Thursday, January 18, 2007

Mathematical Knitting

Perhaps finishing the first stocking last night was overly ambitious. I've finished all the decreases until the toe so I'm hoping that the next bit goes faster. The sudden cold front has given me increased focus on cranking these out.
I forgot to mention that I'm taking a Mathematical Knitting course over J-term. sarah-marie belcastro is teaching the course, and a lot of the objects and specific patterns have never been knit by anyone besides her. Today we knit a mobius band, which is an object with only one side. You can make one out of a strip of paper: hold a strip of paper with one side facing you, twist one end so you see the back, and bring the two ends together as if you are making a circle. If you tape the ends together, you can trace one continuous line around the entire band, which demonstrates the one-sidedness of the object. During one of the classes we'll be knitting a torus, which is shaped like a donut. For homework I have to make a huge mobius band without binding off, so I think it may end up being transformed into some other strange mathematical object. Updates coming soon.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your sock is gorgeous -- its a shame you have to put a shoe over it... or long pants for that matter. This must be the real reason for wearing knickers while cross-country skiing! --And that heel is just begging to be shown off. Is it too cold for Birkenstocks? Clogs?
xox, mom

Rachel said...

Well, they'll certainly extend the skirt season.

Anonymous said...

Very nice! Hmm... I don't think I could wear those socks, I would never get (or keep) my shoes on!

Alison said...

Fabulous work on that sock! They will be so wonderful to wear!

Happy knitting-
ali