multidirectional diagonal scarf for a Christmas present. Noro Kuyeron. Free pattern by Karen Baumer here
another Christmas present scarf, also in Noro Kureyon, from Claire Crompton's The Knitter's Bible: Knitted Accessories: the mighty mitred squares scarf. First square completed and frogged.
a ribbed scarf for me. Noro Silk Garden. I'm following Jared's instructions (here) but with different colors.
healing shawl for my mom, who is never warm. Lion Brand Homespun. Free pattern here
dishcloths, various patterns, when I need a change from one of the above. So far I've used Grandmother's favorite and Chinese waves (PDF file here). Next up, a ballband pattern.
I have a number of sock yarns but I have yet to delve into socks... that's my next project. I want to make a pair (or two) of handwarmers, too. And I have yarn and pattern for a poncho. I know, I know. Ponchos are probably hopelessly out of style now, but I like them, I want to make one, and I march to my own fashion drummer, no matter how out of step I may be with trends.
And of course I have a bit of a stash with yarns for undetermined projects.
I decided to dedicate a blog to my knitting and my struggles and successes with it. I'm a novice knitter but getting borderline obsessive about it, so a blog is in order, right?
my knitting history
I started with embroidery and crochet when I was pretty young -- 6 or 7 -- my grandmother got me going and I took off from there. I progressed on to photography, quilting, leaded and copper foil stained glass, cross stitch, among others. Sometime in my early 30's I decided it would be cool to learn to knit so I made several baby blankets. I was surprised at how well they turned out and was enthralled with the idea of knitting but intimidated enough that I never progressed past anything flat, and I eventually let the whole thing drop. Besides, it was hard for me to handle the needles. No matter how many books I looked at or knitters I talked with, the process just wasn't comfortable for me.
Now, some 20 or so years later, I'm walking through a craft store right by the yarn section -- and wow, what yarns! When did all this happen? The textures, the colors, the feel... the colors!! I was drawn in again and picked up my old knitting needles (and some new ones), hauled out what few references I had, and started knitting again.
However, although I was drawn to the idea of knitting, it still wasn't working for me the way I thought it should. I saw it as a smooth process, something that would be almost meditative in its motion and patterns, and yet I was struggling to hold the yarn over my fingers, maintain tension, and get an even gauge.
Then something made me look up a knitting video on the internet. Continental knitting. It only took a minute into the video for me to realize that this was my problem -- I'd been trying to throw the yarn and apparently, for whatever reason, that just doesn't work well for me. It took me less than 5 minutes of continental knitting to get the hang of it. This is what I wanted knitting to be! No more dropping the needle to move the yarn over the point -- I could do everything in one smooth motion! It was smooth, it was meditative, it was no longer a struggle, and I was hooked for good!
I'm still a beginner, by my count, but I'm having a blast with it, trying not to get obsessive about knitting, and learning new things with every project I try.
And that's what it's all about anyway -- the journey. Happy trails, everyone!
