*squeal* A good reason to learn dpns!

#1

My dear boyfriend … He wasn’t particularly happy that I started knitting because it’s well, a “mindless” activity. (Yeah, wait until I get into the complicated patterns, babe.) He’s very much of the opinion I should spend my spare time more on mind games and puzzles, but I don’t get the feeling of accomplishment with those.

So today, we got up and I grabbed his black knit (not sure if it’s machine or not, he’s had it before we started back together) hat off the bed for him. He wears it all the time to keep his hair back from his face. Today, I was playing with it and trying to figure out the stitching. It’s stockinette with a cuff of ribbing.

I was fiddling with it while he brushed his teeth, trying to figure out the number of stitches in the ribbing. He saw me and I told him I was trying to figure out the pattern.

Then he told me that if I wanted, I could knit him a hat! Just make sure that it fits. cloud9 You have no idea how much that means. Actually, I’m sure a lot of you do! I’d thought about doing it, but I didn’t think he’d really want me to, but now he’s said it all on his own!

:heart: :heart: :heart:

#2

Knitting is actually one of the best things for your mind. It’s been proven to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Mind puzzles are great, but knitting is so portable, you can do it when you’re watching tv, or riding in a car, on the bus, in a line, at the doctor’s office. Also it’s productive. You can make things- you can’t make anything out of a crossword.
My boyfriend loves my knitting. In fact he brags to all his friends about my current project. Yours will too once he gets his hat- I’m sure. If he thinks knitting is mindless…just send him on here and we’ll straighten him out!

#3

:thumbsup: I think you’ll prefer a circular needle to DPNs for the bottom of the hat. The bottom is usually around 80 stitches and that’s a lot on each needle. It’s not impossible, but circs would be easier. For the top you can use DPNs and that’s a good way to learn them. :wink:

#4

[SIZE=1](Dr. Iza puts her scientist’s hat on, readjusts her glasses)[/SIZE]

Cough. Knitting is very challenging for the mind. Good knitters have a good understanding of geometry. I used algebra often to re-write patterns originally designed for yarn of a different weight. Experimentation is key to knitting too, which is why knitting swatches is so important!

But this is only the obvious part. On a more theoretical level, knitting can be linked to topology (knot theory in particular) in high-level mathematics. So… knitting is not challenging for the mind? Maybe it’s time to teach your boyfriend so he can knit his own hat! :thumbsup:

[SIZE=1] (Ok, Iza becomes normal again)[/SIZE]. :shifty: :lol:

#5

Mind games and puzzles don’t keep you warm. (I like a good Sodoku puzzle but they’re pretty pointless.)
I’m of the opinion that if he thinks puzzles are a better use of time than creating something with a practical use he probably needs to set the pencils, papers and books aside and pick up a creative hobby/craft himself.

I prefer DPNs to circular. For me the DPNs are a lot faster. Trying to slide the stitches around the cable and over the bump of the needle is a pain.

#6

I can understand your joy. My husband, too asked for something knitted. I was so happy that he wanted a scarf that I made a matching hat too! LOL

Have fun with it!

#7

:yay: That’s wonderful!! I love it when dh asks if I can knit him something.

#8

I use size 11 16" circs. I CO 48 stitches for 20"-22" head circumference. It is stretchy, though.

#9

People often fall into the delusion that knitting is “mindless” (and, yes, once you’re competent, there ARE mindless patterns, but knitting itself is not, in all its incarnations, mindless). The best cure for this is to hand him 5 DPNs, a pattern with intense colorwork AND lace AND cables - but tell him he has to mod the pattern to fit the gauge of the yarn and needles he has, which are, coincidentally, not the ones called for in the pattern.
:slight_smile:

THEN let him tell you it’s “mindless.”

#10

Oh, apparently I’m taking orders now! A friend of mine just asked if I was when I mentioned the crocheting girl at work mentioned that she loves hand knit dishcloths.

So that’s a hat for the boy, dishcloth for the girl at work, socks for a friend, arm warmers for another, a scarf for a third and possibly a hat for yet another!

… I haven’t even finished my first project.

#11

Through the years i have come to find out that there is a ton of math involved with knitting - especially when it comes to gauge. When I knit a stuffed animal I had to completely re-calculate the pattern - including all the increase and decreases - because I used a different weight yarn in order to make it machine washable than the pattern called for. Talk about using your brain!

#12

Those dishcloths are a great idea for anyone you know you uses cast iron skillets whether they know it or not.
I got a bunch from my sister before she got me crocheting.

#13

Cool, i’m glad you’re happy! Hope you get the hat to fit him!

