Yes, it had to come out sooner or later, so I thought I would get it out of the way sooner rather than later. Everybody has pet peeves, especially about something they do. Well, knitters are no different. I actually have pet peeves in a few other areas too, but since this is a knitting blog, I’ll let you know my peeves regarding that. Again, I’m not meaning to offend anybody but I say call a spade a spade. So if you’re the sensitive type you might want to skip over this post. I’ll revert back to the lovable Mr. Hugzzz tomorrow – promise. Maybe.
- I am NOT gay … Okay, the simple fact that I even has to say this show just one of the problems with our society. I don’t have a problem with anybody’s sexuality – and they shouldn’t with mine – and I don’t judge anybody because of their sexuality. So why should you prejudge me because of a specific activity I do? Grow up people – there are lots of places where men knit prominently – and they don’t have to be gay to do it. Actually, I applaud the gay guys out there that knit. They have the balls to knit whenever and wherever it suits them. Maybe if more straight guys came out of the closet it would be a different story. Yes, you know you are. That is a challenge … pull out your needles guys. Everybody else – read my other post about everything I learned and check #10.
- I WILL NOT make you a sweater for the cost of the yarn – If I had a dime for every time I heard that one. People, it takes talent and TIME to knit as well as I do. I have been doing this for over 15 years. Even if you are just starting (maybe especially so) it takes time to make somebody a sweater. Everything else in life gets paid by experience – except artisans it seems. Well, if you want a cheap sweater go to a thrift store. I am not going to invest 30 – 60 hours of my time for just anybody. Slightly better are the people that offer $100 on top of that. Again, NO. Think about it. 40 hours of work for $100. That’s $2.50/hour. Would you work for that? I do not run a sweat shop and never will.
- $10 scarves at craft fairs – Okay, if you need an explanation for this one you haven’t read #2 well enough. Folks, $10 can’t buy the yarn for a decent scarf (at regular prices). Yes, I’m a bit of a yarn snob and I could probably find yarn for $10 for a scarf, but that takes a bit of searching and a lot of luck. So now that we have that cleared up, again, it takes about 5 – 10 hours to make a scarf (sometimes more). Personally, I think all scarves should start at $75 and then go up. Sorry, did I lose you? Don’t ask for my prices on a custom hand knit sweater.
- Closet knitters – I take public transit as it allows me time to get a lot of things done – the crossword, Scrabble, Sudoku, and yes, KNITTING! You would be amazed how often I am knitting away on a bus and somebody comes up to me and says “That’s cool – I used to knit!” Yeah, right. More like they think its cool that I knit – and have the guts to do it in public. If you’re a knitter, you’re a knitter. Don’t come up to me and try and re-live your glory days. If you knit, take out your needles and knit.
- Cheap yarn – by cheap I don’t mean inexpensive – I mean low quality, cheap. I understand that not everybody can afford silk and cashmere and lots of other fancy stuff. That is no reason to settle for cheap synthetics. With a little bit of research and hunting you can find real good bargains on really good quality yarns. Everybody should learn to knit with wool and move on from there. If you’re allergic try superwash wool – its been treated to prevent shrinking but a by-product is the removal of the common allergens in it. You wouldn’t believe the bargains I have found.
- Phentex slippers – I have a friend – a male knitter who also is not gay (lol) – who swears by these Phentex slippers. If you’re over 30 you probably know what I mean. If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of knitting with this you are probably cringing right now. I know Acrylic is not a good fiber for the environment, or for baby clothes (it doesn’t burn but actually melts which can be more hazardous than the fire), but it does have its uses and there is no reason why it should feel like coarse grade sandpaper. Yes, apparently it gets softer after being washed 1 million times – or so. Ugggghhh!
- Knots in Yarn – If you’re knitted more than a scarf you’ve probably come across a ball of yarn with a knot in it. I still don’t know why they can’t just junk the ball or in some way warn you that there’s a knot in it. It’s not too bad when it’s a yarn that you can spit-felt together, but when it’s not and there’s more than one knot in more than one ball, it’s a royal pain in the a**.
Those are a few for now … as time goes by I will add some more. I’m also hoping to have the sweater that I designed from the swatches in the post two days ago done. I’ll put up pictures. In the meantime, let me know your peeves.
Hugzzz 😎