Episode 33: Very Superstitious Knitting

Welcome to Type B Knitting, the podcast where two sisters yap about knitting knitting things. I'm one of the sisters, Gusha. And I'm the other sister, Veronica. And we are officially in October. That means it's spooky season.

For today's topic, we're gonna go over knitting superstitions. That's right. Veronica, do you have... Are you a superstitious person? I don't know.

I think... I don't know. I've been getting into... I'm in my woo woo era, so I've been manifesting things, but I don't think that's necessarily, like, superstitious. Stitious.

I mean, it's in the realm, but I would say in, like, a more positive kind of tone instead. Yeah. Like, I don't believe in, like... I don't know. I don't think I believe in bad luck.

Do you? I'd like to say I don't believe in bad luck, but then I'm also, like, somebody who, like, doesn't wanna jinx it. So if I say something out loud, I will, like, I will physically knock on wood. Oh. So I'd like to say I'm not superstitious, but then I'll, like, do things like that.

Yeah. That's Yeah. I do do that too. I'm, like, whenever I, like, think about something, yeah, or play, like, say something and I'm, oh, I don't want that to happen. Like, knock on wood.

Oh, yeah. So maybe maybe a little... Not superstitious, just a little stitious. Just a little Sticious. Just a little.

I'm also very, like, I don't think I believe in ghosts, but I'm not gonna, like, test it and, like, go out and, like, mess with ghosts if they exist. You know what I mean? Like, that kinda... You don't believe in ghosts? No.

I don't believe in ghosts. Oh. But I'm not gonna test it. Okay. Do you believe in ghosts?

I feel like there's a possibility. Like, sure. Why not? I don't know. I'll I'll exist in the same universe as a ghost.

You're fine with that. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. I, is there anything in, like, knitting that you're superstitious about?

Any superstitions that you have? It was interesting because, like, I googled... There are superstitions around knitting. I just haven't heard of them. So I'm curious if, like, anyone else knows of them.

I think the one that you and I always argue about... Well, you and I were arguing about if we had a superstition episode prior, but it was... We did. We did. Because we talked about one of the superstitions, but...

We talked about one of them. Yeah. The stereotype. The stereotype about the sweater curse. The sweater curse.

You have to say it like that. Oh, the sweater curse. The sweater curse. The sweater curse. So the sweater curse being that if you knit your partner something that then jinxes your relationship and they're gonna break up with you before you finish it.

Right? Yeah. Do you believe in the sweater curse? The thing about me is I'm such a selfish knitter that I would never I would never gift someone a sweater, you know? Like, not on purpose.

So you're you're not even gonna test it. You're like... Yeah. Like, I have given my husband a sweater, but that's literally because it wasn't initially intended for him, and then I just realized I would never wear it. So then I'm like, here you go.

Have this. But I'm not I'm not like taking orders. I'm not like sitting here taking orders being like, what would you like me to knit you? No. I'm selfish and I wanna make it for myself.

And if I happen to want to make you something, you will get something. But I'm like, I'm not... I don't like that attitude, you know? I don't like that. I feel you found the loophole for the the sweater curves and that you're not making it for them.

You're not gifting it. You're literally just happen to give it. So that's a Yeah. That's a good loophole for anyone worried about the sweater curse. Yeah.

Literally, like, make it with yourself in mind and then being like, oh, I could give it to this person and then the curse won't get you because the curse will be like, well, technically, that's fine. Superstitions and curses definitely work in the, technicalities. Oh, yeah. For sure. They're definitely like making sure that everything is, i's are dotted, t's are crossed, and if it's not, then they won't curse you.

But I'm curious to see, like, what other ones, like, superstitions that people had. Yeah. Let's get into it. I have a couple, here that I saved. One of them being that legend suggests that falling asleep while knitting will cause nightmares.

Thoughts? Interesting. Only if it's a bad project. I feel like I don't need to fall asleep to have nightmares about this project. Yeah.

I wake up and it haunts me. Like, we don't need to be dreaming about it. I feel like that I have, like, I knit sometimes, like, right before bed and I'm like, I've always slept soundly after so, like, you know, probably an old old wives' tale. But I feel like an analog activity like that is a good way to, like, shut your brain off, you know? Yeah.

So I'm like, I don't understand why it would... Is there an explanation of, like, why it would give you nightmares? No. I just said... No.

