Too hot to knit

General Knitting
1

It’s been very hot here all week, and I haven’t touched my WIP, which is the To Dye For sweater from SnB. I only have about three more inches to go until the back is finished but just can’t bring myself to touch the fuzzy mohair. I tried working on my practice sock instead but it seemed so woolly, too. It’s hard to knit when your hands are sweating.

We do have an air conditioner in our bedroom, but only ceiling fans downstairs in the living room, which is where I do most of my knitting. Air conditioning isn’t as prevalent in Europe as America, I know, but you’d think Greeks would like it more than they do. :ick:

2

HEy… someone had posted on her a long time ago that put your knitting needles in the refrigerator/freezer and let them get cool… that may help with the icky feel~!:ick:

3

It isn’t so much that the needles are too hot on days like that but I find handling the yarn too hot on days like that. When we were in the 80 to 90 bracket and at least 50 percent humidity, I was reading a book as it was too hot to knit, crochet or work on any of my needlework.:thumbsup:

4

We’ve got higher than usual hot weather, but I do most of my knitting at work when it’s slow. The AC can get chilly enough that having a bunch of WoolEase on my lap keeps my legs from getting too cold. Or I work at home early in the day before it’s too hot.

5

You can blow a bit of sun towards the Netherlands. (it’s cold and rainy here)

As for knitting, try cotton. Last year it was really hot here in the Netherlands (altough probably not as hot as in Greece), but knitting with cotton was fairly comfortable. I couldn’t knit with acrylic, that was indeed to sweaty.

6

if you really want to knit, maybe try a tiny project like baby bootees, or socks? :shrug:

my boss is going to Greece on Friday on vacation. coincidentally, one of my managers just came back from there (also vacation) and brought me the most incredibly crispy and roasty flavored sesame candy :heart:.

7

jodstr2… we have those sesame crispy sweet items here also…yum…they sell here three in a pack…they’re flat and squareish shaped…sesame snaps they’re called…very easy to make tho as it’s really toasting sesame seeds and kind of cooking honey or similar until its almost toffee like…pouring it over the sesame seeds and cutting into squares when cool. the sesame has to be really thick. it would be easy to make say in the bottoms of muffin or patty cake pans with baking paper etc in the bottom

i also find it’s the yarn that’s the hardest to work with in hot weather and sometimes the covering of you with the yarn item. i usually knit in 20min blocks as that’s about as much as I can readily handle

8

Wait till you try knitting in Singapore! The temperature is between 80-90 and humidity is 70-90% EVERY DAY! :ick:

9

Its cold here,we have rain on and off and thunderstorms,maybe i can send you our weather over here.:lol:

10

That’s me in my apartment lol - it’s almost cold sometimes. We’re spoiled.

11

I never turn the AC that cold. Don’t like getting chilled and it drives up the electric bill. I don’t mind a higher setting, just enough so it’s not too hot in the house. I leave all the windows open at night to help cool it off.

12

[COLOR=darkorchid]It’s been over 100 here for several days. I have AC in my bedroom, but use evaporative cooling in the rest of the house. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=#9932cc]I’m grateful I knit American now, as having the wool run through my fingers is so much “hotter” than picking it up and looping it over the needle! It’s why I can’t crochet in the summer, but can knit! [/COLOR]

13

It’s always great to knit socks in warmer weather. The yarn is usually pretty light feeling as it goes through your hands, and you don’t have a bunch of hot wool sitting in your lap :smiley:

14

It’s been in the mid 92-95F the last few days and we do NOT have A/C. We instead have a million ceiling fans and floor fans. They help early, but by the end of the day nothing helps. I’ve been doing small projects.

15

I try to keep it down myself - DH cranks it to max whenever I turn my back lol. I go with open windows at night unless it’s very very hot with no wind.

:smiley:

16

Yeah, I’m in a dryer climate at a higher altitude so it cools off into the 50s at night with clear skies. It’s also one of the windiest places in the country, unfortunately, not so much in summer… :rollseyes:

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I’m sorry 'bout the weather in England, serves me right for getting out my summer survival kit in May (we’d had the hottest April on record).

Anyways, at the risk of boring you all rigid, here’s the kit again.

Anna - I just CANNOT HELP being green with envy! - I don’t know what part of Greece you live but that heat over there brings back lovely, warm memories of my hols in Kos.

