Knitting for technology

Through a combination of events such as getting tinnitus and not being able to comfortably listen to the library’s audio books; reluctance to increase the clutter in our house by adding more books; and my inner child’s longing for a Kindle ever since they first came out, last week, I finally seriously considered getting one.  I had a tiny bit of “found” money, having recently exercised an expiring stock option that, due to the economy, didn’t net too much more than Kindle cost, instead of the financial bonanza it originally aspired to be a decade ago.

For those of you now wondering, “What the heck is a Kindle?”  It is a wireless reading device for eBooks that also allows you to subscribe to magazines, newspapers, and blogs that are all delivered to your Kindle electronically.  I ordered it from Amazon and I am still anxiously waiting for it to arrive. Through USPS tracking, I know it’s been in town since Friday  I am still a bit miffed that it didn’t come yesterday.

However, I have been consoling myself by designing and knitting a Kindle Sleeve.  They sell and recommend that you purchase a protective sleeve to protect your device but as a knitter, I hate to buy something that I can make.  Plus buying a Kindle sleeve uses money best reserved to buy yarn.

The Kindle measurements are 8 by 5.3 inches and for some unknown reason I began the process fixated on the 8 as the narrow measurement.  I am sure you already spotted the problem with that.  Unfortunately, I spend two evenings merrily knitting away using the wrong measurement as a basis while Kindle dreams danced in my head.  Friday evening I went back to refer to my original measurements, since I had begun to have a sneaking sense that something was not well with the sleeve.  After calling myself 9 kinds of dummy, I frogged and restarted the project using 5.3” as my basis.  I can only believe that my inner geek’s preoccupation with getting a new toy was overwhelming my knitter’s common sense.

Below is a picture of the work in progress and I am pretty pleased with how it’s coming out.  I have devised a pattern that uses a k1b stitch and the resulting fabric is thick and should be very protective.  The geek approves, the knitter is content, and harmony reigns.