1. I can’t believe it’s Wednesday. I swear I thought today was Tuesday, which is sort of odd, because I knew yesterday was Tuesday, and I know there aren’t typically two in a week, especially back to back. Still, I got up this morning and swear that I’ve misplaced Tuesday and been unjustly dealt a Wednesday.
2. This could be because I am behind on the Christmas knitting and feel like a second Tuesday would help.
3. Yesterday was intensely busy, and all I got done (besides making this SLAMMING veggie Shepherds Pie for company) was that I finished a first sock. 
4. This would be better if it was a second sock and four mittens.
5. I had big plans to spin yesterday, and I’m not sure how that went wrong, except for see #5.
6. That means that I should go spin now, except for that won’t work because I have to sit at this desk until I’m done this work.
7. Just to clear up one thing from the wildly interesting and thoughtful comments yesterday – Doctors in Canada are not unpaid. We go to the doctor, the doctor and I decide what care I should have, and then the bill goes to the government who pays it. It’s called "single payer healthcare" and we pay for it with our taxes. Health care is then "free at the point of service."
8. I bet that makes more sense than when some of you thought that I was saying that test knitters should get paid, but not Doctors.
9. I don’t have a tree yet. I’m really falling off the curve here.
10. I’m working on a pattern for the mittens. I’m just hiring a (you guessed it) test knitter/tech editor.
11. If I could churn out 7 knitted items in the next 24 hours, that would be amazing.
12. That is probably impossible.
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Gifts for knitters, Days 6 and 7.
Dear Non-knitter, I skipped yesterday, so because I said we’d do one gift idea per day, today I owe you two.
Gift idea #1: Blocking wires. I know, you have no idea what those are, and therefore have no idea if you should get them. Here’s some idea of how to tell if your knitter would like blocking wires.
a) Do you hear the word "lace" a lot?
b) Has your knitter ever tried to explain about shawls to you? (It doesn’t matter if you didn’t understand why shawls are cool… just that you’ve had the conversation.)
c) Are knitted things frequently pinned to your bed or carpet? (The key here is pins. Are there a lot of them?)
d) Have you heard the word "blocking" in conjunction with a complaint or filthy but expressive language?
If you’ve answered "Yes" to two or more of these questions, then your knitter might like a set of blocking wires. I’ve got two sets, and they’re ridiculously handy. I can vouch for the awesomeness of the Handworks set, and it looks like the Inspinknity set is amazing too. There are other sets, so as you hunt around, I think the priority should be that they don’t rust, that the set comes with wires of several lengths (that helps a lot) that some of the wires are flexible, to help your knitter manage curves.
Gift idea #2?
Knitting bags. I know, I know. Your knitter has a knitting bag, you’ve seen it. Trust me. I’m pretty sure they want another one. Hell, I’ve got about seven, and I STILL want more. I co-ordinate them to my outfit (sort of. It’s my own system), I choose them according to the kind of project that I’ve got going on, I love knitting bags, and I bet your knitter does too, and good news. No matter what your knitter’s personal style is? There’s a knitting bag that they’re waiting to get. There are far, far too many for me to show you them all, so I’m going to hit a couple of my favourites, tell you why I like them, and you can click around on these websites until you see something that screams your knitters name. Most knitters use a knitting bag as their bag, so keep in mind they might want a pretty big one.
1. The Tom Bihn Swift knitting bag. I’ve got a big one (or two) a little one, and (be still my heart) one in cork. (The cork one is so beautiful that strangers comment on it all the time.)
2. Jordana Paige. These bags are super classy, and pass as a purse while having knitter friendly features. I’ve got the L.J.Kaelms, and’s is a fab go-anywhere do anything bag (with two sections, so I can put knitters stuff in one side, and my regular stuff in the other) but they’ve also got a guy friendly Knitters Messenger bag, which is cool. I reach for my Jordana Paige when I need a "dress" knitting purse.
3. Namaste Bags are slightly more casual to my way of thinking, but also deeply beautiful and functional, and while I’m saving up for the Monroe in Lime, there’s several there that are unisex.
4. Della Q. The only thing I can tell you about these bags is that I used mine (one like the Agnes) so much that it wore out and I had to get another one. They’re beautiful, functional, and hold a big laptop too. Perfect for travel.