Have you ever fallen asleep while knitting? I feel like you have. Not while knitting. I think it's like... For me, it's really hard to like be doing something and then falling asleep.

I almost have to be like, okay, like, I'm kinda tired. Let me put my head down kind of thing. So tech... Again, technically, I didn't like fall asleep to knitting. But when I was working on the rhubarb sweater test knit, I was working until, like...

My bedtime is 08:30PM. So anything past that... I'm a big sleepy baby. So Yeah. I was knitting until, like, 10:30, 11PM, like, trying to get it done in time.

I was super super tired. But I would say that would be, like, knitting and then right after falling asleep. And I do not remember any nightmares. Maybe it's just, like, I was just so tired. My brain didn't even, like, think about dreams.

It was just like straight to bed. Yeah. And then just straight to wake up. So another loophole. Yeah.

Exactly. You have to be... Yeah. If you just like knit until you're super super tired, you won't have nightmares. Boom.

Boom. Easy. Boom. Easy. This is just becoming...

How can you get out of these superstitions? Loopholes to avoid, these curses or superstitions. There we go. Come to us. We are now your superstition legal advice.

Mhmm. Open up a practice. Another one being passing knitting needles directly to someone can stab or damage the friendship. It's advice to set them down and then let the other person pick them up. That's interesting.

That is... Yeah. A lot of these are very very, like, superstitious. Yeah. I feel like it's, very, like, particular.

Like, very, like, symbolic, you know? It's like, I don't... I feel like knitting needles are not that sharp, and we've definitely passed knitting needles to each other, you know? Maybe not, like, pointing them at each other, but but, I mean, what about DPNs? When you're stabbing yourself and the person, is that, like, double cursed?

Well, I think it's supposed to be that you're supposed to set them down and then pick it up. I know. But I'm... What's... What happens when it's DPNs and it's, like, you're stabbing yourself and the person?

That bonds your friendship even more because, you'll Ride or die. You're not right. Yeah. Maybe it has, like, an opposite effect. Like, if there's two sets of points, then it's, no.

You're gonna be besties. Best friends forever. I feel like you and I haven't really, like, passed needles probably, like, directly, but we're also sisters. So I feel like that doesn't damage... Well, guess it could damage your friendship.

It could? What? You're like, it's too bad. You think it's not damaged, I do. No.

I... Yeah. That that one I wouldn't. I don't know. I'm kinda curious.

Okay. Hearing this now, are you not going to hand me needles, like, with the points facing at me? Like, is it gonna change anything about the way that you act? That's a good question. I don't...

Maybe if I'm handing you knitting needles, I'll be intentional. Like, you'll know if I wanna stab you, like, actually. I love you're mad at me. It's not just a friendship at this point. Yeah.

Maybe that's why it didn't work on us because we're sisters and it's a friendship. I... Or you could still have, like, a friendship... Like, a relationship with your siblings. Could damage But...

No. No. You can't. Strictly blood. Nothing else.

Yeah. It does say friendship, so I guess maybe that... We're in the clear there. Yeah. Because this isn't friendship.

This is sisterhood. This is true. Blood is thicker than Water. What? Blood is thicker than water.

Water. I don't know. I'll probably keep an eye out to see if I'm gonna change how I act, especially after knowing these knowing these superstitions. I feel like the nightmare one, like, if you think you're gonna have nightmares, you probably will have nightmares because you're thinking about them. Oh, like something stressing you out where, like Yeah.

You're gonna have the nightmare. Right. Exactly. It's like, oh my god. I'm gonna have a nightmare.

I'm gonna have a nightmare. And I was like, okay. Well, girl, you're thinking about a nightmare. So, like, you're kinda, again, manifesting it. So, like, maybe don't think about it.

Maybe don't listen to this episode if you're superstitious. This one you can skip out on in case it's too spooky. Yeah. I give you nightmares. Mhmm.

The last one I have is, it is considered bad luck to create a perfect piece. A small intentional mistake should be made to allow for the soul to escape or to avoid attracting negative spirits. Has anyone told all of the, like, knitting people who make literally the most perfect things I've ever seen in my life be like, guys, you actually should be messing it up like me because, you know, your soul is trapped in there. Yeah. They sold their soul to the devil so they can make the most perfect project.

That's right. That's right. Pop and knit, whatever you're doing with your stitches, girl, sold your soul to the devil because that's that's not human. The way... The perfect ness of whatever she's doing on that account, that's not human.

