Hints and tips

Just a few random ideas that may help fellow knitters. I have a very unique set of knitting needles, as I have some from my own knitting days in university, some from my mother, and some from my grandmother. Who knows what size they really are in todays patterns? So, I had to break down and buy a needle size guide, which has proven to be of great use in getting the right size. I tend to use the mm measuring system now, but patterns that I still find give a number and I am never sure if the number is US or UK, and they are quite different. You also have to use your common sense! (It also irritates me that some patterns give some dimensions in metric and other directions in the pattern in inches ... they should be consistent!) I rarely worry about the gauge, but some people are real sticklers for that, I know. I figure, if I knit it, someone somewhere will be able to use it! I have gotten more serious about the gauge in making things that must be a specific size though. I use a cardboard wine bottle gift tube to store my needles in, and it is great! You can get these at the dollar store if your friends have not gifted you with a bottle of wine lately! I have been tempted to buy a real set of needles, that I have seen in the stores, but that is not a real need as I do have most of the sizes I need, and a knitting needle is a knitting needle! I did buy a new set of bamboo double pointed needles, as the ones I have are only 6 inches long and I needed some 9 inches long. I did not find any in that length but did find some 8 inches, so I bought those. The bamboo needles are light to use, but I am not sure I like the feel of them. The stitches do not slide as easily along them as you are working. But, they will do. Perhaps that is the point of bamboo needles, to keep slippery yarns from sliding off so much? The circular needles I just keep together with an elastic. Another handy tip is to use a ruler (again, go to the dollar store to get the longest and thinnest ruler you can) to keep track of the rows. I hate marking up the pattern with marks to see how many rows I have done. I put a large size paper clip on the ruler and move it along as I knit, so I can keep track of the rows or repeats. Saves keeping a pencil handy. For pattern repeats or decrease/increase rows that are not obvious, I use some buttons to keep track, kind of like a shot tracker for golf. If I have to increase or decrease every 3 rows, for example, I will put 3 buttons on the table beside me and just move 1 at a time as I work, then when they have all been moved, I do the necessary row and then put the buttons back where they were to start again. It works for me! (Cat owners, beware .... the cats will try to knock your buttons to the floor to play hockey with when you are busy knitting, so find a place that is not too tempting to put the buttons as you work! :D ) When making things like booties or legs or arms for the dolls, I like to knit both at the same time, on longer needles. That way, I only have to count the rows and pattern changes once, and it also ensures that both are indeed the same size when you are finished. Even 1 row too many can make a noticeable difference on these smaller pieces. I wind a small amount of yarn into a small ball to do this, and keep it from unravelling while I work by keeping an elastic around it. There are probably other things I do that are part of my own method. Don't we all invent our own little ways of doing things when we do them often? Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!