5. Any bag you think your knitter would like that doesn’t have velcro. Trust me. Velcro is a knitter’s natural enemy.
Well look at that, I think I’m the first comment! I also vote we get a second Tuesday this week… Wednesdays are pure non-sense.
Velcro must die.
I have many bags with velcro.
It gets bad when I forget about the velcro and nonchalantly stuff some alpaca in there. That was bad…..
Yep, the Namaste Monroe is lovely — and very professional. I use my pink Laguna for carrying everything — I love it as a carryon when I travel. And the no longer made Vintage is my favorite style — if it came in canvas I’d have 12. The “vegan leather” Namaste uses is surprisingly soft and supple, too!
Funny, I’m having the same problem with Wednesday. Can’t remember anything about Tuesday.
But wait–you did knit four mittens! We saw pictures! Maybe you’re not that far behind, after all.
So true about Velcro. Toddlers’ clothing has way too much Velcro on it, as do kids’ shoes and kids’ coats. All of which tend to wind up in unfortunately proximity to my knitting!
I’m totally behind on knitting, too…my Mom and Dad tell me I’m nuts, but I’m not. I fully expect to find a way to knit while I’m sleeping and doing Geometry.
Don’t worry that you don’t have a tree yet. All my life we’ve waited until a week into December (usually Dec. 8-10th) to get a tree, so that it stays fresh until past New Year’s.
thanks for spelling out so clearly the canadian health care system, which so many politicians try to tell us here in the u.s. is abominable. obviously, it isn’t. obviously, it works, since one hears about thousands annually in the states dying for lack of care but doesn’t hear that about canada.
we now return to our regularly scheduled knitting content: i sympathize with your project overload while congratulating myself on deciding NOT to do giftmas knitting this year. i figured that knitting a second birthday sweater for my daughter (because the first was too big for her; luckily, it fits me) was all the december-deadline-related knitting i could endure. i’ve had more than my fill of repetitive-stress/arthritis symptoms this year.
with it completed, i’m now working on a baby blanket for january delivery, a jumbo afghan that will either be given to my son at christmas with needles still in it and most of the project yet to be done, or will be completed for his march birthday. oh, yes — and a hat to go to ishinomaki, japan (quake/tsunami victim relief) plus assorted socks i’ll need eventually.
remember to breathe, dear stephanie — nobody you love will freeze if their gifts are a bit late . . . not even in cold and snowy canada.
I ,too vote for two Tuesdays, let’s get rid of Mondays. EXCITED for the mitten pattern! can’t have too many bags, always a good idea or yarn…never enough! enjoy Wednesday….go knit!
I recently bought the Vogue Knitting bag at the show in LA. I love it. The only down side is that it has no pockets on the inside, but it is huge and for only $20.00 it was a steal!!!! The material is heavy and I love the black and white logo. Prior to the show, I noticed that they were on the Knitting Live website for sale as well——a hint for others looking for Christmas gifts for knitters.
Oh man. I was doing so weel til you got to bags… PS LOVE Regia sock yarn. Wearing pair in a stripe very similar to yours right now.
As much as I like the idea of getting a second swipe at a day to expand our weeks (and christmas gift knitting time), i’m going to take a pass at the thought of having two Tuesdays. Tuesdays are so jam packed with tons of meetings that it is equivalent to two days already. I don’t think that I can manage two of those in a week!
I agree with everyone else about the velcro. Zippers can be bad too, though. I zipped the strand of yarn attached to my sock in progress into the zipper of my purse last night on the way out the door and figuring out how to get it out in a dark pub was not so fun. Two Tuesdays would actually be pretty great because an added day for Christmas knitting would certainly add a little sanity around my house!
…and meanwhile I spent a couple hours yesterday afternoon terrified that it was Wednesday and not Tuesday and I’d forgotten to send out the Wednesday-afternoon reports at work. Did I get Stephanie’s Wednesday and she got my Tuesday?
Love my Namaste Monroe bag – fits several projects and a laptop – slides nicely under the seat in front of you on the plane. It also has a number of small pockets so cell phones and notions etc are easy to get to. And I get lots of compliments from fashiony type people (which I’m totally not) on my awesome purse.
