So I’m a regular stalker of the Yarnharlot’s blog. I looked yesterday and she had just started a pair of socks on thursday. I went back today and she had finished the pair on Friday and taken pictures and blogged about them…plus they go up to mid-calf!
I need to learn how to knit that quickly, it takes me so long to knit anything its sad and pathetic…
Is anyone else who has knit for more than a year a slow knitter, or is it just me?
One thing I did do that sped me up quite a bit was to learn continental knitting. There are fewer movements to make, so it’s faster for a lot of people.
Unfortunately, the trade-off was that it made me reeeaaallllly slow while I was learning it, and the first couple of things I did were really uneven and looked like things I made when I first started knitting. But I practiced for a few weeks making pot holders, and eventually I got the hang of it. As a bonus, the potholders were a stashbusting activity!
But really, I think you shouldn’t worry too much. If you are enjoying what you are doing, I wouldn’t worry that someone else might be donig it faster!
Now that is fast knitting. It’s a video of the German “Fast Knitting Championships” and they can knit ridiculously fast.
Starbust- OMG, that’s insane!
You don’t have to knit that fast, though when you’re first learning and it seems like forever to just work a row you may want to. As you get more experience and practice, your speed will pick up. Doesn’t matter if you knit english or continental either - I knit english and it seems as if I’m going pretty fast, as fast as the conti knitters I’ve seen. It’s all in what you get used to, so just keep practicing. 
I’ve been knitting for a year and a half (although I first learned how many years ago), and I’m a VERY slow knitter. Part of my problem is that I’m easily distracted, so I sometimes tend to put my work down and wander off.
But even when that doesn’t happen – I can very happily spend an entire day watching movies on TV and knitting – it still takes me a long time to finish anything, and I think I’ve figured out why. I’m more of a process than a product knitter, and I get a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of the very act of knitting! If I try to make myself knit faster I don’t enjoy it as much, it starts feeling like work instead of fun. I might speed up for a few minutes, but then I lapse back into my normal snail’s pace.
So I guess I’m just going to have to accept the fact it’s going to take me a long time to finish my projects!
:knitting::teehee:
he he he… i am not so much slow, as easily distracted (by casting on new projects, reading message boards/emails/blogs, browsing ravelry…) plus, i don’t like to knit on a schedule or due date :teehee: I NEVER promise anything knitted up in any sort of timely manner.
As for the harlots socks, i think (from reading the posts) that she pretty much laid up and did nothing but knit solidly for the entire day… so 18 hours of plain knitting seems reasonable even for mid-calf socks… nothing speedy, just dedicated
haha! I was knitting my first sock today and after 2 hours I had about an inch and a half…Think I’m gonna make footies!
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a fast knitter. She’s been knitting for most of her life, and has had lots of time to get comfortable with her style of knitting. Here’s a video that shows how she knits.
That’s the way I knit too, conincidentally. My mom taught me, and she learned it from an English lady. (Though I don’t knit as fast as the Yarn Harlot.)
Just knit in whatever way is comfortable for you. You’ll get a rhythm down, and it’ll be all your own. It’s ok if you are a slow knitter, it’s not a race! 
Mariblue- Irish Cottage is so cool! I’ve got to try that… Thanks for the link!
I knit Conti and had considered myself pretty quick ( that is compared to some of the sad little knitters I observed at the local LYS ) 
that said a lot has to do with what you are actually knitting like the Yarn and pattern make a huge difference. If I am just knitting or purling I am pretty quick but pattern work slows me down. Right now I am crawling through entrelac I keep having to refer to the pattern for the end triangles :wall:
I will try the yarn Harlots style to see if I can do it that way too it sure seems incredibly fast :shock:
Don’t make fun of the sad little knitters:), I’m sure they’re trying their best and they’re probably no worse than me!
i see it this way:
I knit because it’s relaxing. My dh has mentioned more than a few times that I should go and do knitting and crochet and do it to make money from it… i told him i won’t do that because then it becomes a job instead of a hobby. I have had a friend offer to take some knitted stuff with her to the ren faires she sells her dresses at and I refuse as well, same reason…
One of my friends actually does knit for profit. The result is that she never has time to knit for herself. So she commissions me to knit for her and she pays me in her hand-dyed yarn. 
I could never knit for production. I love knitting, but I want to knit what I want to for whomever I want to
It’s just fine to knit slowly. I usually only start knitting really fast when I am anxious and then i realize how fast i’m going and slow down so as not to wear out my hands or make amistake on accident.
I find that the more familiar you are with a pattern or stitch the faster you can go.
As for her socks. She makes socks all the time and has practice, but for me, there is no such thing as fast on DPN’s.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with knitting slowly, I just think it’s cool to see how fast some people can be