My boyfriends actually reallly pleased i started knitting and really encourages me to do it, he’s glad im learning and it’s givin me something to do (especially when he’s making puzzles, cus im not bugging him then lol)

Anyway… good luck with the hat :slight_smile:

#14

laughs My boyfriend just turned around and told me to make him a hat while I was looking at this hat pattern. I showed him it and he says it’s not bad.

Told him we’d look through knittingpatterncentral.com’s hats later and find one that he would like. He reminds me that I need to make it big enough to fit his big head though. :wink:

After checking out the video on dpns here, it looks pretty easy, though I’m sure when I try it I’ll get frustrated with all the needles bumping my knuckles at first! This makes me excited and want to go out with him to buy supplies to make sure he’ll like his hat. :aww:

#15

Ahem!

He said “you can make me that hat” as in giving you permission to do it?? Or “can you make me that hat” as in asking if you would be so kind?

Would rather have you spend your time doing mind puzzles and sudoku?? I hope I reading too much into that and he’s not really as jerky as that sounds in my head. Knitting is DEFINITELY a cerebral activity!!! CERTAINLY there are mindless patterns that once you’ve mastered you can do in your SLEEP. BUT!!! Last night I listened to the knitpicks podcast, a recent one where Kelly was talking about being able to look at a pattern and see the construction of the piece, where “major events” happen. The podcast was more about pattern writing in general, how writers have different styles and vocabularies and are written to different audiences, and how if you’re not used to the coloquialisms (sp??) you might get lost, anyway. back to the point.

That’s where I wanna be with my knitting, look at a finished piece and be able to sort of reverse-engineer the project, break it down to its logical components and then build it back up. You tell boyfriend that knitting can be just as complex and fun as building model rockets and airplanes, making your own crossword puzzles and doing sudoku all while sitting on the toilet simultaneously. Okay that last part is exaggeration, but still.

I was slighty steamed when I read that but I’m VERY glad that he’s at least showing some interest in your knitting now. And actually it is really cute that he’s so protective of your brain, wanting to keep your mind sharp and keen and brilliant. =]

Tell him if he wants more mental stimulation he’s only allowed to communicate to you in haiku.

#16

Oh, he does come off as a complete jerk when he says a lot of stuff, but we fool around and say things like that all the time. I’m black and he’s white, so we make racist remarks continuously.

I phrased that part about the hat I was looking at badly. My mistake!

And don’t worry, if he was really a jerk to me, I hit him. He knows better. We’ve got quite a history between us, so I know the boy knows better than to try some “men are superior” type bull with me.

I think he gets the idea that knitting is mindless because he hasn’t SEEN the stuff that’s the intricate lace and whatnot. Just the hand movements which can all kind of look the same to someone who has no idea. Though I think he’s getting more of an idea with me showing him daleks, companion cubes and an AMAZING sweater that was rainbowed with a double headed spread eagle on the back.

#17

Whew!

That’s a relief!!

And I know what you mean about the sounds-like-a-jerky-thing-but-it’s-just-joking thing. And the race thing. I’m asian and my bf’s white, and whenever we eat noodles (even spaghetti!) he reaches for the chopsticks and I reach for the fork. Go figure. lol

#18

I try to explain to people all the time not only how difficult knitting can be but all the benefits it carries as well. Knitting teaches a lot of life skills like patience, perseverance, pride, and really meditation. I think everyone would be better off if they were able to incorporate these things daily. Tell your boyfriend to read up a little bit on the history of knitting and i’d suggest you do the same. It has such a rich history and it really is a skill to proud of. One thing it can’t teach you is how to spell…sorry for all my mistakes.

#19

You reach for a fork? Cute. I’m always about the chopsticks when I get some Asian food within my grasp. They’re much prettier than forks. XD

I don’t know how my mother CANNOT figure out how to use chopsticks when the way she knits is very similar to the way you hold them. (At least, until he knitting gets too long to hold from underneath.)

#20

funny … i used to be terrible using chop sticks before i learnt to knit … now i have better control than my bf :smiley:
my BF is also very mathematically minded, as am i (i would take breaks from writing grant proposals by sitting with him and figuring out infinite probability equations), and he always found it odd that i did somthing so ‘girly’ and ‘unscientific’.

Then i left out a pattern i was working on, nothing complicated, just a cabled sock pattern, and all of a sudden he was impressed. Ah the language of knitting and the language of mathematics is not that different after all!

I still havt gotten to the stage of knitting him anything yet, i still don’t think he would be that apreciative … but i did find nice geometric blancket pattern i while back …