In order

I collect bits of knitting things in these books. They are where I write down project notes and design ideas. The pale purple one is where I wrote down all my ideas and little dots and dashes for the Falling Waters shawl. The dark blue one contains notes for my Hickory socks. The big one is where I'm writing my ideas for some new designs. And the little book on the top of the pile has been with me for years and years, ever since I needed a place to write down the formulas for the weaving I used to do.

No matter how often I turn to the Internet for information, or look something up in The Principles of Knitting, I usually end up looking in these books, too. I'm sure I wrote that down, or didn't I use this stitch once before, or for the life of me I can't remember how to Kitchener. It's all scribbled somewhere, in organized disarray — my knitting brain!

Where do you park your knitting brain?

At hand

Knitters have all kinds of tricks. We have ways we like to do things, little rituals that make the time we spend knitting work for us. We have tools that suit us, and we become so used to them that we think we can't knit without them.

One of the things I can't do without is my little toolkit-on-a-keychain. It's not fancy, but it's portable. Over the years I've fine-tuned it until it holds just about everything I need while I'm knitting (except scissors and a tapestry needle). There's a a tape measure, a needle sizer, miscellaneous stitch markers, a rescue crochet hook, a rubber thing to tighten interchangeable needles, and just in case, a little tag with my parents' 1961 Virginia license plate number on it. I never know when I might need the number of that big blue Ford station wagon.

Do you have a little knitting tool kit?

Start fresh

A new notebook, a trusty pen. On with the day. This one is spiral, small, simple. It can be tossed into my bag, or lie open on my desk.

It's not my journal; its purpose is utilitarian. It's where I will park my thoughts and needs and bits of knitting brainstorms, just for the time being. I'm a serious iCal user, and I love my any.DO app, too. But there's always something that needs jotting, isn't there?

Do you have a notebook?

Tiny anchors

There are rituals in knitting. At least there are rituals for me. Small ones — a bit of magic, a little thought, some small comfort. It's the same and different for all of us.

One of mine is the stitch marker. Which tiny anchor will I choose as I begin to knit? If it will serve to signal the beginning of a round, then it must be the right one, the perfect thing to catch my eye as I come to it, then slip it from left needle to right as I move around the circle. It is where I begin and end a piece of the pattern, where I stop to check the instructions or the chart. It is where I hurry to if I'm excited, or what I look longingly at if I'm slogging across hundreds of stitches.

If I need markers to help me count or space the pattern, then I have dozens to choose from. But that first one, the one for the beginning, must be chosen with care. It might have sentiment attached, or it might be practical. It might just "go" with the yarn. But I always choose it carefully, because even small rituals matter. Even tiny anchors have a place.

Do you have a favorite stitch marker, or a small knitting ritual?