Although I DO seem to come up with a new question at every turn.
Examples:
–I wonder why my stitches always seem so loose on one side of my cables???
–What’s intarsia?
–how do I do a ptwist?
–what is a selvage stitche?
My main question would be: What is the best reference book for me to have at my elbow, when I can’t get online? I would really appreciate recommendations to start a small library.
Thanks,
Laurie - determined to master this wonderful art
I highly recommend the Vogue Knitting Book. It has never failed to answer my every question! LOL. It isn’t very portable, but it is very useful and thorough.
There are of course MANY others worth having-for instance anything by Elizabeth Zimmerman is wonderful. I have her Knitting without Tears and Knitting Workshop (both excellent for beginners!) and also the Knitter’s Almanac, and Knitting Around. Both of these are quite enjoyable and worthwhile as well.
I always wonder why my last stitch on cables is so loose too :lol: I don’t know the second and 3rd question, but the last one: a selvage stitch is any stitch on the edge of the piece.
Good luck!
Laurie,
Check out the books in your library. I’ve found several books there that I used repeatedly and realized it was worth buying them. My favorite “reference” knitting book is Reader’s Digest [U]Knitter’s Handbook [/U]by Montse Stanley. The photos and patterns are a bit dated but the information is complete and solid.
The cable stitches between the knit and the purl are often loose. What you can do to correct it is to purl that first stitch through the back loop. This will tighten it up. On the back, though, you have to remember to knit that particular stitch through the back loop as well to untwist it. It really makes a difference in the cable’s appearance.
The Harmony Guides are excellent reference books–inexpensive, too.
Selvage stitches are the first and last stitches on something–it comes from ‘self edge’–in patterns that use them.
P twist? - Is it done with two stitches, or is it a twisted purl, worked on 1 stitch?
I really like the one called the knitters bible.
Try the “Knitting Answer Book”. It’s tiny and portable and can fit into any bag for taking with you. I also have the Vogue Knitting Book, but I find it complicated and overwhelming. Mostly because it has a lot of patterns on a graph (that seems like doing a latch hook rug to me for some reason).
I also have the knitting answer book & I swear by it. The size is prefect for carrying it around.
Thank you all! Your recommendations will get me started on my own library. I am a book “junkie”, which is not good when I really want to build my yarn stash. I think I’ll go see what I can find in the used books.
And thank you, Ingrid, for the tip on loose cable stitches. I really want to try this.
Re: the ptwist—I believe the pattern was doing it with 2 stitches—I’ll take another look.
Laurie