The recipe for Shepherd’s Pie is amazing! Now that you have a staff (test knitter/tech) (well-deserved and earned!) there will no doubt be more fabulous recipes you post here, for eventually, all us knitters must cruise through the kitchen.
oh – I have that sock yarn from Regia. How are you liking it? Love how the colors are mixing. Are you using size 1s (US)? 64 around? Just curious.
Also – knitting cotton kitchen towells for my mother-in-law, and I totally have more yarn that towells right now! Not counting the days until Christmas. Just . . . not!
Those bags are gorgeous. Must check whether any of them are available over here and drop big hints. I’m actually glad it’s Wednesday as the weather was dreadful on Tuesday.
I keep hoping today is actually Thursday. I would be much closer to the weekend and much more knitting time if it were Thursday.
This is the first year I feel confident enough about my knitting to knit a ton of presents for my family. It’s also the first time I’m faced with a ton of unreasonable knitting deadlines. Is this a coincidence? I think not. It’s fun though, so thanks for distant and indirect encouragement.
Too bad you are so short on time. I just finished MAKING my tree. I used the directions at notmartha.org, and it was great. As much as I love live trees, they have been wreaking havoc with my allergies in the last few years, my DH also. So, this mobile of a tree is going to be the one this year. The hardest parts were finding the steamer rack (Creseto’s in Sacramento) and the mini-lanyard clips (Michaels). Once I found those, it was as easy as making 100 pairs of earrings. (Wait a minute-it was actually very easy). It is not traditional, but it will be an allergy free holiday!
P.S. I finally got reindeer ears for the dog. She loves them because they make people pay attention to her. My DH puts on the Bob Rivers holiday tunes, and we are set!
I am a knitting bag addict, and I also bought the Tom Bihn Cork bag. It is without doubt the best bag I’ve ever carried!! Knitters helped him design it — it is just perfect, and that is saying something, coming from me. I even got the smaller hemp bag as well, for smaller stuff. Either bag would be a lovely Xmas gifts for any knitter.
I do love my Tom Bihn cork bag. The cork is so lovely that I occasionally get distracted by it & forget to knit. I also love my Lexie Barnes bags, but I’m not sure that she’s making the Lady B any more.
A propos of your velcro comment, why do manufacturers of winter coats insist on sewing velcro closures around necks and cuffs? Don’t they realize how many scarves, gloves, and mittens they destroy??? I don’t mind velcro on shoes–it’s pretty easy to avoid an accident with socks.
I know what happened to the missing Tuesdays!
I had so much to do, it seems space-time warped such that I could prep 3 kids for school, take them there, sub for a friend first hour, teach for two hours, supervise kids’ lunch hour, teach another hour, ferry children all over town, while simultaneously running errands, and still come home, make dinner and and a cake to celebrate younger daughter’s unfortunately timed birthday all before a late bedtime.
Anyway, my apologies to anyone whose Tuesday mysteriously disappeared or fell out of order, as a result. I hope you all get awesome knitting bags for Christmas…
Jordana Paige. – All the links are broken? for this manufacturer. What’s up with that?
Hey, at least you got a sock done, and a sock is better then nothing! I am stil working on the baby surprise jacket. I feel like I will never get to my actual christmas knitting. So you are at least one step ahead of me, and that is saying something.
P.S. I need thrummed mittens and don’t know where to start, ahh!!! Its cold here and I need something to keep my precious hands warm (it gets pretty cold here, last year it got to -19C)
Hey, at least you got a sock done, and a sock is better then nothing! I am still working on the baby surprise jacket. I feel like I will never get to my actual christmas knitting. So you are at least one step ahead of me, and that is saying something.
P.S. I need thrummed mittens and don’t know where to start, ahh!!! Its cold here and I need something to keep my precious hands warm (it gets pretty cold here, last year it got to -19C)
No, no, please not another Tuesday! I loathe Tuesdays! Wednesdays are at least closer to Friday… But then, I’m more interested in getting to the weekend than I am in putting off Christmas.
Thank goodness it’s December and the windows are closed. Otherwise they’d hear me hooting like a loon over one word. One teensy, tinsy word.
“Probably.”*
*See #12
Your Jordana Paige links are broken. I went to the site by searching her name and it’s working fine.
