Today was one of those incredible geeky days for me. I figured out that if I went over international yarn standards and deviations in my head it would relax me enough to fall asleep. Things like how many knots are actually allowed in a standard ball of yarn. The answer is 3. If you would like no knots in your yarn I would suggest using an independent yarn dyer because even though you pay more, you generally do not get knots in your skeins of yarn. The knots in yarn are actually what helps keep mass market yarns on the less expensive side. Say $3 to 10 USD versus $25 dollars or more for a small batch skein. Yes, you get what you pay for. Yes, there is a large place in the market for mass market skeins. Think beginning knitters or crocheters. Young kids art projects. Charity projects. Table decorations etc….
The day did get even more geeky, yes that is possible. At knitting guild I explained that each country had its own yarn standards that are different from the international standards. I did not go into details, but basically before mass yarn manufacturers. There are currently 5 that dominate the world market. All yarn was manufactured in each individual country. Weights and needle sizes were most likely determined by local weather conditions. Thus an Aran weight yarn could be different in different countries. Thicker in colder climates and thinner in warmer climates. That account for the variation of size on knitting needles with the same numbers but the millimeters are different. The current yarn standards make international shopping much easier with numbers for the weight. Each yarn distributor can then label to their country standard.
The last geeky event of the day was a knitting in public kind of thing. I was working on a right handed knitting project. The comment made was I don’t knit like that. With a little discussion I figured out she was a left handed knitter. So I put the project I was working on down. I picked up a left handed knitting project and started knitting left handed. Yes, that is how she knit. A person across the table looked at me and was probably wondering what kind of person brings both left and right handed knitting projects. Also how does she keep track or could use both hands to do the same thing a different way. After all aren’t all people either right or left handed? The simple answer is a definite no. So of us are lucky enough to be able to use our hands interchangeably. They call that being ambidextrous. I am sure it bothers a lot of people, even my own family. I have been know to switch hands in the middle of something as mundane as a meal. It came in handy when the kids were younger. I would feed them with my right hand and myself with my left hand. It did make meals go faster. Also I made special stitch markers for just that reason. I made L and R stitch markers. Each project is marked. You would want to ask my friend Louise why that is necessary.
I hope your day was less geeky.
