7/3/07

Curves Ahead

Do you brake during a curve or speed into a curve? Say when you are driving on an off-ramp. Physics and angular velocity/momentum tell us that we will have much better control of the vehicle if we speed up a hair during the curve – we will hug the road better. Knowing this and doing this are two different things, though, as I see many people brake at the peak of the curve.

Same thing goes for knitting. Do you pull an increase tight or ease up during your increase?

With Judy’s magic cast-on, I find something new is happening during my knitting.

I loosen up. And I speed up.

Now I’m a wicked loose knitter and often have to go down 2 sizes when working someone else’s pattern. Except when I do increases or decreases near the toe. So much is going on in these areas that to avoid gappy bits later, I knit my increases tightly. They remain tight on following rows which often causes a slight cursing as I hit that spot. Bring on
Judy’s magic cast-on and, lo, my fingers go all soft and want to hit the increase easy and quick. Sweet. This makes those toes go so fast. I get a deep knitterly joy. No gaps. These toes make me happy.

So, are you putting on the knitting brakes during the curves or giving it a little gas?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Flying down those hair-raising turns of the Blue Ridge Parkway on a snowy day, my Dad (the passenger) told my sister (the other passenger) that he likes to slow down before a curve. I (the driver) thought about possible heated responses, and said, "I like to brake after a curve". And we all laughed.