Monday, February 21, 2011

Knit, Knitting, Knitted tutorial--tails


Did you know that your knitting has a tail?
Yup, it does.
Once you've finished putting your stitches on your needle, you will have two ends of yarn trailing from these stitches. One of these yarn ends will lead from the stitches to the ball. This is your "working yarn". The working yarn will be used while you knit. The other yarn ends will not be attached to anything. This is the "tail". The tail seems only to be around for the ride and it's not to be trusted. Indeed the tail is sly. It needs to be watched. If not closely supervised it can create all kinds of mischief.
Like?
It can make stitches disappear.
It can disguise itself as the working yarn.
The first problem can be avoided by ensuring that your tail is long enough not to pop through the last stitch. Leave a nice long tail. 
Unfortunately, this long tail can create the second problem. You see, it is easy to mistake a long tail for the working yarn. 
Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem as well.
Put an anchor on your tail.
I tie my tail in a figure 8.
***
Web Tour:
I want to spin yarns--not dance with grammar.
I've done a few interviews. One interview question I've encountered is what time period would you like to visit. I've answered the 60s.
Yesterday, I changed my mind. Now I want to visit Shakespeare's England.
Ah, you think a romantic time.
Um, yeah, but that has little to do with it. What appeals to me is the freedom with English. Shakespeare was able to play loose and easy with English. This delights me.
I've been in and encountered many discussions lately about grammar...maybe too many.

Work on work in progress
Word count: 29, 869 words
A new sentence added: I have to agree, to do otherwise would expose my jugular vein.