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how to's: finding time to knit

Domiknitrix, how do you find the time?

Yes, I do have a full-time job, and it's not one where I can sit and knit all day long. Far from it.

But, there are a few things that I am NOT doing that give me more time for knitting:

  • going to the gym - I save transit time and membership fees by walking to work. Just don't stop exercising or your sleeveless tops will go to waste.
  • other crafts - I would rather truly excel at one thing than be mediocre at many. So I knit and design knitwear, and I sew and design clothes, and that's plenty.

And some things I AM doing:

  • ordering take out and food delivery when the Muse is in town - be sure to file lots of menus and rotate
  • avoiding projects I know will bog me down - if I'm annoyed knitting the swatch, that's a sign I won't have much fun with the project.
  • allowing myself to enjoy 'lost' knitting weekends - When asked, say anything but "I knitted all weekend." Try instead: "I created this amazing ..."

And there are some things I do during the knitting that enable me to finish more quickly, with a more flawless result:

  • I knit continental style, for higher top speeds.
  • I knit tubes on circular needles whenever I can to save time turning the work and purling.
  • I avoid yarns finer than DK weight. Worsted or bulky are preferred for faster completed results.
  • When working cables, I dispense with the cable needle. I find it only wastes time and does not add to the result, unless I am working in a very slippery yarn.
  • I knit a lot of sleeveless or short-sleeved projects. This cuts the knitting time by 1/3 or more.
  • I knit for myself to save time. This way, I always have easy access to my fit model. I hate to wait to fit it on the intended recipient.


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