Not quite 2 weeks ago I had a church activity where you could choose a new skill to learn. I chose knitting. After about an hour of instruction I had learned one of the basic stitches and I had a couple rows of a scarf started on my needle. I kept at it for another day or two, only to notice that it was getting worse as I worked along. Finally I decided to call it my "practice scarf" and start over, this time being more careful not to make so many mistakes.
Here's the first attempt (it's quite hideous, I assure you):
I was thrilled to find that my second attempt went a lot more smoothly. There weren't even any holes in it!
About halfway through the scarf, I decided I wanted a more challenging project. I went online and watched a zillion tutorials on how to do different stitches, etc. Thank goodness for YouTube! I then found a pattern for a hat that I could make without having to knit-in-the-round (something I'm still scared to try). This hat is knitted flat and sewn up the sides. Add some fun tassels on top and voila! I call this hat "Fraggle Rock." I originally made it for TJ's sister, who is about to have a baby. However it turned out to be way too big for a newborn. It is modeled first by Topher and then by the little girl I babysit, Erin. Since it is a more girly hat, I'm giving this one to Erin. Doesn't she look too cute in it??:
The hat took about 2 days (and had plenty of mistakes so don't look too closely!) After that, I decided to finish my scarf, but I needed a new ball of yarn to complete it. (I had to watch several more tutorials in order to learn how to switch to a new skein of yarn.) This is literally the easiest project for a new knitter because you are only making one stitch. You just keep making it a million times until your scarf is long enough. I like the simplicity and clean look of it.
Now that I had a couple projects done, I decided to try again to make a hat sized for a newborn. I found a great pattern (again, it is knitted flat and then seamed up the side) that I was able to start on Monday and finish the next day (which apparently is not impressive at all because there are people online who can whip this out in about an hour and a half!) Then I watched another tutorial on making pom-poms and added one on top for a little bit of flair.
So there you have it. After 12 days of actively knitting, I have 3 projects done and a new hobby that I LOVE. Let me know if you would like a link to the patterns I have used!
Happy knitting! :)
--KC
I love watching my son. I love it when his gray-blue eyes sparkle with raw-edged intelligence or when his little mouth forms an "O" as he grasps a concept and gasps softly. I even love it when his face folds into frustrated wrinkles because I'm the one who gets to untangle the problems and kiss the frowns away. I'm so lucky to be home with him, catching his every expression and bottling them up in the recesses of my own turning mind.
