Product Review: Knifty Knitter Loom

Okay, so even though I felt... dirty buying it, I decided I had to give it a try. A few weeks ago I'd run into a girl at the library who was using one, and I talked to her about it. She said she was also a knitter (and had been for many years) and the loom was far faster and easier. And you know me, with my stash of yarn, I could use something to quickly knit up a bunch of scarves, right? Right. So I bought one (luckily with a 50% off coupon, so I only spent $3.50-ish on it). And you know what? Either she sucks as a knitter, or I simply cannot grasp using the loom, because it's a pain in the ass.

First off, it's a three-step process. You have to loop the yarn around the pegs (and keep the tension such that it doesn't slip off, not as easy as it sounds), then you use the little pick to flip the bottom loop over the top loop (which is difficult because the end of it kept getting stuck in the crevice, and it's really easy to accidentally nudge the top loop off, especially if it's too tight), and finally, you have to press all the loops down so you can put the next row on top. This, if you ask me, takes a lot longer than just knitting it. Plus the loom is really unwieldy - much more so than two little sticks!

So it's harder and, for me, takes more time. You'd think that'd be bad enough. But there's one final nail in the coffin. I think what it produces looks like crap. In theory it should just be a stockinette stitch, but the pegs are too small and the spacing too great - so you end up with ribs of knitting and very holey spaces in between. Perhaps, if you worked it after you were done 'knitting' it would even out, but that adds yet another step to the process. Three strikes, it's out.

I can see one possible use for this - for kids. If their hands are too small to manipulate needles this might be a neat compromise. And with a bulky, non-fuzzy yard it would be easy to work with. Other than that, I advise just learning to knit. It's easier, faster, and more versatile.

Now that I've trashed it... anyone want a loom?

Cement is a part of concrete, mmmkay?

So, as some of you know, I spent Wednesday and part of Thursday at a concrete seminar. Oh joy. I mean, yes, there's a lot to concrete, and a lot of things to talk about... just not that much. And engineers do not, as a general rule, make the best speakers. To keep myself from embarrassing myself by nodding off (like a few of the people around me) I brought my knitting and got 2/3 of a scarf done! Stupid Boa yarn was a pain in the butt to work with, but I can cross off one 'to do' project and two skeins of yarn (I did have to buy a third to make the scarf a decent length, but it's already used and it was for something specific, so that shouldn't count against me, unlike the four I bought to try out the loom at lunch... because I just couldn't wait until I got home...)

To sum up the seminar:

1. Driving downtown sucks, I'd work at the grocery store down the street before I'd take a job with an engineering firm downtown.
2. Parking garages are creepy, even during the day.
3. 'Basically' and 'actually' were used an average of once every 12 seconds by one speaker - my boss counted and timed it after I pointed out that it was getting annoying.
4. Concrete is, like, good and stuff.

On to the interesting bit, the scarf! Just to let you know, the model in the picture is, uh, nude. The scarf covers up any naughty bits, though...

( Pretty pink and purple scarf )