Eek!

[firecat]

Proof that there is such a thing as a garment with Too Many Cables:
http://www.knitpicks.com/books/books_display.aspx?itemid=30920

Comments

[firecat]

Ooh, I like this one. (I think I am being partly influenced by my reaction to the cute furry guy wearing it.)

Go for it!

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have about the same reaction - that is of course just about the most complicated one. I've been looking at the simpler ones, and then thinking 'but once I get the hang of 5 needles I'll be bored silly'.

I'll ... think on it some more for a while.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

5 needles? What's that got to do with it?

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

The patterns are seamless and written to be knitted on sets of 5 needles. I can do multi-needle knitting, but I'm VERY out of practice, I have never managed to knit on a circular needle without wanting to impale something though.

Maybe I could practise with a handful of needles before taking the plunge to trying a full scale sweater.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

So like a giant sock, technique-wise? Do you know of any advantage this has over a circular, or is it just a matter of tradition?

Out of curiosity, if you don't mind my asking, what is it about circulars that makes you want to impate things?

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I suspect it's just tradition. I remember my granny teaching me to use 4 needles many moons ago (hence me being very out of practice). I don't know of any technical advantage of multiple needles over circulars, I'd guess that they were just a lot easier to make before plastics were ubiquitous.

As for me and circulars, I just dislike them intensely. I seem to spend all my time fighting with them and thinking about them and not actually getting into the flow of knitting. I could maybe practice and get used to them, but I don't feel the need, I'm quite happy with my straight sticks.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Interesting; I find circulars much easier that DPNs (though bamboo DPNs anre better than metal), and easier than straights for anything larger than a scarf, so I use them almost exclusively. But some kinds are lovely, and some are evil, and sometimes the evilness of a brand depends on the yarn being used -- like the circ I have that is horrible for ribbon yarn, because the join isn't smooth enough and the flat, thin yarn gets stuck, but would be OK with a yarn that could roll over that bump.

(For completeness, because I'm a tired geek who babbles when tired, the other common problem with circs is the cord picking up too much curl while stored; dipping the cord in hot water is said to help; i know getting far enough into the project that there's weight on it does. Using a too-long circ for an in-the-round project can also be problematic.)

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I've heard enough people talking about the joys of circs. that I've tried them - I've done the hot water trick, I've tried a few different brands, I've used the appropriate lengths for the piece I'm working on. Yet still, I prefer my nice, straight, pointy sticks.

Maybe one day I'll pick up a project that I really want to do that really only works properly on a circular and I'll have to learn. I can't see it happening any time soon though somehow.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

No reason you should have to! If you do, sometime down the road, decide to give it another try, and would like some input, I've tried enough brands to at least be opinionated, and would be happy to share my opinions if asked.

Part of what I find interesting in knitting is the variety of tools and techniques, so it's interesting to me to find out what people like and dilike about them. Me, I love lace, like cables, hate socks, love nylon circs, hate metal dpns, and will tackle fair isle and intarsia one of these days...

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I'm an intermittent knitter and tend to dabble in odds and ends. Most recently I've been doing some lace knitting - I thought it would be horrifically difficult, but I've surprised myself by really enjoying it, so long as I have a suitably quiet space to do it in.

Knitting socks doesn't appeal to me at all, but playing with colours is fun. And those ganseys - I love them, I suspect I will be getting one of those kits sometime, maybe not soon but definitely in the not too distant future.

For the fine lace I've been doing I love nice, slippery, metal needles. For other things though I prefer a bit more grip. I'm not keen on the feel of bamboo for knitting with in general though.

I love the way that there are endless geeking possibilities about it as well. Geeking is fun.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I find metal DPNs are prone to falling out of the work, leading to excessive use of point protectors. Bamboo DPNs stay put better. The bamboo circs I've used, on the other hand, have the least smooth joins I've ever encountered. For lace, I want the pointiest needles I can lay hands on, and the bamboo needles I have are just too dull.

