MeMe KnitKnit

Joelene at Misocrafty sweetly tagged me for this meme, which is all about knitting. Yay! I feel so popular when I get tagged (although apologies to those who tagged me long ago with the book meme. I accidentally deleted a very long and thoughtful response, and lacked the wherewithall to redo it. Popularity squandered is a terrible thing.)

What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with?
I just adore Lamb's Pride. It was one of the first yarns I ever used, and it's remained a staple. It comes in an amazing range of fun and luminous colors, it's strong and consistent, and it's not too itchy for a basic yarn. Here's a selection of projects it's built in the past... apparently I like stripes, too:

Your favorite needles?
Some unspoken knitters code binds me to say Addi Turbos, but the pull of my rosewood Lantern Moon straight needles wins out. In truth, I really prefer circular needles, but using my Lantern Moons just makes a project feel more special. They are ultra smooth, warm, and of course, elegant. And every girl knows it's important to feel elegant.

The worst thing you've ever knit?
I'm only considering finished projects. It's a policy I have to delete anything at the bottom of the frog pond from memory, Eternal Sunshine style. Anyway, it's a tie between these two hats:

The first one was a baby gift for my friend Angela. It turned out about the size of, oh, my fist, but I gave it to her anyway. It's to her credit that she didn't take it as a bad omen about premature birth. THe second one was for C. It was my first attempt at ribbing and, as you can see, it didn't go so well. Not only was the hat too small in the first place, but the rib was messed up in about three places and I didn't even know how to go about fixing it at the time. It was a sympathy wear for about a month, then it was mercifully abandoned somewhere. Bless that boy. Hats have been avoided ever since.

Your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)
I dig small and intricate. My favorite has to be Sheik Yerbouti:

The pattern was a heavily modified one from Zoe Mellor's 50 Baby Bootees to Knit. You can never get bored knitting booties. A close second place was Ann Budd's Aran Hot Water Bottle Cover from the Summer 2002 IK:

Most valuable knitting technique?
I liked Joelene's answer: bravery. On top of that, knitting in the round whenever possible!

Best knit book or magazine?
Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman. Even though I've still never created my own sweater pattern, this book made me feel equipped to when the time comes. And EZ's writing is super charming - I wish she were around to have a blog.

Your favorite knit-a-long?
Although I just joined, I've found the Scarf Style knitalong inspiring. There's nothing like seeing so many real life examples of so many creative designs in one place. And of course the Colchique knitalong has been satisfying in a different way - working with a French pattern is truly a group effort, sometimes requiring transatlantic collaboration.

Your favorite knitblogs?
Oooh. This is a toughie. The common thread, besides knitting, is great photography - I'm a sucker for sharp focus and nice lighting. EDIT: after thinking about it, I wanted to add so many "favorites" that I can't in good conscience give any kind of top blog list, but check out my blogroll, why don't you?

Your favorite knitwear designer?
It might be Veronik Avery, Joelle Hoverson, or Stefanie Japel. But I'll think about it and get back to you.

The knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it!)
Definitely the Hourglass Sweater. It's in heavy rotation in the fall and winter uniform:

Tag time
Whoo, that was fun! How about Sandra and Sarah, two of the lovely ladies I met in Rhinebeck?

Posted by jess at October 27, 2005 11:56 PM