The Knitting Corner

...yes, here it is. It's a deeply unorganized space. But it serves.

For me, knitting is many things. But the deepest point of my connection to it touches some self-sufficiency/survival instinct lingering in my genes. One of the most fundamental human instincts -- besides providing ourselves with food -- is keeping ourselves and our loved ones warm and protected, which a handknit garment usually accomplishes beautifully. When I knit, I drop off into imaginative reveries. I won't bore you with the content of those. Suffice it to say, it's an ancient tradition, and I find it very therapeutic.

The garment on the pink chair is a from-the-top-down vest based on Barbara Walker's method for a sleeveless sweater in Knitting from the Top. I love knitting in this way -- in fact, I rarely work from the bottom up anymore. Whenever I fall in love with a conventionally-knit pattern, I always find myself thinking how I'd do it from the top. You can try the garment on as you're working (yes, you really can!) to be sure of a perfect fit, which is important for me, because I often don't look well in normal patterns. Also, if you're making something for somebody else, you can break into their home, steal their favorite t-shirt or sweater and copy the proportions exactly. You can do that with bottom-up styles, too, I just think top down is more fun, damn it.

Pictures to follow when it's completed.

Also, I began a knitted hemp bag today -- usually I don't knit bags, because I am too rough with them. I know I would slam one in the car door or step on it or mutilate it in some other way, and when you knit something and then have to see it destroyed...it's a recipe for a broken heart. But hemp is SO so strong, and I had some of it sitting around. I am forcing myself to write it down as I go (which I always give up on halfway through any creation), so the pattern and pictures will be up hopefully within a few days.

Let me know if you knit with cool stuff -- my mom does it with old plastic bags (it makes a terrifically strong fabric, but is hard on the hands as you're working). I thought I'd try something with old t-shirts...cutting them up spiral-wise into long strips, and knitting with those. I'd like to branch out from always shopping for yarn. Until I can get my hands on a living sheep or an alpaca, I vow to quest for recycled, nouveau (cheap) yarnstuffs.

--Nellamity