Posts Tagged ‘florida’
Knitting Help: Judy’s Magic Cast On
Posted by springviolet in Knitting Help, Mini Vidcasts on March 31st, 2010
Our dear Miss Connie is vacationing in Florida this week. But that hasn’t stopped her knitting – oh no! Just take a look at the message we received here at Social Knitworking headquarters:
We have a knitting crisis in FL! So, I taught my friend Kristina to knit. However, my knowledge of knitting is still small and she is asking me how to do a certain cast on for these toe up socks (Fancy Feet Anklets from Knit Picks). We’ve looked up videos but can’t seem to figure it out. Also, she intends to work in magic loop, two at a time and doesn’t have DPNs.
Our Bright Idea! If any of you have a video camera, some spare yarn and some spare time this evening, or tomorrow, you could show us what to do!!!
PROBLEM SOLVED!!!
It must be a crisis. Just look at all those explanation points!!! ;)
Dear Connie and Kristina,
We haven’t knit this particular pattern, but a little internet research has led us to believe the pattern uses a Figure-8 cast on. I happen to love a variation of this cast on, Judy’s Magic Cast On, which was featured in Knitty a few years ago.
Although Kristina will be using one needle and magic loop to knit the socks, the cast on is done with two circular needles. So, for just the cast on, go get a second circular needle that’s either the same size as your working needle or close to the same size. They don’t have to be identical since you’re only working the cast on with the second needle.
The directions for the Magic Cast On covers the following points, however they bear repeating here:
1. The metal needle (which starts on the bottom facing the knitter), is the pattern working needle. The wooden needle on the top is only getting used for the cast on.
2. When holding the yarn at the start of the cast on, the working yarn is also held toward the bottom. The tail of the yarn will be toward the top.
[As the pervy knitters we are, we have to comment that although the cast on starts out as a bottom, halfway through it flips to be a top. After all, playing bottom and top can be fun!]
We’ve filmed video of me casting on using this method. Hopefully the video, along with the directions and photos in the link, will help you out of the crisis. If not, please feel free to curse us out on the Social Knitworking hotline.
PART 1: The Initial Cast On
PART 2: Knitting The First Round
**UPDATE**
Go figure, after we filmed the videos, Connie and Kristina got back to us about the cast on in the pattern. It’s not a Figure-8 but rather a picking up stitches sort of thing. I’d use Judy’s Magic Cast On anyway, as it’s my favorite.
Nerd Invasion: November 6 & 7, 2009
Posted by springviolet in Things We Do on October 8th, 2009

Fuck yeah, we’re going.
But now I have a stack of questions: Do I bring a knit mascot to pose in pictures I take at the Invasion? What is the Social Knitworking knit mascot? Do we make people drink Elbows to the Taint? If I finish that Dr. Who scarf in time do I use it for costuming?
I’ve got a month to figure this stuff out.
Here’s the official press release:
Pensacola is certainly no stranger to occupation. Indeed, the “City of Five Flags” moniker that accompanies the city name is symbolic of the number of sovereign groups that have laid claim to the port city. But in early November, a new force plans a campaign of occupation for the city… And they won’t use guns or political tactics; they come armed with algorithms, video games, and microphones. Pensacola is being invaded by nerds! NERD INVASION is coming to the Pensacola Silver Screen Theaters on November 6th!
NERD INVASION is an all-night nerd music and gaming extravaganza running from 7pm on Friday, November 6th to Noon on Saturday, November 7th.
Nerd Invasion highlights:
The Top of the game in Nerdcore music from all across the country
-Schaffer the Darklord (Queens, NY)
-Dual Core (Cincinnati, Ohio)
-Zealous1 (Oceanside, CA)
-Dr. Awkward (San Diego, CA)
-Kabuto the Python (San Francisco, CA)
-MadHatter (Salina, KS)
-Chester (Wichita, KS)
-Benjamin Bear (Orlando, FL)
-Krondor Krew (Orlando/Tampa, FL)
-Marc with a C (Orlando, FL)
-Shael Riley (Brooklyn, New York)All-night gaming in many formats
-Card games (Magic the Gathering, Versus System, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc.)
-Video games (Retro and current generations)
-Board games (All of your favorites, plus demos of new systems)
-Role playing games (Dungeons and Dragons, Vampire, Mage, LARP, etc.)
*With thousands of dollars in prizes to be given away by our sponsors Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf Publishing.Additional Features
-The Miss Poindexter 2009 contest
-Video and card game tournaments
-Cosplay/costume contest
-Screening of the “Nerdcore Rising” documentary
-Science, technology, media, and costume Panels
-Vendors
-The world premiere of George Clinton’s “Gongafunkadine”
-Nerdy movies
-Open mic loungePlus much, much more dorkiness.
This is not an event to miss! Come on out and get your geek on. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. For more information, please visit www.NerdInvasion.com
Are you ready for the Invasion?
***Nerd Invasion is brought to you by a collaboration between independent nerd clothier Nerd Rockstar (NerdRockstar.com – Pensacola, FL) and Nerdcore music label extraordinaire Scrub Club Records (ScrubClubRecords.com – Wichita, KS)
Who knits in Florida?!
Posted by ConsterMonster in Things We Do on August 25th, 2009
I recently ventured into the depths of South Florida to visit family and friends this past month. While there I found myself teaching a friend to knit. We started easy and visited a local Michael’s where we purchased some yarn and needles. A few weeks have passed and she has now completed her first project, the Potato Chip Scarf. I also got her started on the glorious “Blankie“.
Now, FL Friend would like to work on other projects. But as we all know, Michael’s is quite limited in their selection of yarns. Especially in South Florida. I suggested she use online sites like KnitPicks and Yarn.com being that there are virtually NO YARN STORES in her immediate area. Another question we have is, what can one really knit for FL weather? The heat rules out many favorite patterns of mine. Does anyone have a favorite yarn, or project that you think is appropriate for FL? Feel free to leave comments here or on the feedback line: 215.839.6373 (215.839.NERD), or use the Google Voice widget we’ve installed on the blog.