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There’s tension…and then there’s tension.

Time again to post something for the fiber artists in the audience.

Here in Rewalsar, just about every woman who can knit starts seriously wielding her sticks around September or so. That gives her enough time to churn out some sweaters for relatives, or a bunch of socks for sale in Delhi. Joy and I actually brought along our fiber tools and a stash of yarn each (yes, they do have yarn in India, so yes, you can laugh). Since we’ve been here long enough to be considered locals, the sight of Joy or me knitting away in the sunshine fails to surprise other Rewalsar residents. For the most part, since socks are a small project that’s easily portable, they’ve been the main knitting projects we’ve been working on.

Now, I’ve been knitting a number of years on socks. I’m at the point where I have a basic sock pattern memorized, and then simply adjust for the yarn gauge and any pattern stitches. Simple, yes? Among the various knitting tools and paraphernalia was a pair of socks I had started a lot earlier in the year, when I was in the States. My weapons of choice at the time were Lorna’s Laces sock yarn and a “tangy” pattern from Knitty.com called Crusoe. Before traveling to India, I’d managed to get one sock done:

Of course, any knitter worth his or her NaCL immediately begins the second sock, so as to avoid the dreaded Single Sock Syndrome. I usually do this, but as I might have mentioned in my last post, normalcy and a consistent environment in which to accomplish this have been in short supply for the last couple of years. Crusoe #1 languished in my knitting kit for several months, while my digestive system, my laptop gear and I all had various adventures getting accustomed to the chaotic living standard that is India’s. Recently I dug up the project and began Crusoe #2, blissfully unaware that something was seriously amiss:

The problem’s not really evident in the two pictures, is it? After I discovered what went wrong I took a third photo to illustrate the situation in all its mismatched glory:

Yes, I used the same needles. Yes, I used the same yarn. I even carefully counted rows to make sure the patterns turned out even. However, there’s this little thing called “tension” most knitters are familiar with. The tension with which you hold your yarn and needles directly affects your knitting gauge. And your gauge is what makes the difference between a sock suitable for a Nyondo and a sock appropriate for, well, this guy. Apparently, while I was in the States, I was under a lot of stress, spent a lot of time being very tense, and as a result knitted everything all tensed up. Once arriving in India, where there were a lot fewer stressors, I relaxed a bit. A month or so into my stay here, I developed a pinched nerve in my right arm, which makes it nearly impossible to grip anything with any considerable tension. By now I’m a much more “relaxed” knitter, with obvious results.

November 23rd, 2006 Posted by admin | Fiber Arts, India | 3 comments