Yeah. Some of those techniques too is just like, what is this black magic of knitting? Yeah. For real. Literally.

I'm like, some of you guys, your stuff's too perfect. I don't trust you. Some of you guys have never had a button... Accidental buttonhole made on the side of your sweater and it shows. Y'all haven't thought about bleaching your project or...

Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep.

Literally. Unraveling the whole thing. Literally. Some of you guys are out here striving for for perfection, and you're losing the sight of the craft. You know?

Like, it's not about perfection. Do I wish? Here's the thing. Do I wish my things were perfect? Yeah.

Every single time I go in with pure intentions of heart, and then I feel like almost the opposite happens and the devil possesses me, and then I'm just like, I don't care. Get it done. Get it done. Get it done. You know?

The little demon inside me. Yeah. The goblin is yelling at me to just get it done. The goblin inside me tells me to ignore, ignore, ignore. Maybe maybe it's guardian angel.

Maybe we're saying guard, goblin but it's guardian angel being like, no, you have to make a mistake in the sweater because your soul will get trapped in there and it's... It'll invite bad energy. You ever thought about that? I I like that. I I really like Honestly, I don't need a superstition telling me to leave in a mistake because I'm gonna do that regardless.

Oh, yeah. For sure. Literally. I'm like, you guys don't need to tell me. I'm not a rule follower to begin with, so, like, you know, I'm not gonna...

And I think we talked about this last time. It's like, I've literally never followed a pattern to a tee. Like, I feel like I'm always doing vibing, just vibing on my own. And it shows. Yeah.

Exactly. But I still have my soul, so how about that? Some would argue otherwise. I'm just doing that. No.

But there definitely is a little goblin inside me telling me to buy you yarn and start new projects instead of finishing other ones. 100%. There's definitely a goblin energy from within. Are you recording this? Yes.

I am, actually. Honestly, it was the ghosts. Honestly, it was us talking trash about these superstitions. Maybe I did something to, like, make them mad. So we lost half of this recording, so Goshen and are gonna have to rerecord some of it.

But those are the superstitions. Let us know if you've heard about any of these. Let them know... Let us know if they're just a crock gush. Yeah.

But I think we can go into project updates. Yes. So quick update on my Tyra sweater. I have gotten to, so I frogged a sleeve because I didn't like how it looked. So I frogged it.

I made the sleeve hole a little bit bigger because I feel like it just kinda fits better with the body of the sweater. In order to give myself, like, a little bit of a break from... Like, instead of diving right back into the sleeve, I cast it on the collar because I was like, you know what? Let me just, like, have a little bit of change of pace. I wasn't, like, super happy with how it was looking so far.

So I'm like, I feel like if I make, like, a really cute collar that I'm happy with, it could change my attitude about, like, this whole project, which it did exactly that. So I was like, heck yeah. Oh, look at that. Yeah. So I finished off the collar and then I re...

I undid the binding on the side of my sweater to fix the buttonholes and... The buttonholes that shouldn't be there that are under the armpit that... No. They're not even under the armpit. They're, like, halfway down the body.

Yeah. So just, like, love handled buttons? Yeah. Like, love handled buttons. Because, like, the way that you knit the sweater is you're knitting it back and forth.

You're not knitting it in around, and then, like, you connect them, and then once you connect them, you are supposed to knit in the round. And, like, for some reason, where I connected them at both sides where that, like, there was, like, a little gap so it could... It kind of created, like, this hole of, like, where the knitting in the round started versus where I, like, connected and seamed the two pieces together. So, needless to say, I'm a changed woman and I went back and I frogged that because I'm like, this was like doo doo poo poo garbage, and I'm like, you know what? I was like, you know what?

For the first time in my my life, maybe I should put some effort towards my knitting to like, make it actually wearable. I feel like I've heard you say you're a changed woman in the past, like, five episodes, and nothing has changed, FYI. No. I feel like it has because I would have ignored the buttonholes and just kept going, and today, I was like, no. You know what?

Like, let me frog it. Let me redo it and make it actually look good. And then, like, the same with the sleeves. I was like, oh, I wasn't super happy with how the sleeves were looking, but I'm like, let me frog the sleeve. Let me redo the armhole and maybe follow the pattern a little bit better so that it looks good.

With that being said, I'm still debating on bleaching this. I'm still debating on dying it. I'm like, that has not changed. The chaos is still there, but I'm like, I would like for the structure of this sweater to, like, look really good. So, yeah, that's...