I did a sock and a half, and that was enough.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've seen bamboo dpns, but I've not looked very hard, I tend to use the standard plastic(coated) needles pretty much all of the time. Pointy for lace though, definitely. I have some nice looking metal circulars, but they don't like me any more than any others do, so they languish, unloved and unused.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't call plastic or plastic-coated needles standard on this side of the pond; metal is most common, with bamboo and wood being popular in some circles. Plastic exists, but it uncommon. The nylon circs I love haven't been made in decades; I have to get them off ebay. Are your metal circs the common-in-my-experience metal tips with a nylon cord, or the no-longer-sold-here kind with a metal cord (resembles a large-diameter metal guitar string)? (I have a lot of older needles.)

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

The ones that I think of as standard are (I think) metal with a thin plastic coating on them. They are the ones I'm used to and most comfortable with other than at the exreme ends of the size range. I have used bamboo ones but they aren't slippy enough for my tastes. The fine ones I'm using for the lace are metal though.

My metal DPNs are the sort with a nylon cord, I've not seen ones with anything other than nylon for the cord part I don't think.

What I'd love to find out about is how to use knitting sticks - I've seen them in a museum but don't know anyone who uses them. I also met a Swedish woman who did 'needle binding' - it looked like knitting with a single needle, but it decidedly isn't crochet.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I"m not sure if the most common metal needles here have a coating or not, but I don't think they do -- the ones I know do are much higher-end needles.

'Needle binding' is probably nallbinding (http://www.stringpage.com/naal/naal.html) -- I"ve seen it done, but haven't tried it myself.

Are the knitting sticks you mention the tool discussed here (http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=203542)?

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

Thank you - yes, naalbinding looks right from what she was doing. Her English was very good, but the place we were wasn't really right for teaching someone else how to do do a new thing across languages.

She was making her other half some new mittens - the fabric was very warm and dense that she produced.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I believe it originated with the Vikings. I have very little use for warm, dense fabrics, living in southern California, but may try it some day any way,

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

You're meant to make *useful* things with this stuff. What an odd notion...

[firecat]

I am using birch hardwood DPNs for the socks I'm knitting, and I love that they *aren't* slippery, because the yarn doesn't fall off the ends at all. I prefer slippery for large swathes of simple knitting though because it goes faster, and I also prefer slippery for cables.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I think I prefer slippery needles pretty much at all times - I dislike intensely the feeling of fighting against the work when I'm knitting that I get with non-slippery needles. The normal-for-here plastic coated ones are the ones that I generally prefer. Some grip but not enough for me to notice it.

That and they're the ones that I've always used so it's what feels right.

[firecat]

Why do you hate socks?

So far I love the idea of lace but can't keep track well enough to like the process. And I am working on my first sock and kind of like it, but we'll see.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I've never tried knitting socks, it just doesn't appeal to me. I see lots of people writing about how much fun it is, and how wonderful the end result is and I think 'yes, but all you end up with is a pair of socks'. I suspect at least part of it is my brain saying 'hah! you'll never actually manage a *matching* pair', which is odd 'cos I can do fine with sleeves for sweaters.

Lace I'm enjoying doing but I *HAVE* to have quiet to work on it else things go very wrong. I'm also working it from written patterns not charts, I've tried both and the charts just don't make enough sense for me, written out, with an index card to keep note of which row I've just done it the way I'm doing it.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

*is* the way I'm doing it, not *it* the way I'm doing it.

Sheesh, it's too early here after it being too late last night.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I suspect a large part of it is that I rarely wear socks, so the effort-reward ratio is off. I think I'd like to try again with a proper sock yarn, bamboo DPNs, and a toe-up pattern before I make a final never-again decision, but I didn't enjoy my first attempt enough to finish. (I beta-tested kathrynt's universal sock pattern.)

Stitch markers help immensely in keeping track with lace.