I love those bags, I’ll have to send my husband some links for Christmas ideas 🙂
Usually I come quite late to this blog, and so far every single *knitter gift recommendation* I’ve clicked on has been sold out. Today I’m among the early birds and the link (to Jardana Paige) isn’t working – is this because the amount of harlotette traffic has brought their site down???
I think someone somewhere is trying to tell me something (like ‘Don’t bank on getting a knitterly present this time around, kiddo’)
I love the Jordana Paige! I am obsessed w/ knitting bags. Now I am looking at combining knitting bag/purse/baby bag together in one…is that even possible? I hate velcro
I woke up yesterday thinking it was Sunday. The day just got worse from there. Happy Tuesday/Wednesday
I will buy the mitten pattern! I didn’t comment the other day, but I like with the black much better.
Slightly off-topic: I just made myself a bowl of the Emergency Soup and it is great! Thank you for sharing that recipe.
Thanks for mentioning the VELCRO – could you mention it again really big and in all caps?!
P.S> Thanks for another great recipe.
Also would like to suggest bags from Lug. They are nylon, gorgeous colours and more than enough pockets and space. One I just bought – the Cabby – even has a mirror under one of the pockets! Ordered on Friday, the 2nd and it was delivered on the 6th in Canada (www.luglife.com)
Is point 5 meant to be self referential? I mean, it makes sense either way, but infinite loops hurt my brain!
I need more than a second Tuesday, it just occurred to me that I promised teatowels for Christmas and not only have I not woven them I didn’t even buy the yarn. Part of me is still thinking that I could still pull this off with next day delivery and some hasty yarn drying measures whereas the sensible bit of me thinks that next year will do.
My tree is still in the loft, no-one except me has seemed to miss it yet.
I MUST, MUST, have the pattern for those mittens! Are the mittens the item being test knitted? I MUST make a pair for this winter. I just LOVE them.
I asked for the Jordana Paige L.J. Kaelms bag for xmas. Two days ago a package arrived at my boyfriend’s house that was quickly whisked out of my sight. I’m hopeful.
I recently treated myself to a Cork and have decided that it is the greatest bag ever. However, I am still in love with every Namaste and Jordan Paige bag that I have seen.
I want to apologize on behalf of the state of Texas for such ridiculous comments. Not all of us are like that.
Don’t forget Green Mountain Knitting bags (www.greenmountainknittingbags.com) from Vermont! Each one is unique and the craftsmanship (or should i say crafts-woman-ship) is outstanding. Mine has definitely stood the test of time!
It seems to me that another point could be made in this paying-for-test-knitter/health-care conversation. Stephanie, just as you rightfully attest that you get what you pay for regarding test knitting, so it goes with health care. Capitalism DOES drive quality in many respects. When government steps in to pay doctors via taxes, gone is the ability for one doctor to charge more than another (a set fee per service will be standard). In the U.S., the best doctors can command the highest fees, rightfully so. Why shouldn’t their years of schooling and expertise enable them to do so? Thus, the quality of U.S. medical care is regarded as excellent, among the best in the world, a point proven by the fact that people come HERE from other countries for certain procedures. Believe me, if I were on vacation anywhere else in the world and needed an operation that could wait 24 hours, I’d be on the next flight home. With government-run health care, the difference in quality might not be evident for run-of-the-mill standard well visits and minor problems. What about serious problems? Why do people head to the Mayo Clinic? And no, I’m not a doctor.
Saw your post re health care workers offering formula for breast babes… as a nurse in a labour and delivery unit, I can tell you not all of us follow that practise!
A lot of us work hard every day to support a woman’s choice in feeding, and ultimately encourage 100% exclusive breastfeeding. I feel passionately that breast is best, but feel equally important the need to assess a woman’s personal position/opinions before dictating my personal views. As with knitting, there are many ways to get things done, it’s all about being gentle, having faith it will be successful, and offering encouragment. ps, all our babes wear hand knit/crocheted hats made by wonderful volunteers..
Thought I was doing well for Christmas Knitting. Then my college age daughter went thru my completed projects stash and pillaged it for her college friends (okay I told her she could). But good lord . . . I have a LONG way to go . . . AGAIN!
I need many more than two Tuesdays this week. I have just realised I have only two weeks until Christmas (URK), and only 9 weeks at work before I go on maternity leave (double URK!!!). The stash room is still a stash room and not the lovely nursery that was envisaged and the baby will probably have to sleep in with us until it’s 5.
