3 Critical Tips for the Crocheter Who's Beginning to Knit

What's the expression, we tend to learn the hard way?!  Well, I think I'm in that spot...  Nothing that can't be worked around, but I have discovered some great tips that I wish I had learned about BEFORE starting my Vintage Sweater project!

TIP # 1:  Using the right amount of yarn for the long tail cast on.

This casting on business is such a pain in the neck, definitely my least favorite part about knitting.  But, so far, I really like how the long tail cast on looks; plus, I needed to do a 1x1 ribbing cast on for the bottom of the sweater.  There's a great video on YouTube for that particular cast-on, and, once you get a rhythm going, it's not that hard.

But, I really wish I had seen this article before I started (I've gotten the back done and am currently working on the left side of the cardigan): No More Estimating Tail Length for a Long Tail Cast-on by Coco Knits.  I'm definitely trying this for the right side of the sweater.

TIP # 2:  How to stop stockinette from curling

Well, I'm not going to be able to do anything about this problem except follow some of the after-the-fact tips given in this article by Loveknitting.  I always thought it was me:  I wasn't doing it right or I wasn't blocking properly, etc.  But it's not us; we just didn't know these tricks!  I kind of like the idea of adding some ribbon and have seen that inside of sweaters before, so that might be my solution this time.

TIP # 3  Do some research BEFORE starting your project

This is the toughest tip for me!  I usually just jump into a project without really thinking about it too much beforehand.  But, this is a good lesson for me:  I need to slow down, really read through the pattern, think about all the instructions, and do a little investigating before starting.  Great tip for life in general in a way, though I probably will still keep jumping in ;-)

What critical tips have you experienced?!

Focus

What a great vacation in Jamaica I had!  And there was some wonderful crochet sightings during my stay (see photos on my Facebook page).  I took the opportunity to unplug as much as possible and try not to think about things; I figured, with a clearer mind, the right path(s) for me to take would just pop into my thoughts...

Well, not sure that happened, but one thing that did help me was to start reading Dave Crenshaw's The Focused Business: How Entrepreneurs Can Triumph Over Chaos (note:  my affiliate link below).  He's got a clever (albeit a bit hokey after a while) way of presenting how easily small business owners can get distracted from their mission and goals (or have a hard time formulating them in the first place).  I especially like how he gives an action item at the end of each chapter, having led you through how to do that action item throughout the chapter.

His basic premise is Focus, Master, then Diversify.  Simple message, hard execution!  But there are a lot of tips on how to embrace this message and make it your own.  Focus has always been my toughest challenge; I am a great example of someone distracted by bright, shiny objects (as my recent purchase of polymer clay will attest!).  So, I am going to be focusing on focusing...

With that in mind, if you are one of my Ravelry pattern purchasers, thank you so much, and you'll be getting a very short (just 3 questions) survey soon asking for feedback.  I hope you'll take a few moments to respond.  If you're not a pattern purchaser, then I'd love to hear from you as well:  please let me know why -- contact at manycreativegifts dot com.