Whether I’ll be sporting a thumb cozy, or whether my thumb will be camera ready by Monday, I’m off tomorrow for Tulsa and further points west!
Thanks so much to all of you for your commiseration AND good suggestions. After an evening of soaking in very hot epsom salt water (note the unique soaking mechanism I cobbled together – that way I can soak and not leak!) it does seem a bit better. I’ll cross my fingers.
Knitty Gritty
I don’t have cable, so I never know when a segment I’ve done is going to air on Knitty Gritty. It’s just kismet that right now one of my episodes is being aired the week before I fly out for taping a new segment.
I can tell when one airs, though, because I start getting all kinds of emails from folks who’ve watched the show. I just got this really lovely email from a male knitter in Connecticut – it says what so many of the emails say:
Anyway, I quickly noticed my first week knitting that when I followed a lace pattern, a lot of my stitches were coming out twisted. At first, I couldn’t figure out what i was doing wrong. Then, I began ignoring the diagrams and just began listening to the stitches and letting them tell me what to do (I know, that sounds a bit creepy). Then everything came out fine. Although people said my knitting was nice, they told me I was knitting “wrong”.
FiNALLY, I saw you on “knitty gritty” and realized I must be a combination knitter. Thanks for validating my knitting style. If anyone comes up to me and says I knit “wrong”, I can just say, “well, I knit like Annie Modesitt does.” That should keep them quiet.
Well, I don’t know if it will keep them quiet – it may make them yell louder – but it will give them something to chew on. So in case I haven’t said it lately on the blog,
There Is No One Right Way To Knit!
There are many different right ways to knit!
Here’s what I wrote back to my friend in CT:
You know the best thing – it [my attitude about knitting] insinuates itself into everything I do. I find myself more adventurous, working with more ingenuity and able to be more open to other folks and their different ways of knitting (and living, and raising kids, and EVERYTHING!) What a wonderful by-product of a knitting style!
It also makes me understand the power of legitimacy, and how much it means to have your own identity sanctioned – or at least accepted – by a portion of the population. As a white girl from Ohio who never thought twice when I grew up about how it might feel to not be part of the “mainstream”, it’s been a most eye and mind-opening experience.
So go watch someone knit today and see what you might learn!
Peering Between My Fingers
When you publish a book you can’t wait for it to be on Amazon – then you read a few of the reviews and you have to grit your teeth and swallow your pride and use the comments as a jumping off point for improvement.
I’ve been getting so much really great email about Twist & Loop – nice comments from folks who never thought they’d want to knit with wire, let alone make something that they’d give as a gift! This is partly because there’s been a great move toward hand crafted items and gifts in the past few years (which makes something beautifully made, but with the imperfections that come from our humanity, much easier to appreciate.)
If you’ve read Twist & Loop and have liked it – please take a moment to let the world know at Amazon. I know when I’m shopping, I use the reviews to help me make decisions. Folks who are considering buying a book on a subject that’s as fearsome (and odd) as knitting with wire would probably appreciate a little feedback. Dangerous step, I know, asking for reviews…
I’m thinking of trying to put together a blog-tour for Men Who Knit – any ideas…?