Would it be unethical to hire your test knitter to knit some of your Christmas gifts?
I have 3 more to go. Just asking….
just wanted to say that in the comments yesterday, i accidentally spelled my name “apirl”. does that tell you what kind of week i am having? i need another tuesday as well.
the real reason i am commenting today is to say that i think you are awesome to give all this free advertisement. i imagine you are helping sell alot for all the entrepreneurs out there. i think that is wonderful and i also think that each one of them should send you a thank you email for boosting their sales this year.
thats just what i think, i am sure someone will disagree with me, but i don’t care cause i sometimes spell my name “apirl” , so there.
I’ve made that Shepherd’s Pie for the last two Thanksgivings, and I think it is on the permanent menu from now on. Talk about a perfect vegetarian main dish! Who needs turkey? (Not me!!)
The recursive nature of Point 5 makes it deeply awesome and my favorite.
Love the sock!
Oh, now I have to go back and see what people said about doctors being unpaid. How would that ever work?? … Yeah, maybe I’d best remain in ignorance about that!
I need a knitting bag, that I know!
Comment about the payment of test knitters issue: give any knitter three or four projects to test knit that aren’t in their taste, and they will accept payment. Any knitter who works at an LYS can tell you that sample knitting and test knitting get real old, real fast!
When I was first offered money to knit I might have hyperventilated with excitement! How could anybody get upset about this concept?
Yes, no velcro. On anything. It’s pretty much a dealbreaker for me now. Besides snagging my yarn, the darn stuff wears out way too soon, and then the object the velcro is attached to has become significantly less well suited to its purpose, probably also way too soon.
I knit my very first pair of socks out of that yarn probably about 7 years ago. They came out too big– I bought the yarn probably in 2003 in a yarn shop in Cambridge, MA when I was still a grad student up there and put it away for about a year or so until I finally got brave enough (and egged on by a forest ranger named Chet– big strapping hunk of an outdoorsy guy who was a neighbor– but he was also a knitter and told me if he could knit socks, so could I) to actually make them (really I just wanted to show Chet I could make socks too.)
Wow you brought back a memory.
I didn’t belly up to the “paid or not paid” argument yesterday, because I figured whatever I said would get lost in the shuffle. However, as a fibre artist (I’m a knitter who does knitting on commission, and I make art quilts), I know from experience that it’s tough to factor in labour in the process. I can price my art quilts by the square inch, but a sock? A pair?
My invoice for a pair of pedicure socks just got paid: $35.00 CAD included yarn ($16 CAD but there was lots left over for me to keep) and postage ($9 CAD). This means I got paid $10 CAD for my labour and got to keep the leftover yarn from which I think I might be able to knit a very small pair or socks or mittens.
In other words, it’s tough to price the labour by the hour because it’ll never be realistic (i.e. what the market would bear). I’ve been told my art quilts are a “nice little hobby”…but I digress.
YES, I believe that a sample knitter should be paid — at the very least minimum wage…but then you get into CPP and other payroll taxes, and have you considered that some who don’t want to be paid are really saying if you paid them “under the table” then they wouldn’t have to put it on their income tax? Me, I declare what I am paid for a job, deduct the expenses (materials, postage) and run things in a business-like fashion…but others may not wish to do so and do not wish to be tempted…Just a thought…
Wait…people actually said they believed you thought doctor’s should not be paid? I am glad I did not read the comments or I would have blown a fuse. I think some people will say anything to win an argument. (I am watching someone do that right now on tv.)
Just a few words on the Test Knitter subject…one of your comments was something to the idea that the quality of work corresponds with the amount paid. I don’t find that to be entirely correct… Some of us may not be paid alot, but that does not mean we do shoddy work. I know many people that make ALOT of money, and do NOTHING…
I also make quilts for people and some smaller knitted items such as hats. I know that people think I have a cute little hobby, and that I should not get paid as much as if it were my full time job. They’d rather pay top dollar in a store for a quilt, not realizing that the shop is getting the profit… I set my prices for what I can get, even though most of the time I cheat myself. Yes, I could say no….and sometimes I do. I’ve learned not to stretch myself and hurt doing my own things.
