting amongst men.

Just in time for summer ... mittens from a WWII knit-for-the-troops pattern.  The accent stripes created extra work evening up the stitches and weaving in the ends, but in a solid color the mittens knit up really fast.  Since our boys in Iraq probably have little need for these, I'll just put them away until it gets cold again.

Yesterday, we went to an antique show/fair and one of the exhibitors was a woman who was furiously knitting.  Of course, I went to chat with her and discovered that she was knitting in the medieval method of holding the right needle still and tucked under the right arm while all the movements of knitting were done by the left arm.  The only involvement of the right hand was to throw the wool.  Those who have studied the history of knitting know that in the medieval ages the members of the knitting guilds wore special belts with a groove which held the right hand needle in a stationary position.  I must say that this woman knitted with great speed both the knit and the purl stitches.

When my new book arrived from Canada, the owner of the shop included this old poem which I wanted to share.

The Prayse of the Needle

To all dispersed sorts of Arts and Trades,

I write the Needles praise (that never fades)

So long as children shall be got or borne,

So long as garments shall be made, or worne,

So long as Hemp or Flax, or Sheep shal bear

Their linnen wollen fleeces yeare by yeare;

So long as Silk-worms, with exhausted spoyle

check out the various exhibits on this site..

I've just started a pair of socks using the Universal Sock Pattern.  This is just my second pair of socks, the first being done in sport-weight wool and a bit loose all over.  I want to make sure I've cast on a good number of stitches before I get too far into it.  My stockinette gauge is 7.5 st per inch (though the leg will be worked mostly in K3 P1 rib).  So, per the pattern I've cast on 60 stitches.  To my inexperienced eye, after having done the cuff and a bit of the leg, this doesn't seem like enough stitches. 

Think I've made a huge mistake buying the Eskimo wool for the Drops Design Hoodie.  Dreadful stuff.  Horrible. Made the mistake - against my own previous advice - of buying the wool on-line so hadn't seen how crap it is! and the colour is awful!  It's an unstructured yarn a bit like Lopi.  It is very thick and looks like the matted dangly bits off a lamb's backside and I'm not talking about the tail, you understand.  It splits constantly and is felting as I knit.  The colour is a bilious green and not the pleasant sage-green I thought it was.  Not good value at all although it only set me back £36 ($50?).  I seriously doubt that the garment could be worn more than a few times without trashing and I would say it would be impossible to wash or clean.  One for the dog basket I think, except I don't own a dog...bugger!

Whatever you call it - here is one I knitted. From just one skein of Noro Kureyon. This mojo bag is a gift for a friend's birthday who is a ghost hunter. I placed a smudge stick inside for when he goes a-hauntin'.

Ok,

 I should know by now that not everything in life is fun and exciting. However, I am really hating this sweater I have been working on FOREVER!!!!!!!!!! It's for my partner, a few of you may remember me griping about it earlier,.....but I find myself knitting a few rows per evening and then putting it down....it is an irregular rib pattern...that takes a little more concentration than other projects. I know some would say i should just let it go and go on to something I enjoy....but Allan is loving the way it looks and really so am I....I just hate doing it. I have told myself I'm not starting anything else until I finish it....just for motivation. I guess I will just "two-row-a-night" it until I get there. Anyone else have this issue???? I need words of encouragment....please!

Ive had the worst week of knitting, One I hate this yarn i bought. Carons simply soft.  It untwists and splitts easly.  I thought the red heart was bad.  I would rather go back to red heart and burn this crappy yarn.  I have six projects  going and none of them near completion.  I need to knit something up fast so i can finnish something.  The socks im working on i have been working on for a while.  im still on the leg of the first sock.  the kite string or yarn is so small and the needles so small they arnt knitting up as fast as what i was led to believe.  How could anyone get satisfaction out of socks. you could spend months on just one pair.  Sorry just needed to vent.

Lots of birthdays in the spring!  Here are some of the gift items I've been working on for the last couple of weeks ...

Felted clogs following the Fiber Trends pattern.  These knit up very quickly using a double strand of yarn and US 13 needles.  I felted a pair for myself but plan to present the others with a humorous set of felting instructions so that the recipients can experience the amazing process (and the aroma of wet wool) for themselves.