No, don't fight, you're both pretty: Hand Knitting and Machine Knitting

I'm a newbie machine knitter, and I wanted to record what I think the differences or advantages of using a knitting machine are to me, at this moment.

Hand knitting and machine knitting are different animals. Like cousins. For me right now, it seems like the basic machine I bought is a good way to get a lot of stockinette done. I used to like doing plain knitting like this, but due to a combination of factors I won't get into here, I just don't want to do it anymore, but I feel obligated to the yarn. I bought it, I should use it.

Plus, I've come to accept that I'm big, and a lot of texture doesn't necessarily look good on me. If I make a pile of stockinette sweaters, I'll feel all right about that. There won't be any knitter's remorse after finishing, and if it fits, I'll wear it.

Because of my knitting lull, and remembering something my mom said about having all that yarn sitting around, I thought that a machine would be a good way to whittle down the stash, and relieve some guilt about taking so long to finish a piece because I lose my conviction about halfway through. It's not a race and all, but I feel shitty about it all the same. I'd like to get something done every once in a while. I figure if I make thirty pieces with the machine, I'll have justified the cost, and then I can sell it or whatever if things change again, or if I blow up so big that I need two of them to make anything! I looked through every pattern I owned, trying to make sure I had patterns that would fit me and be 150 stitches or less, otherwise it wouldn't have been worth it.

I also hope, in some roundabout way, that it will rekindle my desire to hand knit. I knit the ribbing on the vest I made by hand, because unless you have a machine attachment called a ribber, making ribbing is painful. It involves laddering the stitches and hooking them back up. I did this over two days for I don't know how long, and when I was only a third of the way across the piece, I decided to do it by hand. I gave it a shot though. It's just not for me, and I can knit fast when I want to. The alternative is doing hems, which are a heck of a lot quicker on a machine. A picot hem only takes a few minutes, and it's so cute!

This machine won't do garter stitch either without a garter bar (you pick all the stitches up and flip the work over so you get knit stitches on both sides of the fabric). I can't afford a garter bar, after dropping $300 for a machine.

From the little I've done on the machine, it has that same meditative/trance effect as hand knitting, because it's so methodical. Back and forth, pushing needles in and out, you get a rhythm going that feels kind of good.

I can do some laces on the machine. The patterns with a purl back row seem to be the most doable, but I haven't gotten that deep into it. That seems more like hand knitting to me, but instead of passing the stitches between needle tips, you're moving them around on separate hooks. You're still doing the work, but from a different position.

I wasn't sure if I'd like it at all, but it appeals to the kid that liked to tinker that is still inside me somewhere. I tried a couple of simple cables, and that seemed to work out okay. I hope I will be able to work them into a piece.


That's all for now. My head still hurts, and it's making me sadder than I already am. Damn you, Winter.