I really do enjoy reading your blog (I’ve gone back to the beginning and read all the posts!) and I’ve been reading your books and I am getting some for Christmas. I don’t mind paying for a pattern at all…and I look forward to purchasing the mitten pattern.
Wrong post for this comment-alas
Hirer me to test knit.
I’m a professional and I am proud.
Great idea to let the non-knitters know about the velcro. And I would vote for a second Tuesday. Two Wednesdays though – please, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I agree that churning out 7 more knitted items in 24 hours would be amazing. If you can’t do it, I’m pretty sure there is no hope for me 😉
As I have knit nights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays two of either day in a week would be okay with me.
Knit on!
I still think that your mittens are pairs, just mismatched pairs. But I also think we should knit different two different socks with one skein of yarn (matched by color, but not by pattern).
Knit on!
must add another bag suggestion because I ADORE the bag I use for knitting:
http://www.rei.com/product/805252/rei-natalie-shoulder-bag-womens
A bit less expensive…
perfect size, perfect pockets for organizing any and all notions and needles and pattern, room for at least two balls of yarn and project, pocket for cell phone and water bottle and I tuck in my wallet and a hairbrush… don’t need to carry a separate purse. I only use another bag if I have a big project to carry.
Oh the Green Mountain and the Cork. Just dreaming.
One of my favorite knitting bags came from the LCBO (liquor store). It has four pockets inside for bottles. Perfect for little projects and some other doo-dahs. I liked it so much I bought one for each of my knitting friends and brought them back to Oregon.
Wait, first we were looking at and admiring mitten cuffs (yesterday) and today we are seeing a sock. A FINISHED sock. All done, on a day when you were very busy. I know you knit really fast, but wow. Just wow.
I have a lime Monroe (last year’s Christmas gift)
Love it!!!
After being mostly unemployed for a year, the first thing I splurged on after I got a job was the large Tom Bihn cork bag (and small and medium cork organizer pouches). Since I haven’t had much time to knit, I’ve been using it as a briefcase because it’s too nice to leave sitting at home.
I like the mitten version with the black – the stained glass effect is very striking. But I still want to make a pair of the silk ones you showed in February…
Someday, when I hit the Lotto, [except I don’t play Lotto] there will be many many bags for knitting and no more plastic grocery store bags! Actually, I have graduated from plastic grocery store bags (too much noise), but not terribly far 🙂
If you or anyone else is still looking for a test knitter (or crocheter), I’m available. I consider myself a professional knitter and I do charge for my work. Maybe not as much as I should and sometimes not as much as I could, but I would rather work for a small fee than not work at all. I will knit for pleasure (mostly lace and sweaters) and for gifts or charity (scarves, hats, and toys), but finish more things for money. You can hire me any time.
I spent most of yesterday (wednesday in Oz) convinced it was Thursday. Slightly devastating when I had to get up this morning and do Thursday again! My husband is away and gets back Saturday, so every day that passes is a day closer to restored sanity…!
I personally vote for 6 Saturdays and 1 Sunday!!
The Handworks are the reincarnation of my beloved Zonta wires? Cool! I’m so glad someone chose to carry on with that.
I use (and love!) my Papaya Luxe Tote (https://www.papayaart.com/category/LUXE/Luxe-Totes/1.html). It’s not technically a knitting bag, but it works great as one all the same. It holds at least two to three small to medium projects easily (or one really big one), plus my wallet, sunglasses, and snacks. It is the bag I take *everywhere*. The best part? The artwork is done by a local (to me) artist.
I use (and love!) my Papaya Luxe Tote (https://www.papayaart.com/category/LUXE/Luxe-Totes/1.html). It’s not technically a knitting bag, but it works great as one all the same. It holds at least two to three small to medium projects easily (or one really big one), plus my wallet, sunglasses, and snacks. It is the bag I take *everywhere*. The best part? The artwork is done by a local (to me) artist.
I just want to take #1 and put it on a Tshirt and wear it to work on Wednesdays.
OK, I’m a knitter who would love to have a.n.y. of those gorgeous bags for Christmas. Or any other time. But I’d like to put in a plug to all knitters and their dear muggles. Please consider a gift-in-honor-of to Knitters Without Borders. Most of us are blessed most greatly in our lives. Why not share in love and gratitude with those who are not. KWB receives the gifts for my adult children. I ask them all to give to the charity of their choice for me. The money goes for a far better cause. And I feel great. Oops, end of sermon/rant. Thanks for listening.
