I apologize for the lack of blog posts. Somehow, I have been incredibly busy the past few weeks, although I don't know if I could tell you what I was up to. These weeks went by in a blur of delicious food, prosecco, and movie nights.
Last week in class, we started working on our hats. When my teacher said that we were going to be finishing our hats in the following class, I thought she was kidding, but it was a surprisingly easy project.
Every time I learn a new knitting technique, my initial internal reaction is, "No way. I can't do that!" I've learned that I take that approach to a lot of things, and I feel like I have let myself miss out on new experiences in the past because of it. I pushed aside any fear of messing up (what did I have to lose, really?) and found that the knitting techniques and skills that I was learning were actually quite intuitive.
We used circular needles for the hat, which I thought I would dislike. I had gotten used to working with regular needles for the scarf, but after working on my hat, I prefer the circular needles. It's easier to hold the project in my lap, and I feel like there were no interruptions as I created new rows.
My homework was to make a 6 inch tube by Wednesday, and then we finished the hat in class. Decreasing the stitches was tricky at first, but I think I have the hang of it and will do well on my next hat.
The hat is ribbed (2x2) and fits perfectly. Even though it's April, it was cold last night in Chicago, so I wore it home. Here it is!
Now that I am done with my hat, I can concentrate on my scarf. It's been easy to make the time to knit, since Tom and I watch a lot of movies (and I watch a lot of bad TV). While watching Iron Man and Iron Man 2 over the weekend, I got a LOT of work done. Combining three of my favorite things (Tom, Tony Stark/Robert Downey, Jr., and my new knitting hobby) never felt so fabulous!
Here is my scarf. I still have quite a bit of work to do, but I should be able to finish it by Wednesday. Tom and I are going to St. Louis this weekend for his fabulous sister's bridal shower, so I will have plenty of knitting time on the train. I'm really excited to have that time to relax and knit!
One of my homework assignments for this week was to pick out a pattern that I want to make next. I am debating what to do. I have already promised a scarf to my sister and a hat to Tom, which will be easy since they want the same color. But what else should I do? I'm tempted to try a blanket for my mom, but is that too complicated? What's a good long-term project for a new knitter?
Blanket's not complicated, but it is long term, like you want. A lot of patterns will have you do squares on straight needles and piece it together. You can get really long circulars to do the job in one piece, though. That's something you can do while watching a movie. If you want to dig in and follow a complicated pattern, you should try socks. They're VERY satisfying to complete. Here's where I learned to make my first sock: http://cometosilver.com/socks/SockClass_Start.htm. You'll have to get double pointed needles. Totally fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bree! I ended up buying long circulars to make the blanket. I haven't started yet, but I think I will make Sunday a movie day and knock some knitting out.
ReplyDeleteI am totally going to make socks! I used double pointed needles when I decreased the hat, but I'm guessing I will need smaller ones for the socks. I am excited!