I knit
I was at Mike's mom's yesterday and I had taken along a small project to knit while I was there, because I knew we'd have some free time and the battery on my phone would not last if I spent the entire day surfing on it. Anyway, I was knitting and Mike's mom commented on it and said how cool it was that I was knitting. How she'd love to learn how but she worried that she would feel like she was being lazy and not getting anything done while she was knitting. It's a sentiment I totally understand. I am a very slow knitter and knitting things takes a long time that I could be spending doing other, probably more productive, things. But knitting has become my new therapy. Knitting is that thing I do to unwind and to stop thinking about all of those things that stress me out. It helps me slow down and enjoy myself instead rushing like I normally do. I really enjoy the rhythm of it. It's gotten to the point where I don't even need to be knitting productively. I actually quite enjoy knitting swatches. I also tend to use my knitting as a way to fill small free moments like lunch time, or when I'm a passenger driving some where. It has gotten to the point where I get a little panicked if I am going to any kind of gathering where I will be required to sit and talk to people and I have nothing to take with me.
Along with all that knitting comes finished projects. What's unfortunate is 1) a number of my finished projects are gifts for people who have not received them yet, so I can't show you pictures and 2) I have a bunch of pictures on a hard drive that is currently inaccessible to me right now. So, here is what I can actually share.
I knitted up a few washcloths for my mom last Christmas, and decided to knit up a few more for her this year. That top washcloth is what I took with me yesterday to work on. Though I'm still pretty slow, those only take me a few hours to knit up.
These little washcloths are my go-to item to knit whenever I run out of something else to do. These are perfect because they are mindless, and it's not imperative that they're perfect. I love knitting these.
I am considering buying some bulk cotton yarns just to have around the house if the urge strikes. My mother loves them so I will always have someone to give them to, as I can't see myself using them.
I also finished up a small scarf for me.
I have worn this to work a couple of times and gotten a number of compliments on it. I had never really considered myself a decorative scarf person, but I do now. This yarn was made out of bamboo and is incredibly soft. It was a little tricky to work with, because it splits very easily, but I think it worked very well for this scarf pattern.
Last but not least, here is my very first attempt at cables. I found an easy pattern to knit hand warmers flat and decided to try it. I stopped at my little yarn store and bought this amazing pink/purple merino/silk blend that is just amazing to work with. The cabling is so far, much much much easier than I was expecting. I know that shweetnettie13 has said that knitting cables is very slow going for her, but I didn't find it slowed me down all that much. Probably because I'm a slow knitter to begin with. But I really am enjoying knitting these.
That whole section, which is about 10 rows away from being completed, took me maybe two hours to do. I'm hoping to get that one finished tonight, and the other started. Hell if I stay up late enough I could probably finish them both. But then I wouldn't have anything to knit at lunch tomorrow.
Along with all that knitting comes finished projects. What's unfortunate is 1) a number of my finished projects are gifts for people who have not received them yet, so I can't show you pictures and 2) I have a bunch of pictures on a hard drive that is currently inaccessible to me right now. So, here is what I can actually share.
I knitted up a few washcloths for my mom last Christmas, and decided to knit up a few more for her this year. That top washcloth is what I took with me yesterday to work on. Though I'm still pretty slow, those only take me a few hours to knit up.
These little washcloths are my go-to item to knit whenever I run out of something else to do. These are perfect because they are mindless, and it's not imperative that they're perfect. I love knitting these.
I am considering buying some bulk cotton yarns just to have around the house if the urge strikes. My mother loves them so I will always have someone to give them to, as I can't see myself using them.
I also finished up a small scarf for me.
I have worn this to work a couple of times and gotten a number of compliments on it. I had never really considered myself a decorative scarf person, but I do now. This yarn was made out of bamboo and is incredibly soft. It was a little tricky to work with, because it splits very easily, but I think it worked very well for this scarf pattern.
Last but not least, here is my very first attempt at cables. I found an easy pattern to knit hand warmers flat and decided to try it. I stopped at my little yarn store and bought this amazing pink/purple merino/silk blend that is just amazing to work with. The cabling is so far, much much much easier than I was expecting. I know that shweetnettie13 has said that knitting cables is very slow going for her, but I didn't find it slowed me down all that much. Probably because I'm a slow knitter to begin with. But I really am enjoying knitting these.
That whole section, which is about 10 rows away from being completed, took me maybe two hours to do. I'm hoping to get that one finished tonight, and the other started. Hell if I stay up late enough I could probably finish them both. But then I wouldn't have anything to knit at lunch tomorrow.