I missed the post yesterday because I was flying home from a trip, but I have a contribution to your position that skilled work should be paid. It coincidentally involves doctors.
For the last year and a half, I finally found a doctor whom I adored. In fact, I was in the office so often that I handed out my card to other patients who saw me knitting and wanted a professional to teach them. I personally am more interested in passing on the knowledge than earning money, but I’m not going to object if someone wants to pay me. I have a chronic disease and can’t really attend a job in which I have to put in regular hours (or for that matter, be upright), so getting irregular work doing something I love means something to me.
The main doctor I saw at that practice loves my knitting. He and his wife make all sorts of comments about how wonderful my work is, and how impressed they are by it. I was so flattered that I knit or crocheted items for each of the doctors I saw in the practice (My favorite doctor got a crocheted basket to hold some tea that he also took a liking to, his wife got a Fleece Artist crocheted scarf, and the neurologist got a pair of men’s size 12 socks). When my doctor and his wife had to move back nearer their families, my doctor told me that I was one of the few patients that gave something back to the practice (besides money). He was so touched that I would go out of my way to do nice things for them that he offered his services for free, albeit at a distance. I told him that he worked really hard for me, and that he deserved to be paid. He then informed me that working on my case was not “work” to him, and that the work I also put in to help him figure out what was going on with me helped him to treat other patients whose ailments are a mystery to most doctors. I told him again that I couldn’t in good conscience let him work so hard without pay. Amongst other reasons for the way he felt, he told me that he felt he would never have to worry about his family being cold, because he had no doubt that I would be knitting for him forever. It almost came across as him valuing my knitting more than the money.
So now, there is no more exchange of money, but I feel a responsibility to produce knitted goods (that my doctor and his wife gush and even cry over) and he feels the responsibility to call me every week to make sure I’m ok and see what he can do for me. I consider both of us professionals even though there is no exchange of money. The doctor calls it “value transfer.” In either case, I don’t think it hurts that we each feel that we get something back for the work that we put in.
So, I guess I’m saying that in the right communities (being those who appreciate art and handmade items), knitting is seen to have value. It just doesn’t necessarily involve the direct transfer of money.
Oh dear, I want them all!! how you corrupt us 😀 I was also quite satisfied with a pair of socks and a scarf on my needles, and since your mitten post I’ve had to cast on a pair there too!
as a Canadian who has enjoyed “free” medical all her life the American pay system seems crazy and a crime against humanity. as a fibre crazed individual I realized when I was very young that I was never going to be paid to do my favourite things (all things fibrous). someone in the third world somewhere was going to be paid very little to do them. so I do all these things and everything else works around them. it is all very backwards, but then so is the fact that most Canadians now put in a 50 hour work week, etc , etc. basically the very way we live and interact with the world around us needs to be reconsidered and redesigned and as we are all discovering this is a big job indeed!
Doctors in the UK get paid too and yet when I am ill and need to see one I don’t hand over a penny, free at point of service healthcare is an amazing thing. I can’t get my head round the US system, how can people really have to choose between paying the rent or getting the hospital treatment they need. It makes no sense to me at all but I feel so glad for the NHS in spite of its flaws.
That sock looks rather smashing, can’t wait to see more of the mittens though, they were lovely too!
I think we all may have lost sight of the reason for the season.
Actually, the countries that provide “the best” medical care continue to be those that have socialized medicine of some form or another. If you look at the data provided by the WHO, the Commonwealth Fund, etc – time and again the numbers show that although the US certainly does not provide the worst care in the world, it doesn’t provide the best, and it spends a lot more taxpayer dollars per person than socialized medical care.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/opinion/12sun1.html?pagewanted=all
Okay, I always enjoy reading the comments, but for today my fave is definitely the on from Nicki at December 7, 2011 9:14 PM: A knitting bag with bottle holders! How cool is that?
And I’m also voting with Marsha…if we’re getting an extra day in the week, let’s have a weekend day, not a work day!
