Orlando Knit Wits
At the sewing expo this year I took advantage of a six-hour break between classes to visit the Knitting Center in the exhibit hall. There in about three hours I learned to cast on, knit, purl and bind off from friendly, enthusiastic women working on beanies for preemies. I was fascinated and, armed with advice from Marti and Kerrie, marched right out, purchased a beginner kit, and practiced what I had learned.
Marti recommended my first project be small, like a dishrag (not much use for scarves in Central Florida). A search for free patterns online turned up this one, which only used stitches and instructions that I recognized. But each time I switched from "knit" to "purl", something funky happened to that stitch. After repeated unsuccessful attempts (all unraveled), today I took Kerrie up on her invitation to visit the Orlando Knit Wits, a group that meets, happily, only ten minutes from my home.
Long story short, they were also friendly, enthusiastic, creative and knowledgable. Gina, the organizer, figured out my problem in about half a second and showed me how to fix it in two (it was ridiculously simple, as I suspected it would be). I learned what "continental knitting" is and won one of the door prizes, too. The prizes were grab bags donated by a gentleman whose wife attended until she passed away. Mine contained two pairs of needles, a box of stitch markers, and two balls of yarn (one of which I donated back to the stash going to the hospital for expectant mothers learning to knit).
I'm now 15 rows into my dishrag. It's uneven and a little sad-looking, but the checkerboard pattern is forming nicely! After I get the hang of it, I plan to tackle this Trek-inspired washcloth.
Scott wanted to know if I was switching hobbies. Not a chance! But knitting seems like a nice, portable hobby I can tackle in the allergist's office during those 30 minutes I have to wait after my injection in case I have a reaction. ;)
Marti recommended my first project be small, like a dishrag (not much use for scarves in Central Florida). A search for free patterns online turned up this one, which only used stitches and instructions that I recognized. But each time I switched from "knit" to "purl", something funky happened to that stitch. After repeated unsuccessful attempts (all unraveled), today I took Kerrie up on her invitation to visit the Orlando Knit Wits, a group that meets, happily, only ten minutes from my home.
Long story short, they were also friendly, enthusiastic, creative and knowledgable. Gina, the organizer, figured out my problem in about half a second and showed me how to fix it in two (it was ridiculously simple, as I suspected it would be). I learned what "continental knitting" is and won one of the door prizes, too. The prizes were grab bags donated by a gentleman whose wife attended until she passed away. Mine contained two pairs of needles, a box of stitch markers, and two balls of yarn (one of which I donated back to the stash going to the hospital for expectant mothers learning to knit).
I'm now 15 rows into my dishrag. It's uneven and a little sad-looking, but the checkerboard pattern is forming nicely! After I get the hang of it, I plan to tackle this Trek-inspired washcloth.
Scott wanted to know if I was switching hobbies. Not a chance! But knitting seems like a nice, portable hobby I can tackle in the allergist's office during those 30 minutes I have to wait after my injection in case I have a reaction. ;)