You just tamed some of the chaos? Yeah. Tamed some of the chaos a little bit. Just a little bit. So, yeah, I, that's what I did.

And I'm like, listen, if you're not having fun with your knitting, what are you doing? Like, why are we being so serious about it? Like, have fun, experiment. True. Go crazy.

True. You know? I feel like that's what that's what hobbies are for. Yeah. To to have a little fun.

It's a little outlet. Yeah. Creative outlet to do some crazy things no one's thought of. Yeah. Literally.

Just like do whatever you want, guys. It really is not that serious. Yeah. And then, Ghosha and I have decided to start on a new... After we finish our projects, we're gonna knit the same sweater.

How fun. So we are gonna do the Frid sweater. Frid sweater by Knit by Rowan. There we go. Knit by Rowan.

It's super cute and we've never actually made like the same garment before. Actually, okay. That's not true. Also, good luck. That's not true.

We made the Osetta sweater cardigan together. The Osetta travelers cardigan. But did we... We just both hated that cardigan, so we just don't wear it anymore. But did we do it at the same time?

Yes. We did. I forgot about that. Yeah. That's funny.

Anyway, this isn't... We're a new leaf. We were turning a new knitting pattern page. Time to start something else. Yeah.

So, yeah, we're we're gonna make the same sweater. How fun Cool. And at the same time. We should open it up to our followers and listeners if anyone else wants to make the Frid sweater by Knit by Rowan at the same time. Fun, guys.

Join in. Knit along, but only knit along if you're really slow. Otherwise, you're gonna be waiting a really long time for us. Yeah. You knit it.

You let let us know how it goes. Yeah. Awareness of anything coming up. Yep. Yep.

Maybe. I think we might mess up. Mhmm. Yeah. Just slide into our DMs, send us your progress pictures, and then if there's anything funky going on with the pattern, just give us a heads up.

Try to predict... Be the fortune teller. Try to predict what we're gonna mess up. Yes. Exactly.

Exactly. You kinda just, like, catch, like, be like, hey, this is, really weird. You guys might might wanna look out for it. And would be like, perfect, perfect, perfect. Oh my gosh.

That's so funny. Yeah. And if you want us to shout you out in our episode, just let us know in the DMs. Our Instagram is Type B Knitting Pod. Check us out over there.

Don't be shy to DM us and let us know how your project's going and what what ways you're messing up that we weren't creative enough to think of. Yeah. What ways have we not mentioned yet that you've messed up on a sweater? Let us know. I'm so excited for that.

I was thinking about, like, color combos for it because, like, what's so fun about that is we can both work on it, but it can look so different because, like, the colors you choose. And you know what's so funny is I already know a modification that I wanna make to it. So I'm like, I'm already screwing with the pattern. Before even buying the pattern, before even buying the yarn, you already know. Yep.

I already know. I'm gonna But that's kinda cool. Be messing with it. What do you plan on, doing? So there's like a filigree motif on the cuffs of the sleeves, and I wanna mimic that on the body because the body, it kinda just has, a simple, pattern on it and I kinda wanna repeat that, like, more detailed motif on the bottom of the sweater.

So that's what I'm planning on doing. It's kinda cute. I haven't decided if I wanna do the same or if I just leave it. I'll let that be a decision I make another day. Yeah.

I mean, don't have to think about it right now. No. Luckily. Luckily. But it is motivating me to finish the mohair cardigan.

A little update for me. I am actually working on it. Surprise. Surprise. Whoo.

It only took so many months for me to get here, but it's happening, you know. And so I asked, our great people on the Instagram because I wasn't sure if I wanna do sleeves. As I was working on this, I was realizing, like, I have less and less of the strap to finish. I only have, like, a couple inches left now. And so I was trying it on to, like, see the lengths of the straps.

If it's long enough to tie and, like, tie into a bow and it still has, like, the... Like, little, like, bow ends on it. And I was... As I was putting it on, I was like, wait. Like, it's a drop shoulder, but it goes far enough where it almost feels like a cup sleeve kind of thing.

I don't know. It feels like really cute. But I wasn't sure if that's just my delusion and me wanting to be done with this sweater sooner than later. So I asked on the Instagram if it's actually cute with or without the sleeves and majority said it's good as is. So I didn't know listen to the people, give them what they want, and not make a sleeve.

So that means I'm closer to being done with this thing than not. Oh, yeah. Get that out of your stash. Literally. I...

