Skip to main content

Knitting writers unite!

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.08.2009

I’m just back from the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference where I was a mentor in the Head Start mentoring clinic. What a blast! I loved my mentor group and the conference was a lot of fun.

I also got a lot of knitting done.

Especially for workshops or lectures, I like knitting because it helps me to focus my auditory skills (of which I have very little, just to warn you). I don’t know why, but having something in my hands helps me pay better attention.

(I wish I’d knitted in college—I might have gone to more of my classes. Doh!)

I can’t tell you how many times someone came up to me to see what I was knitting and to say something like, “I used to knit” or “I crochet but I left it at home” or “I’d love to learn to knit.” To which I’d usually reply, “I learned to knit on the internet!” (Knittinghelp.com, people. Faboo site!)

I also met a fellow knitter, Lisa (I think her last name was Babcock but I don’t remember exactly ... sorry, Lisa!). I admired the beautiful sock she was working on and we had a rather frenetic moshing about her way cool yarn. (I’m almost positive the yarn was Claudia Hand Painted Yarn in Maple Leaf color)

Lots of knitting writers! Who knew?

I like sock knitting when I’m away from home since it’s small, portable, and the yarn takes up less space in my suitcase. Also, I can have an easy stockinette stitch sock that I don’t even have to look at while I knit, and a more complicated sock if I want to take a more challenging project.

I took two socks with me this weekend. Here’s my easy stockinette stitch one, and I added a tabi socks split toe (my modified pattern) so I can wear these with my house slippers.



I found the yarn at a shop in Illinois, but I also recently saw the yarn online at SimplySockYarn.com. It’s Online Savannah Color, collection #94, color 1033.

I didn’t finish it because I forgot to take the second ball of yarn (I started with a half-used ball), which made me rap my forehead with my knitting needles for a minute or two (but size 1 needles really don’t hurt as much as, say, a door). So I moved to my other project.

I took these more complicated (but not too complicated) socks in Trekking XXL yarn, color #305 Shades of Pink (PINK! PINK! PINK! I LOVE PINK!)



I’m trying Jane’s Hedgerow Socks pattern plus my tabi socks split toe.

There you have it! Knitting writers! Cool yarn! I’ll post pics of Mount Hermon when I get copies from people. I forgot to take my camera out of my suitcase. I know, I know, I’m lamer than lame.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I almost MUST have a sewing project in hand when I'm listening to a lecture, otherwise it goes in one ear, gains speed and goes out the other. My mind just hops around unless my hands are busy. I also love listening to audio books while sewing. :)

~Lita
Emily said…
I just learned how to knit...I LOVE it! It's relaxing and helps me de-stress. I've been amazed by how many young people I know that knit and/or crochet. I thought I was kind of a dork for learning. I'm making baby blankets right now...
Camy Tang said…
Lita--I love listening to audiobooks, too! I'm listening to THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY right now.

Emily--I just bought a ton of yarn for some baby blankets! I FELT like a dork while I was learning to knit, but I love it now. As you can tell, I'm not shy about knitting in public, either. Except some people don't like to be seen with the lady with the pointy sticks... ;)

Camy
My mum is trying to teach me to knit. I can crochet and have found spent the Australian summer making scarfs. I love buying wool especially the integrated colours. My house mates have banned me from buying anymore wool until I have given away from latest lot of scarfs. I have found that I do listen better when I'm crocheting cause it helps me to concentrate better. otherwise when i'm taking notes and the speaker is taking me through a mind maze my thoughts go off track and I start thinking about other stuff.
Camy Tang said…
I'm glad it's not just me who needs something in my hands during a lecture!
Camy
Carmel said…
A year later I am reading this blog post because I followed the trail from lesson 2 of the characterization class!!

I find that I have trouble making myself freewrite. I was just thinking this morning that if I had some knitting in my hands, and a pen and paper beside me, rather than sitting at the computer (which I love but feel it's not healthy to be in front of all day) maybe the knitting would keep me grounded and the thoughts would flow more easily.

