Originally Posted by sewjoyce
Originally Posted by wtexpricklypear
Have any of you tried to use those plastic looms for knitting? They are great once you get the hang of it -- I taught myself to knit the basic stitches which knitting needles. The site I went to said that the continental method was faster and more efficient than the English style so I learned the continental. Well, it turns out that I am one of the few that use that method and it's hard for me to get any one to help me when I get stuck! I enrolled for a sock knitting class because it said that all I needed to know were the basic stitches...I didn't know that I would also need to use 5 needles at the same time --- arrrgggh! By the time the 2nd part of the class rolled around I still couldn't get the needles straight and so that was a flop. Then a group is knitting hats and scarves for the soldiers and suggested the looms. And yeah! It didn't take long to get the hang of it and I didn't feel like a total failure! I try to spend most of my time quilting but dh likes for me to be with him watching tv and I need to concentrate on what I am working on and so the loom knitting is a compromise!
How do the looms work? Do you use something like a crochet hook to transfer stitches? (When I was a kid, someone made me a small "loom" out of an empty thread spool and 4 small nails. I made acres of that stuff! Is the same thing?)
The looms are GREAT! They are the same as the spool you worked with as a kid, but bigger ... there are many sites that you can find out about the looms. I started with a set I got at Walmart for about fifteen dollars. Four different sized looms and the tool ... low impact for those of us with achy hands, easy enough for the youngest child to master, patterns galore in books and on the web ... check out "Bev's Country Cottage" for ideas ... and, then there are looms that are big enough to make a sixty inch afghan ...
I am left-handed, and have discovered that most of the problems I have had learning was being aware that I am left-handed ... since I learned as a child, I have never been sure who was the most concerned, my teacher or me, but I did have a hard time learning how to knit right handed.
Funniest thing - - my left handed daughter could not learn how to knit or crochet from me!
I do the loom left-handed, simply because I relaxed and did with my left hand what I was watching done by the right-handed person, though I may be a bit ambidexturous, so who knows? I just know that I have managed to do a lot of things with my left hand when I just relaxed and reversed what I was seeing.
I lost all of my favorites when my computer grounded me in September, and have had no reason to bookmark any of the websites that I learned so much from about loom knitting ... but, it is a great form of creativity. <wave>