It's gonna feel so... Like how you're saying it, it's gonna feel so freeing to be done with this thing. Oh, yeah. A 100%. Get it out of here.

Yeah. And what are your plans with Voldemort aka bingo? He who shall not be named in knitting bingo. I... What's kinda nice about having it is there's a bunch of squares that you can kind of reference.

And so I have a plan for this rapid fire to catch up to Veronica's bingo because I feel like you have more than me. There's a... So the mohair cardigan is gonna count for getting me down to zero whips. So that's one square. Then there's the yarn ban and because I've been working on this, I haven't been buying yarn.

I haven't allowed myself to. So the yarn ban counted September through December, so bam, we're in October. That one's done. Then the last one, I have a secret project. Secret just because it's been, like, behind the scenes.

Couple years ago out of some yarn stash that I had, I made the Be My Tulip Top by Camille k. I just had, like, this cream cotton yarn. I didn't even know why I had this yarn. Oh, I think I... Because I made a different tank top.

I made a different tank top, and I made it in cream because I wanted it as a cute summer piece, but also this was, like, prior to getting married. So I had it as, like, for the engagement party. Like, I wanted to wear a knitted piece. I don't even think I have that because I dropped a stitch in the armpit and it kept falling down and I didn't know what to do so I just threw it out. And you said, you know what?

That's not my problem. Literally, I was like, I'm gonna hold it with a safety pin and I'm just tossing it out. I I don't know what to do with it. Felt like a ticking time bomb. Yeah.

That's so funny. So I bought... I'm so bad at estimating yarn. I think I'm a lot better now, but I bought so much of that yarn and it was in a sport weight where, like, I made two tank tops out of it. The one...

The first one that had the drop stitch and then this one, the tulip top, which is in that sport weight and it was in cream but I didn't really like it in cream. The photos on Ravelry have it in like a pink Mhmm. So I don't remember when. One of the yarn festivals, yarn cons Veronica and I went to, we bought natural dyeing kit. So I used that, which is the conchineal to dye it, turned into like this pink purply color which feels way more vibe.

So that's been sitting, just behind my door which usually stays open. So it's just like in between a door and a wall. So I haven't even been looking at it. All it needs is buttons. So I recently bought buttons for that.

So I'll be sewing it on and then that's gonna be done too. And that counts as my abandoned whip. Whoo. Bam. That's like three three or four bingo squares right there, baby.

Yeah. That's gonna be a good one. Do you have any, like, current bingos right now? Oh, you mean, like, actually completed? No.

Yeah. Like, actual bingo. No. Nope. I have almost one across that's from the bottom left up to the top right diagonal.

I'm only missing one square. Oh. But that one square is use unraveled yarn for a project. Wait. I literally have...

Oh, I have the opposite. I have from bottom right to top left, but I'm missing one and it's knit a viral pattern, but I do actually already have a bingo, the first row vertically. I have bingo. So the column? The lowest column?

Yeah. Woah. Nice. Do I remember what they are? No.

That's okay. That's alright. We'll put it on the Instagram or something. No, won't. Don't say that.

Oh. We are not putting bingo updates on the Instagram. I don't even remember how I got that. It'll be a story. Yeah.

It'll be a story, and I'll be like, yippee. It's for the... It's actually intended for the spooky season Halloween. It's a mystery. Yeah.

Exactly. Yep. Like, you have to... It's kinda like Clue. You have to, like, guess how I got there because do I remember?

No. I don't. I think if I can see... The only problem is that, like, the bingo that we have is, like, the one that I have is, like, physically covered with, stickers, so I can't see what it was. I think if I could see all of them, I could probably figure out what project was for what, but alas, I do not know.

At the end of the year, we'll do a knitting bingo, finale Yeah. And go through what we achieved, what, any comments, concerns, questions, and any plans because we... How we did the bingo is, each one counts for a certain amount of money and at the end, we'll do a bingo project, so... If we have any bingo project plans. Yeah.

Yeah. I think that's... That was like, our plan was to... Whatever our bingo is, that is the, budget for, like, our first project of the year. So...

Yes. Yippee. Yippee. Alright. Well, I think we can close out this spooky episode.

Check out our Instagram type b knitting pod for all things project wise, superstition wise, all things fun. Thanks for listening. That was type b knitting. I'm one of the And I'm Veronica. And we'll catch you on the next one.

Bye. Bye.