Coming to terms with wanting to win. Then, some knitting.

[crankyisgood]

This is not a pretty phase I'm going through. No no. It feels like a hole in the chest, a heart ripped out: the acknowledgement that I want to win means facing the times when I didn't win, when I lost. And oh let me tell you that basically every day I am not the winner. (Don't confuse this with being "a loser," or not being "a winner." It's

Comments

moods

[anonymous]

It seems like there are many a bad or ugly mood going around the blogosphere today. Is it the change of season? I don't know. Wanting to win? Maybe it is a competitive thing. Maybe it is an attention thing. It doesn't mean that is a bad thing - we all want to feel good about ourselves and feel important, too, right?

I always slip them knitwise, but I have no idea what other people do!

meg
http://nepenthe.blog-city.com

Re: moods

[crankyisgood]

Hi Meg -- You know, I think the problem is it's getting at a deeper question (or maybe it's not deeper, but more basic): win what? What are we trying to win? I don't know, exactly.

The weather is definitely not helping. I am no fan of winter.

xo

[rmt]

hello...
what does slipping that first stitch do to the edges?
i can't quite tell, does is prevent curling?

[crankyisgood]

hi! nope, it doesn't stop the curling. on this scarf, I want a bit of curl, though.

what it does is creates a nice chain-like edging. you may notice on regular stockinette that the edge stitches look loose on one side and kind of weirdly irregular on the other side (the first stitch on one row looks really loose, the first stitch on the next row looks really tight). this is because of the nature of having to draw the yarn up from the row below to start a new row. So if you slip the stitch, it doesn't exactly resolve this problem but it does make the edge look prettier. I want to get a detail shot of this but I don't know when I will. A lot of people slip the first stitch on every row on all projects and call it a selvedge stitch; it can make seaming easier, I've heard, but I haven't tried it on a full-scale sweater project yet.

[vellumblue]

For the record, I only slip as if to knit on s1k1 psso. When slipping the first stitch of each row, I slip as if to purl. I actually used to do this on everything. Scarves, sweaters, anything flat. That's what mom taught me to do. Only maybe 4 years ago did I actually start knitting the first stitch. Honestly, I don't notice all that much a difference.

[crankyisgood]

What I want to know is, did you prefer seaming items w/slipped stitches at the edges?

[vellumblue]

well, back then I didn't really get that seams were supposed to be neat, and that you didn't just sew them up like in sewing. I do know that my slipped edges were a bit looser than non-slipped, so I think they'd be harder to seam, rather than easier.

[crankyisgood]

it's funny how EASY it is to read stitches now, see the bar you're supposed to pick up, etc, than it used to be. I've looked at slipped stitch selvedges and wonder excactly *where* am I supposed to insert the darning needle to seam? I feel like your fabric wouldn't pull together as nicely, wouldn't hide the seaming yarn as well, etc. with the slipped stitches.

[doggedknits]

I say slip as if to purl. It's what I do. (And therefore the way it should be done.)

And don't worry, *I* think you're a winner. (I know, I know, not the same.)

[crankyisgood]

Thank you for your support and your parenthetical statements. :P

[the_if_girl]

Hmm. I haven't recently slipped enough to know which way I do it. I do, however, like this pattern, and I ought to knit a scarf for myself sometime--once I finish the two things on my textile plate now.

I love that color. Thanks for sharing the pattern (and I get what you're saying about "the winner"; I never win).