If you are still looking for a test knitter and/or tech editor, I would love to work with you. I’ve been a fan for a long time and have really enjoyed everything that you do. I am just starting out in the tech editing field, and have several clients already. This also means that I have very quick turnarounds, as I am new and don’t have clients climbing out of my ears. I am also a very quick test knitter and crocheter, turning out most patterns in a few days to a week. Please check out my website for more information or my profile on Ravelry (SmartCat) to see some of my own patterns (yes, I’m a designer too) and items that I have knit/crocheted.
You must be a mind reader. I had just emailed a friend about your mittens. Love the pattern – both of them. Thanks for being supportive of test knitters and tech editors – we do an important job that is often unappreciated.
Out of curiousity why dont you knit plain socks two at the same time? Aka double knit.
Well, I’m a (pinko-commie-tree-hugging-hippie…NHS) doctor, so missed the earlier post as I was on call. I’m certain I’ll be paid this month for the doctoring.
On balance I’d rather be paid to knit though.
I’m actually going to respond to the last comment in yesterdays’ post. People really called you a commie-pinko for wanting to pay someone to test knit? DO they not understand the difference between communism and capitalism? Everything you wrote in yesterday’s post outlined how fair-trade capitalism works. I think some folks are just itchin’ to find a reason to name-call, even if they are inaccurate. Sheesh!
I also don’t like zippers in mine. I’m forever catching yarn in them. But I own a Swift and I love it so much that I’m thinking of buying a second one, which is saying alot.
I love that you offer suggestions of gifts for non-knitters. I wish my fiance were the type of man to read a knitting blog for ideas! He just doesn’t get knitting. He tries. He bought me some acrylic yarn and giant knitting needles that I am not sure what I would ever use them for unless I were knitting a blanket or something (which I don’t see happening in the immediate future). Think I might link him this page as a hint….
Atenti!! How could you not have an Atenti? I want them all!!!
Atenti!! How could you not have an Atenti? I want them all!!!
If you have a hardware store, you can make blocking wires. You can have them cut to length. My lace addicted friend did that because a package of blocking wires starts at about $50 and from the start, there aren’t enough. She knits lace curtains, so the woman knows lace. Just, as Stephanie said, make sure the wires don’t rust.
I’m seriously going to need a second Thursday this week, even though I did finish knitting the birthday gift that is due *tonight*. It is rather soggy at the moment & I hope it dries out before I need to wrap it. No, I will not be putting it in the oven.
Thank you for posting the gift sites. So far I have shopped for myself (hubby & I have this worked out) & loved your recommendations. :-)))))))
I’ve been reading your blog to my husband each day since Dec 1. I was telling him about that really cool cork bag. He just handed over his credit. If I hit all the right buttons and gave them the correct information that bag is on its way! Got to love that man. 🙂 thanks for the way cool product sites. I would never have seen half of them if I had been hunting for them. There is a reason you are the Yarn HARLOT! 🙂
Hahahahaha…. -19 C?
I live in rural Saskatchewan. Right now it is -13 C outside (well, in Saskatoon, which is the closest city). Winters here get to -40 C regularly, but with wind chill it’s… a LOT colder. 🙂 (I grew up in Alberta, mostly northern or prairie – that is, not!Calgary. We went to school when the buses wouldn’t start. I walked to school when I was eight during a proper prairie blizzard. It was awesome.)
Earlier today I went running. Yes, outside. I need warmer socks, longer long johns, a balaclava, and insulated wind pants and jacket. If I didn’t have all these babies to knit for right now, I could have the balaclava done over the weekend and get a good start on a solid pair of socks. 😛
Oh, right, also: I edit. As a job. So if you’re looking for someone to do that, give me a shout and I’ll send you my rates sheet. (I’d link my web site, but it’s not up right now. Must get on computer guru hubby to retrieve it and set it up on our server.)
My favorite non-knitter in the whole world got me Namaste’s Monroe in red just this week. There were squeals of joy.
I nearly died laughing at those comments. “Don’t you think doctors should be paid? I know that’s an American point of view, but…”
No. No, Canadian doctors do their time in the bread line like everybody else. It levels the playing field.
I have only 5 words…. Two socks on two circ.s
I love my Namaste bag, though it will often stay home. Another option, if your knitter likes to exercise, is a nice dufflebag with separate compartments for things like shoes and gym clothes. The main section of mine gets used for knitting while the end compartment gets used for gym stuff.