A New Skill

At the start of the year I thought about writing a list of what I wanted to try/learn craft-wise this year. But I didn't. Write a list that is. As I really only had one thing I wanted to learn, and that was to knit. I thought it was beyond me. I tried and tried again on some cheap plastic needles and acrylic yarn (also cheap). It didn't matter how many stitches I cast on, I always ended up with more by the time I had reached the end of the row. I didn't know knit from purl and would just get frustrated.

For some reason, by the end of March I really felt I had to "get it"! So I headed to Spotlight and got good wool and a circular needle (I did have a pattern ready, so I knew roughly what to buy). Casting on and knitting on the circular needle seemed to make much more sense to me - don't ask me why, because it is nothing like crochet. Other than a few hiccups that turned out to be yarn overs (from holding the yarn in the wrong spot) when I swapped from knit to purl rows I successfully made a cowl.

It was about 34C when the photos were taken, not exactly cowl wearing weather, hence the short sleeve top.

It is super soft and squooshy, but I think my needle size was a bit large, so it doesn't seem like it sits close enough to my neck to keep it warm. I may pull it back and re-knit it as I love the wool.

My M1 stitches have visible holes so I am not sure if they were done correctly.

So this has started me on the adventure of knitting.

Soon after, a lovely lady on one of the craft forums I frequent, gifted me her KnitPicks interchangeable needles that she didn't use anymore. All I can say is WOW!! They are fantastic and I am forever grateful. Every time I use them think of her :)

My next project was a beanie. Mainly for the practice. I used some lovely 100% wool from Spotlight and this pattern. I didn't make it as slouchy as the pattern said (mainly because I got a bit bored with all that ribbing).

I also made a few changes (ah the joys of being a newbie, you just do things as you wish! Actually I find it the best way to learn.) At the top, instead of stopping when the pattern called for, and then threading the tail in to pull the circle closed, I kept decreasing until I only had a few stitches left. This has made the top look different, but I now know what the effect is.

In the first few rows I did the same as the cowl - yarn overs creating an extra stitch or two. So my ribs got all out of sync and I now have a funky border - if I hadn't told you, you would probably think it was intentional ;)

It is meant for me and DS kindly modeled it for me.

A nice easy 2nd project - I am hoping to get lots of wear out of it this winter.

Cheers!