Oogyknitter

Dear Neuro, I had a great time learning the Magic Loop technique this month! Thanks to your terrific head start and encouragement, I made it through my first pair! I wanted to start out with a very simple sock pattern, and let the yarn do all the work whilst I was fussing with the needles and cord.  Here are the completed socks from those efforts: Who thinks of these things??  I thought it was a very original technique, and if you don't like working with DPNs it is a great way to still be able to make socks.  I happen to like DPNs very much, but that's how I learned.  All other things being equal, I still prefer DPNs, at least for this straightforward, cuff-down pattern. One advantage of Magic Loop is that, when all your DPNs are presently in use on other projects, you can always start one more pair of socks with the circular needle!!!  (You can see how this is going to get me into UFO trouble already!) However, I am presently looking for a pattern/y...

Whilst I continue to ponder and produce the Magic Loop socks, I have an inbetween project I wanted to make for a colleague who is retiring in a few weeks and is headed to warmer climes.  This pretty shawlette is Multnomah , and it's made with Fiesta Baby Boom yarn in a color called Spirit Dancer.  It is a terrific, enjoyable, and satisfying pattern -  garter stitch forever, then feather-and-fan for even longer. Great for TV/movie/lecture watching.  Also - no more than 4 stitch markers are needed at any one time! The stripe you see in the photo is the beam of sunlight that I thought I'd leave in just to prove that the sun does come out here once in a while this time of year (even if it is only one beam!). I'm closing in on the toe of the second Magic Loop sock, so will have more to show and discuss soon!

Dear Neuro, I'm a little behind in starting my February project for Thing A Month. My assignment is Magic Loop.  This is  a technique for knitting smaller things in the round on one large circular needle, instead of on 4 or 5 double-pointed needles.  I love my DPNs, and have not had a need for Magic Loop, so have never learned it!  Thanks to your head start/practice kit, I was able to mess around first: Several YouTube videos later, and after much practice, I took some sock yarn and got started: My first impressions are that, once you get used to this technique, it is fun and pretty straightforward.  At this point, I still prefer DPNs, but I've got a lot of sock yet to go on this one.  Also, I find colorwork socks extremely fiddley on DPNs - I wonder if Magic Loop is a good approach for that, what do you think? Also, here is the last of the Warm South America projects, a Wingspan in yarn that you and I hand-dyed several years ago with MIL Oogy: ...

Dear Neuro, What fun we are having with our 2013 theme, Thing A Month!  And – we are also learning new stuff along the way!  You have already learned about the Left Leaning Decrease, which I had no idea even existed, yet without which I am left with crookedey decreases!  Who knew??? I really enjoyed our January BFF Scarf collaboration project!   It was fun selecting the yarns and colors (and even having to do it all over again when faced with mysterious yarn shortages), and devising a pattern that would be both fun and relevant.  I infrequently deviate from written patterns, and even more rarely make up my own, but in the spirit of trying something new I forged ahead (gauge be damned, evidently – oh well!). I knew from the outset that I wanted to do something science-y, and in the process of looking around I happened across ChemKnits and her various molecule knitting charts .  As soon as I saw the caffeine molecule, I started thinking abo...