Here we are at Saturday again and that means you get to learn 5 more things about me.  I thought it might be useful to share some of the tips and techniques I use for various knitting projects, so this Saturday’s things are all about knitting.

1. I knit almost exclusively on Addi Turbo circs. I have just about every size and length I need at this point and I hardly ever bother with straight needles anymore.
2. When I knit my picot edge socks, or any other sock pattern that has a row repeat I need to keep track of, I use my beginning of the round stitch marker to keep track of my rows. I simply move it in one stitch for each row that I’ve knit. For instance, if I’m on row 1, the marker is in one stitch from the beginning of the round. Row 2 is 2 stitches in, etc. This makes it really easy to keep track of my place and I don’t have to count rows.
3. I use a traditional row counter for tracking increases and decreases. I have a system that uses the 2 numbers on the counter separately. For instance, if I am knitting sleeves (which I have been and the Spartan Sweater for Dale is done) I use the right hand number to track how many rows I’ve knit and the left hand number to track how many repeats I’ve done.  So number 24 means I have completed 2 increases and am on the 4th row of the current number of increases. I hope that makes sense – it’s kind of hard to explain.
4. Speaking of sleeves, I knit both at once. This is an easy way of making sure they come out the same.
5. Finally, when I am charted designs I use a LoRan magnetic board. I’ve had this since my days of doing counted cross stitch and I find it perfect for keeping track of my place on a complicated lace chart.

Did you learn anything new?

It’s Saturday and that means it’s time for five more things about me.

1. My 5th blogiversary was last January 29th and I forgot to blog about it. A major milestone like that and I forgot? I should’ve turned in my blogging license months ago.
2. I hate to pump gas. Hate. it. I actually try to leave the tank empty for when Dale drives my car so that he will have to pump the gas. I’m not even sure what it is I hate about it. Obviously if it’s cold or raining then it stinks but I even hate it in the summer when the weather is beautiful. I think it’s the standing there and waiting and doing nothing that makes me crazy.
3. The other morning, while driving to work, I saw a magnificent 8 point buck by the side of the rode. He was in a clearing and there were beautiful fall leaves on the ground and in the trees behind him and he stood there, perfectly motionless, looking back at me. It was amazing.
4. I am a morning person. I love to get up early (okay, I define early as 6) on the weekends and enjoy the quiet. I check my email and facebook and read blogs and then I knit. It’s my favorite time of the day.
5. I have several lenses for my camera but I tend to get into ruts with them. I’ll leave the wide angle on for weeks. Or I’ll use the original lens that came with the camera for a while. Today I remembered that I have a prime lens and I put that on the camera – we’ll see how long this one stays there but I predict it will be a while.

And that makes 10, for those of you keeping track.

This is how Mason spends his Saturdays. Frankly, it’s how he spends every day. In my next life, I want to be a cat.

I was toying with the idea of participating in NaBloPoMo this year and I happened to mention it to Margene, who was also thinking of taking the plunge. We decided to do it together and on Saturdays we will each be posting “5 things about me” so that at the end of the month we will have listed 20 things about ourselves. Sounds simple enough, right? We shall see.

1. About 2 years ago Dale and I joined Kiwanis. Somehow this year I agreed to be club secretary. I knew it was a good way to turn a fun night out into something resembling a job and I was right. I will live through it, though, and will be the better for it. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
2. I passed by our CSA farmstand the other day and their sign out front says “Reopening May 11.” At first I was depressed at the thought but then I decided to be positive about it and not wish the winter away. This will probably be harder than I think.
3. I have discovered that I really like decorating cupcakes and sugar cookies. I’ve started amassing a collection of decorating tips and colored sugars and icings. Let’s hope I can keep better control over this stash than I have over my fabric and yarn stash. Ahem.
4. I love my iPhone. I love it with a passion. It’s probably not healthy to love any form of technology as much as I love this thing. And yet, there it is.
5. If I could get away with it I would never leave my house. I’d work from home, have the groceries delivered, and buy everything I could online. I think I would be quite content with this lifestyle.

And there you have it, 5 things about me. Try and control your excitement if you can.