Unfortunately, at the moment I'm in the assembling stages of a sweater. But when that's finished, I'm on to a pair of socks!
Camy Tang said…
Carmel, you don't have several projects going at once? I always have an easy project to do while I'm writing (usually socks) and also a harder project to do in front of the TV (I have a pair of opera gloves I'm knitting for a friend). I say, go for it and cast on for the socks!!!!

Popular Posts

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures

Lady Wynwood paperbacks Black Friday sale

All paperbacks in the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series on sale for Black Friday weekend! Click here to purchase on Amazon.

Jane Austen sweepstakes

Win a Library of 30 Historical Romance Novels + Jane Austen Swag Worth $250! This is a delightful surprise I've been eager to share! Join me and 30 extraordinary authors in an enchanting giveaway where we're gifting a vast array of historical romance novels to two fortunate winners! And the cherry on top: The Grand Prize winner will be treated to an exclusive Jane Austen swag pack, worth an impressive $250! You'll get the chance to win a copy of my book, Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer, as well as novels from renowned authors like Laura Beers and Kasey Stockton. (Please be aware that not all the historical novels in this giveaway are Christian or sweet.) To enter, simply click the magical link below. Wishing you the best of luck and a journey filled with delightful reads! Join Our Giveaway

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci

Christmas Historical Romance Sale

I’m participating in the promo above. Click on the graphic to check out all the sweet/clean romance books available and stuff your eBook reader!

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th

Preorder ONCE UPON A COURTSHIP and get a free ebook every month!

My novella, Lissa and the Spy , will first be released in the multi-author box set Once Upon a Courtship: A Sweet Historical Romance Collection , and if you preorder now, you’ll be able to subscribe to a special Reader Club Newsletter. Every month from now until October 2024, you’ll get a free Historical Romance ebook from one of the authors in the box set. 1) Preorder Once Upon a Courtship 2) Fill out this form with your order number 3) Get the secret link and SUBSCRIBE to the Once Upon a Courtship Reader Club Newsletter 4) Get your first free book The sooner you preorder, the more free books you’ll get! You’ll also be alerted when the Once Upon a Courtship box set is available to read. The newsletter will end October 2024 and you will NOT be automatically subscribed to the authors’ individual newsletters. You can sign up for their newsletters yourself if you wish. Preorder Once Upon a Courtship

"Let Me Hold You" Crossbody Bag Knitting Pattern

My novel, The Lone Rice Ball , is in the multi-author box set, Once Upon a Starry Night , a Christian contemporary romance collection. Also in the box set is my friend Jan Thompson’s novel, Let Me Hold You . I made this pattern for her to celebrate our box set being released. It’s the crossbody bag worn by Jan’s character Maggie. You can download a free PDF of the pattern here (no email necessary). See this pattern in Ravelry. If you are savvy with a sewing machine, you can make a cloth lining and sew it to the inside. If you use a stretchy fabric, you can take advantage of the stretchy nature of the bag. If you leave it unlined, you can take this bag to the beach and easily shake the sand out of it. I happened to have a D-ring and buckle, which I used to make the strap adjustable, but you don’t need these to make this bag. You can simply sew the end of the strap to the bag rather than using the D-ring. If you have a D-ring but not a buckle, you can do a (YO, k2tog) in the

A visit to Zondervan

Whew! After being offline for two weeks, I finished a book, read the Twilight series, and visited my editors at Zondervan! And I have pics! Isn't this nice of them? This was at the front door. This is the lobby area. This is my macro editor, Becky Philpott! This is my senior editor, Sue Brower! This is editorial assistant Bridgette Brooks. On the side, she teaches voice lessons and she gave me a cool pointer about supporting my breath. :) I didn't catch her at her desk, but this is the desk area of my Marketing Director, Alicia Mey! I love her wall. Some of you may know, Zondervan moved its distribution to a centralized location run by their parent company, Harper Collins. So we visited the ghostly warehouse. We thought about throwing a few paper airplanes in the space.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be stuffed (haha) with good food, great company, and a nap or two!