I believe there are two kinds of knitters: knitters that like to do lace work, and knitters who like to do color work. While I would like to believe I am an equal opportunity gal, I am not. I prove my own theory to myself. My latest projects have proven once again that I am a color-work girl all the way. I don’t mind seaming, and I can follow a pattern, but man o man, I just get all wound up when I am trying to follow the charts and the symbols.
I am going to illustrate my point here…
This is a chart that I could follow to knit
(From Vogue Knitting, Fall/ Winter 1983)
CLEARLY it is a Kermit the frog. And I would start knitting, and I would know where I was going quickly. I could see if there was a mistake. And I could pull back if I had troubles.
And here is a chart that I could follow:
But the difference is that one chart shows you exactly what you will get. The bottom chart here does not. You have a general idea that the pattern will have come interlocking diamonds. But you will have to look at the chart before almost every stitch. And if you are one stitch off, the pattern will not line up correctly. And if you need to pull back, you are just flat out of luck.
It is driving me BAH. NAH. Nus. Just crazy!
What about you? Are you a lace knitter? Or a color knitter? Or is there a third category that I have neglected? (It’s San Francisco, and I don’t want to marginalize anyone!)
© 2005 – 2011 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
You need stitch markers, at least on the interlocking diamonds part. (They’d be hard to use for the center panel part.) If you use stitch markers between every repeat, if you make a mistake, you can immediately or at least on the next row see where it is and fix it or fudge a fix that won’t be noticeable.
Clearly I’m a lace knitter, can you tell? I do a bit of colorwork but don’t seem to be able to get my hands to handle the yarn in any efficient way. It comes out nice but it takes three times longer than it should.
Adrienne, I did/do have markers in there. And the pattern never became “obvious’ to me. To make matters worse, the yarn just barfed up a BIG knot (from the center pull. and yes, I was being VERY careful.) I am so frustrated with it, I had to put it away, and knit something garter stitch on 11’s! Ahhhhh.
It looks as if these are two different charts. The first is clear cut with each different symbol representing a color. I follow these types of charts to make patterned Christmas stockings. I X out the stitches in each row on to my printed chart as I go so I always know where I am. I could not imagine following the bottom chart.
Irma, indeed they are two charts. The first, Kermit, is a chart that shows the stitches for color work. So the symbols represent color, and the picture you see is what you get. The second chart is a lace chart. And the symbols represent the stitches and yarn overs you are supposed to create. So “what you see” is NOT “what you get” and there-in lies my major issue! Argh.
Colors ~ I used to love following the details of complicated patterns but no longer. It’s too much fun allowing the yarn to create a pattern of it’s own. However, I totally admire those gorgeous pieces with intricate patterns.
I can do both but I don’t enjoy color as much as lace and neither as much as solid patterns – cables, etc. no matter how intricate.
Hmmmm…. I’m not sure. I think I may be more of the color work type.
I like both, but I haven’t done either extensively yet. I like a challenge when I’m knitting, so with every project I try to learn a new technique.
I enjoy both lace and colour work :). Both are a good challenge 😉
Ooh I LOVE knitting lace from a chart. And I really like color work too! I’m a fair hand at fair isle, but not so good with intarsia…
I’ve tried doing lace a couple of times but it never turned out the way it was suppposed to no matter how many times I took it out and redid it so I think I’m a solid color girl LOL – love the cables, arans, etc and am trying to design my own afghan patterns now.
I think I’m a solid color girl. Have tried to do lace several times and it sure didn’t come out the way it was supposed to, no matter how many times I did it then took it out and redid it! I love the cables, arans, etc and am trying to design my own afghan panels now.
I think that there isna third type you missed, the cable or pattern knitter. I enjoy using one color with intricate patterns. I could never get the hang of color knitting. Too frustrating for me.
I am neither! I am just learning to knit and have learned the knit stitch and purl stitch, but I have not learned not to read a pattern. So, for now, I am just practicing trying to get my tension even. Now, these charts and that bit of lace knitting look pretty intimidating to me. Maybe somecay…
You did leave out the third category….Cable knitters. I knit A LOT, and I do cables and textures more than lace or color work. Though I do lace and colorwork and … entrelac and combinations of all of the above.
I finished a colorwork sweater in September and mittens in July. I am new to colorwork and I definitely enjoy it, but I have no problems working lace either (I am working on a lace shawl at the moment).