I love knitting. I love Cary Grant. And this video clip of Cary Grant’s character learning to knit in Mr. Lucky is hilarious. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tag: knitting newbie
Pausing to Note Progress
Too often, I focus my attention on the finished product – not on what I learned while in the process of creating something. That applies to a lot of areas of life, but in the interest of staying on topic, I’ll take a moment to pause and take note of what I’ve learned so far while working on my current project.
Using the right tool for the job.
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ve already seen that I’m in the process of making the Monica shawl. It’s a gorgeous (free) pattern that’s knit with lace-weight yarn. I went through three different needle sizes when I was starting out, and got way too far into the project before I finally conceded that it wasn’t working.
None of the needles I tried at first (Boye Needlemaster and Knit Picks Caspian) were bad in and of themselves – they just weren’t right for this pattern. Luckily, my new set of interchangeable Addi Click needles (LOVE!!!) arrived while I was in the midst of frogging this for the umpteenth time. I chose a larger needle size, and never looked back. Note that the needles pictured are from my first attempts and are not the ones that I ended up using.
New knitting skills.
I also picked up a few new technical knitting skills with this pattern – a win in my book, even if it was hard-earned because of all the failed attempts.
- Comfortably (somewhat) reading lace charts
- Knitted-on borders
- Estonian knitting nupps – I used the crochet hook method in the video below, and it was so much easier!
Happy knitting!
In My Stash: Rowan Angora Haze
Hi there! I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was restful, but not by choice. I wasn’t feeling so great, so I didn’t wander too far from home. On the plus side, I got lots of crochet time in between naps.
I have been back at the thread crochet – I just can’t seem to stay away. I have a couple of doilies (I finally started working out of Doilies with a Twist – yay!) drying on the blocking mats now, and I can’t wait to get them photographed. When I do get back to thicker yarns, though, I have plenty of tempting choices. Exhibit A:
Rowan’s Angora Haze. I was lucky enough to have my name drawn as a door prize winner at knitxmidwest, and got a couple of skeins of this soft yarn. (Jen of makexdo is a Rowan ambassador.)
I’m now the proud owner of one skein each of the Hug and Embrace colorways. Handling this yarn is like petting a bunny, because, well. 🙂 Fiber content: 11% Wool, 20% Polyamide, 69% Angora.
Now, what to make? Included in the giveaway goodie bag was a pattern book. I’m thinking I could pull off the Judy beret or Judy gloves… believe it or not, I’ve never knitted anything in the round. Any votes?
A Tale of Two Harunis
Hot on the heels of my Chroma Lollipop Haruni project wrapup, here is the other Haruni shawl that I made soon after. This one was made with my Knit Picks Comfy in Sea Foam.
I’m still not too sure about this one. Because the yarn doesn’t have the “halo” that the Chroma has, it seems less forgiving of my uneven stitches.
When it’s flat, like it is in the photos, it looks great. But drape it over anything… like, oh, say, shoulders… and it doesn’t seem to hang quite right. I do love the color, though, and it was nice to use a solid shade to give more emphasis to the pattern. Another thing I like? The fact that I went with the crocheted edging on this one rather than the I-cord option (which I used on my Chroma version).
In any case, I was very pleased to make this lovely pattern again! I rarely repeat patterns, but I wouldn’t mind creating several more Haruni shawls.
Pssst… I went on a little weekend getaway and yes, it involved a yarn-store stop. Can’t wait to share the details and my haul. 🙂
To see this project on Ravelry, click here.
There’s No Crying in Casting On
Learning a new skill is incredibly humbling. I have crocheted for a long time, and feel fairly confident in my abilities when I start a new pattern. Knitting, though? A whole different story. I think it’s good to be put back in the position of a beginner – it makes you appreciate how far you have come!
I have no problem admitting that getting started (using a garter stitch tab) on my Haruni shawl was difficult for me. (If you recall, I had some Chroma in my stash that I wanted to use for this project.) Ironically, I used the crochet provisional cast-on method to get started – and that’s the part that gave me trouble!
In hindsight, I have no idea why creating a garter stitch tab was so darn tough. I just kept trying, frogging, and trying again. Finally, I watched the video below for help. It was incredibly useful. What did we ever do before YouTube? Oh, but it’s important to note (as the video’s creator does in the comments) that at the end, she should have placed the last three stitches on her left needle, then knitted them onto her right. Don’t worry if that doesn’t make sense right now – all will be revealed when you watch. 🙂
I’m happy to report that I finally made a garter stitch tab that I am satisfied with, and the Haruni shawl is done! Update to come.