[FONT=Arial]Before assembling your kit, it might be very useful to develop a friendship with your [B]nearest non-knitting neighbour[/B] (more on this later)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]The Kit:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]One fridge - cleared of clutter – one shelf is for you only[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Two knitting projects on the go[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Duplicate sets of knitting needles (if possible)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]If you use straights, store them in their original plastic cases or wrap them in cling film [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Put circular needles in small, re-sealable plastic bags[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Keep needles in fridge – the feel of cold metal on a hot day is complete bliss.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Knitters who stabilise long needles ‘under-the-arm’ can end up with friction burns caused by wearing thinner clothing. Sponge hair rollers or corks covering the ends of the needles prevents them rubbing.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Bags of ice-cubes [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Skin care – buy a good quality hand-cream, use liberally - particularly on the side of your left index finger if you knit ‘Continental’[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Bicarbonate of Soda[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]When knitting in the garden:-[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial] One or two collapsable net food covers [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]A hand towel to dab your hands[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Insect repellent – if you’re red-haired, get it by the bucket-load, as you’re always the first course on any mosquito’s menu[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Emergency Equipment:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial] One wheelbarrow [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial] A stout padlock and chain[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Kit Assembly:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]The summer enemies of any knitter are M.O.M.s – Midnight Onion Munchers, compulsive jelly-makers and curry-cravers.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]While you might get away with wrapping up a strawberry-scented sweater at Christmas (caused by unseen jelly left in the fridge), it’s pushing it a bit giving curried clogs and eye-stinging scarves. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]If you are continually plagued by smelly food fans, take drastic action - collect all the stuff they insist on eating/drinking and put it in the wheelbarrow.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Trundle wheelbarrow to nearest non-knitting neighbour and tell them your fridge is on the blink and you’re too poor to have it fixed. Don’t waste time and energy dreaming up other fairy stories. If people think you’re broke, they’ll feel superior to you and do everything possible to help. You’ll have the run of their fridge all summer. Sorted![/FONT]

[FONT=Arial] Check the fridge every night before going to bed - ensure there’s no unwrapped stilton, raw onions lurking around or that some joker hasn’t popped in a pair of kippers at the back. If there’s a niff, put some bicarb in a dish, (it’ll mop up unwanted odours) remove any smelly food, padlock fridge and hide key.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]If your hands do become clammy– don’t persist with the knitting – it’ll only end up soggy. If the stitches are really wilting, pop your knitting under the food cover on a garden table and let it dry in a shady spot. The cover should keep off next door’s cat as well as passing bugs.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]This is where the second project comes in – while the first is drying out, there’s no need to call a halt to the knits and purls, just go and get the cold needles from the fridge, after you’ve chilled your hands for a minute or two on the ice cube bags. If you’re short of ice, fill the sink with cold water and soak your hands and arms in it for 2 -3 minutes.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]HAPPY SUMMER KNITTING![/FONT]

Hope it helps a bit.

Yours, getting out my winter muffler and drying my wellies:cry:

What we wouldn’t give for a bit of that Greek heat!:happydancing:

:sun::hot:

[FONT=Arial] Ellie[/FONT]

18

WOW Limey… :passedout::passedout::passedout:
those are some VERY detailed instruction for knitting on the go during summer…
thanks for sharing~!:cheering::cheering::cheering:. I think I will need pen an paper to write it all down~! ( this is worth remembering):notworthy:

19

Limey, I live on the west coast, in the region called Epirus. So we aren’t usually quite as hot as Athens or the Aegean islands, but it’s more humid here. I haven’t been to Kos, but have been to several Ionian islands.

Do you want to hear something funny? It has always been a major dream of mine to live in Britain. I adore British people, humor, creativity, authors, food, history, you name it! I always think I would like London, but maybe somewhere in Yorkshire…? Maybe Ireland…? Scottish highlands…? I am ethnically Scottish and Welsh, but both sides of my family have been in America since way before the American revolution, so maybe that’s not even fair to say any more. I don’t think that has anything to do with it, but I have always had a strong attraction to Britain, particularly England. Unfortunately, I have only been in Heathrow for two hours one time. My husband swears we are going on vacation to England some day, and I was thinking we will stop in Bath and Stonehenge. I must see Stonehenge. This fantasy of Great Britain has become a little stronger since I moved to Greece, probably because THEY SPEAK ENGLISH there :slight_smile: and I’ve had a hard time learning Greek. Too old, I guess. We have satellite TV and I watch British TV shows. I love Wildlife SOS and Monkey Business on Animal Planet UK. I was so sad and shocked when Jim Cronin died this spring.

I have to admit, though, driving on the left side would upset me.

And you know, having a holiday somewhere isn’t the same as living there. I like it here, but get easily irritated at a lot of things. :rollseyes: Part of it is the hollering–Greeks tend to take any opportunity to yell about things. Especially when they are doing something stupid themselves. I cried a lot at first because I am from Tennessee and we don’t yell much there. It was hard to get used to.

Your summer survival kit was great!

20

anna~ Your originally from tennessee… OMG you ARE a fish out of water~!:shrug: what culture shock~!