And....Go!

With days quickly approaching my 25+2 birthday, I decided I wanted to try a new hobby.  I tried scrapbooking several years ago, and I was too much of a perfectionist to truly enjoy it.  It would take me hours to do a simple page...and then I wouldn't like what I had done.  I'm also currently unemployed so I wanted to try to find a somewhat affordable hobby.  And, then Eureka! I knew what I wanted to do.

It all started with a pair of fingerless gloves.  My friend Christy made me a stunning pair of green and purple fingerless gloves and I loved them. Simply loved them.  And, I thought...maybe I could do this! My grandmother used to crochet all the time so there has to be something in my blood that would let me figure out what to do with a couple of needles and some yarn. 

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can!

The awesome fingerless gloves Christy sent me

But where do I start? was the first thought that flickered through my head. My future sister-in-law tried knitting a few years ago, so I started speaking to her about it and she sent me a care package of some extra needles and crochet hooks she had lying around as well as some yarns.  Then a friend of mine taught me how to cast on, and then I taught myself the long tail cast on, but I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  I found the ravelry website and quickly joined and started looking at tons of amazing patterns...which are very daunting to someone just learning! 

Yesterday I found a pattern for a simple beginner's garter stitch (aka cast on....knitknitknitknitknitxbazillion...cast off and DONE!) scarf that looks somewhat simple enough....if I can ever figure out how to actually do the knit stitch! It calls for some super chunky yarn and day-um sized (aka size US 13) needles and 1 roll of super chunky yarn (100 yards). This morning I went to my local yarn store, Knitting Needles, and made nice with the super helpful woman who was working there.  She is my idol.  As she was walking me around the store, she was knitting and not even looking at her hands.  Will that ever be me?

With the wonderful help of the clerk, I found myself in the bulky yarn section...and all the skeins of yarn looked small.  Way too small to be a 100 yards. And sure enough, as soon as I picked up one that looked nice, felt nice, and wouldn't break this poor unemployed girl's budget, each skein was only 49 yards.  So, I had to pick two skeins. Which means I made my super easy project slightly more difficult...but I'll figure out how to add roll 2 once I figure out how to knit roll 1. It's Sirdar's Big Softie in a beautiful violet color. Whether it makes a beautiful scarf is yet to be determined.

I also picked up some bamboo needles in size 13, because I only had a couple of small metal ones that Sarah had sent me.  I can already tell, I'm not going to be a fan of metal needles...so, as they say, wood is good!

Can't you see the future scarf? Or, toy if you're my cat

As soon as I got home from Knitting Needles, I sprawled my new loot out on the bed, pulled up my pattern and cast on the required 12 stitches. Now, the hard part. Knitting. And.....fail.

I tried reading the directions printed in the book "Stitch 'n Bitch"....and wait you want me to do what now with those needles?? Frog #1 (which, is one term I LOVE so far in knitting. Basically, to frog means you unravel everything and start over).

So, like shampooing...rinse and repeat.  I cast back on the 12 stitches and tried doing what the woman in a youtube video was doing....frog #2.  Ribbit. Ribbit.

Ah, well....just as Rome wasn't built in a day, I know knitting will take lots of practice and perseverance. 

This blog, as well as my ravelry (username=AmyBamy) profile is to chronicle my adventures in knitting.