Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Lots and Lots of Hard-Yovers, or Mary Maxim Lies

I did a little math, and have a better understanding of why I am not done with the baby blanket. On every other round of the border, two yarn-over increases are worked in each of the four corners. The total stitch count as written in the pattern reflects this increase in eight stitches. SoftLilacLeafAlmostDoneWhat it fails to take into account are the two yarn-overs for each of the 64 leaves. That would be 136 stitches increased on each of six rounds. That put the stitch count at 1460 stitches per round, but not for long. While the corner increases are still happening, on those same rounds, I get to decrease two stitches from each of the 64 leaves. Well, that's quite enough pattern chatter about a blanket no one else is likely to knit. It will be a lovely gift, and I will finish it soon.

We kept my niece overnight on Saturday. While she was in the bathtub, she spent some time inspecting the washcloth. She knew that I had knit it, and was pointing to various parts and asking how I made them. Since it is a garter-stitch piece, there was not much to explain. Then she asked how I made the holes around the edge of the cloth.

Me: Those are yarn-overs
KOH: Harn-yovers?
Me: Almost. They are Yarn-Overs
(mischievous grin) KOH: They're Hard-Yovers, lots and lots of Hard-Yovers.

She was so pleased at her bit of teasing that she could hardly stop laughing, and I was soon laughing with her. I was also laughing about what her new knitting term brought to my mind. I immediately thought of the knitters who take one look at lace and declare that it is something they could never do because it is too hard. Even when a helpful knitter tries to explain that it is just a combination of decreases and yarn-overs, they will not hear of it. They have already convinced themselves that knitting lace requires Hard-Yovers. I get that various types of knitting require different levels of concentration, and that certain techniques and styles come more naturally to some and not so much to others. I just do not understand those declarations that one cannot do it at all. It may not be easy, it may require a quieter environment and greater concentration, and after trying, you might decide not to do it again, but if you want to, you can do it.
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