I think knitting attracts clever people (Think of all the
yarn shops with clever names – nice teeth-gritting puns like “Commuknity” and
“Ewe’ll Love It” and “Sutter’s Gold ‘N Fleece”) because there are so many clever
methods in knitting.  Last night, Sarah
and I were teaching I-Cord and twisted stitch cables – and everyone was so
pleased with themselves!   I felt like I
was teaching magic tricks.

And speaking of clever techniques, I am currently enamored
of slip-stitch knitting.  Such a slick
basic technique and such sophisticated results. 

Fun to do, too, since all that slipping makes the rows go
quickly (making up for the fact that the scrunched-up nature of the knitted
fabric means knitting more rows).  It is
usually easy to see what you should be doing, too.  I think it is an Old School technique that is
resurging.  Lots of possibilities! 

On a more subtle note – though still in the realm of “clever,”
I think – I was working up a stockinette swatch for the shoulder section of a
rather heavy sweater and was concerned that the piece might be too
stretchy.  So, I decided to try twisted
stockinette stitches (twisting both the knits and purls by working through the
back loop) and came up with this:

(The top portion of the swatch is the twisted stockinette
and the lower section is the regular stockinette)

Wow!  Not only did the
twisted stockinette make a firmer fabric, but it made the alpaca-silk-wool yarn
(Knit Picks “Andean Silk”) glow!  I was
pretty jazzed!  I called over to George
“hey, do you want to see me doing something clever?”  And he kind of sauntered over – and I
realized that people are quicker to come if you are offering to show them
something you are doing stupidly….human nature!

The twisted stockinette biases strongly – but the shoulder
section is only two inches high, so I am not concerned (though if something
goes awry, I will be sure report – and George will be the first to know if I am
doing something stupid after all!).