Simple Knitting Tips: Organize your stitch markers

Every now and then a knitting trick comes my way that it is so clever I wish I had either

1.   thought of it myself  -or-

2.   heard about it sooner.

I can't figure out why it doesn't say "Stitch Marker Organizer" right on the package!

I've had a couple of these rings in my office supplies for years (no clue where they came from) and I am delighted to be able to tell you that you can actually BUY THESE AMAZING THINGS at your office supply store of choice (Mine is Staples, because EASY button, of course!).

2/20/14: Edited to add: The bag was courtesy of my friend and tech knitting editor, Jessica Higdon, who was clever enough to buy it and show me the genius ring :)

Organized and adorable!

(originally published 2/19/14 on knitoasis.blogspot.com)

(you know, back in the old days...)

KnitOasis: The Ravelry Group

I think most of us who use it will agree: Ravelry is an amazing resource.  I call it The Font of All Knowledge.  If I have a question about knitting, blogging, iPhones, Dr. Who, local happenings, even world events, I can find someone in the Rav forums discussing it, or post a question to be answered by the amazing bunch we call Ravelers.

Recently, I asked my daughter if she thought it would be useful to start a KnitOasis Ravelry group.  Her response?  "What? You don't already have one???"

And so I started one.

Why join another group on Ravelry? And more specifically, why join the KnitOasis group on Ravelry?

Well, technically, you don't have to join ANY groups on Ravelry to get a lot out of it.  As a database for patterns and projects and yarns and designers, it's probably the top website out there.  There are others, but I have yet to find one that offers everything Ravelry has and is as easy to use as Ravelry. You can live your whole life without joining a group and you will most likely be happy enough.

But, if you take the step of joining some groups (your local yarn shop's group or a group that discusses your favorite TV program or even one for knitters with cats) and participate in discussions in those groups, you will find a new level of involvement in your knitting (and crocheting, etc) life.  Back in the old days, before Ravelry, when we wanted to find other knitters, we had to either bump into them in real life (True story: I was stopped by a woman one day as I walked into a grocery store because the bag I was using as my purse was something I had handknit and she could TELL that it was handknit and she and I had a lovely chat about knitting and patterns and yarn.) or find them via the webrings we joined our blogs to. (Remember webrings? Do they still have those??) When Ravelry came along, however, it was like, "There are knitters EVERYWHERE! My people! I have found my people!"

The point is: Community. I can't tell you how many times I have been reassured of my sanity because it wasn't just me having a problem with a pattern/garden bug/movie plot/electronic gadget; there were others and sometimes there were helpful solutions and sometimes there was just company in our misery.

I'm not afraid to embrace the Shameless Plug right now and ask you to join our little group. It's free, it's painless and it will (hopefully) add dimension to your life as we discuss...well...whatever! Patterns, yarns, entertainment, history, pets...you name it! To join, all you have to do is 1) Be a member of Ravelry and 2) Click "join this group" on the group page. That's all! Then join in the conversations that have already begun or start a new one. Ask questions, post comments, tell us a joke! (I love jokes!) (They don't even have to be good jokes.)

Why can't a bicycle stand up on its own? Because it is too tired! Get it? Too/Two tired?? (See what I mean?)

On that note, I'll stop before my kids throw things at me (they hear my jokes a lot). I'll see you on Ravelry!

Wading in the pool, the murky pool of pooling colors

Just so you know, I am fully aware that today's topic might be controversial.  I am prepared for the dislike mail, the ugly comments, the disdain from knitters and crocheters who disagree with me.  Being fully aware of the stir I'm about to make, I am plunging in anyway, into the murky waters of color pooling.

There are some who adore pooling.  I get that. I really am open minded about this and I hope you can find a way to be open minded about what I'm about to say.

I am not a fan.

I tried, I really did.  I have seen projects pool that did so in ways I could live with ("it's artistic, yeah, artistic. That's it...").

This block from my Flying Geese quilt has some pooling of sorts that works.

A little pooling on this border between the green sections.  This I can live with.

But there are way too many that turn out much less artistically. Much less.

See the section at the top? Where the brown turns all muddy?  Looks like, well, a pool of mud.

And then there is this. It was supposed to be a sock. It's sock yarn even.  But the splotches of color were so disturbing, that this yarn is now on its way to becoming a scarf. (Will post link to pattern when it's published FREE on Ravelry. Stay tuned!)

When good socks go bad, or something like that.

I realize there are those of you out there who love it when yarn acts this way.  There is a Ravelry group for you and even a website that will (somehow) tell you how to plan your pooling. (Thank you, Desiree, for that tip!)  My friend Dianne tells me that SAFF will have a class on working with variegated yarn, but I think it's too late for me.  I tried, with the sock yarn above, using two skeins and switching every row to "break up" the pooling and it looked even worse.  I also hated having to stop and untangle the two working yarns all the time.  Fighting the pooling to make a sock was sucking all the fun out of sock knitting, and y'all, that just ain't right.

It probably shouldn't have surprised me.  I prefer Baroque music and Georgian architecture for their symmetry, so yeah, the vagaries of variegated yarn and its issues with pooling are difficult for me to embrace.

My lesson here is that I might be happier sticking to solids, self-striping, tweeds, hand-paints and tonals. And I'm ok with that.  Remember, life is too short to knit something you hate.

What has been your experience with pooling? Are you a fan? I'd love to see what you've done. Either post in the comments below or in our KnitOasis Ravelry group.