Practical math?

When I started knitting, nobody told me there would be math involved. I mean, my grandma used to knit complex sweaters out of skeins and skeins of acrylic yarn (oh how I wish I was more appreciative of those ugly things now), and I never pictured her sitting on her couch with a frickin' TI-83. But if you want to knit right, you not only need to know math, but have a decent understanding of algebra.

I had zero interest in numbers growing up. My freshman year of high school, I took an honors algebra class, studied my ass off, and ended up getting a B. That was back in the day when I thought I was perfect, and if I couldn't do "well" in something, why do it at all? So for the next three years, I skated through easy math classes with the rest of the slackers. With my choice of career, I do not think it would have benefitted me to try any harder than I did.

I've never had a hobby that involved math. Sure, triathlon involves numbers if you really want to get down and dirty with it. Like figuring out your target heart rate, or calculating when you'll finish a race based on your current pace. But really, those things are relatively optional. I always figured my target heart rate was "not too low, and not as high as, like, 190" - and as far as pacing for races, it was "I just need to get to the damn finish line before the pizza runs out."

That doesn't work for knitting. At least if you want to get your sizes right and don't want to waste time knitting a bunch of swatches (test squares) for each project. The first time I made a hat, the woman at the yarn store helped me figure out how many stitches I needed to cast on - but it was a complicated process. You take the gauge on your yarn label (how many stiches per inch you'll have if you use the size needles the manufacturer recommends), measurements of the person who will be wearing the item, and put them into an equation to solve for x (how many stitches you need to cast on). Ahhh! Math.

I learned the hard way when I made my second hat. I used a different yarn than I did for my first hat, and just decided to guess on the cast-on. After almost two days of work, the hat ended up too small. It fits, but it sort of sits on top of my head and doesn't serve its purpose of keeping my ears warm. Anyway, someone spilled an entire bottle of beer on it last night and it's probably going to stink until the end of time, so I figure it's a blessing in disguise. Today I'm starting a hat for Brad, and I'm going to solve for X if it kills me. I'm dreading it so much that I decided to take a break and write in my blog.

Stay in school, kids.