In the past couple months I have:
-Taught myself how to knit projects using double pointed needles, which I have found to be pretty easy. It also relieves the boredom I sometimes experience with regular flat knitting as well as opens up a lot of other possibilities for projects besides scarves.
-Learned how to knit a thumb gusset for a glove. It is surprisingly easy despite the fact that the directions usually look fairly complicated.
-Finally tackled socks. A project I once found to be daunting and way out of my league I have now conquered. I'm finding myself becoming a little obsessed now.
-Figured out how to knit a beanie. I made one for Jeff.
-Discovered the ability to just shrug knitting failures off and try again. I've always been afraid to start something only to discover that it might not fit or look right in the end, so I have avoided lots of things like beanies and socks. The first pair of socks I made are a little big, but I don't really care. The first beanie I made for Jeff is a little small, but I shrugged it off and started a new one.
-Found out that I can learn from my mistakes and that messing up in a project is not the worst thing in the world.
As you can see, I have made a lot of progress on the knitting front that I am really proud of. Since I've been slacking on blogging (which apparently is a pretty frequent occurrence for me) I figured I could just share all my projects in one post.
These charcoal colored beauties were my very first DPN project. One of the gloves is shorter than the other and one of them has an added row in the cable repeat, but I don't think anyone but me will notice. I don't really care because I love them. I did learn that making pattern charts in Excel is a good idea for somewhat complicated patterns that require a bit of precision.
The next project I decided to tackle featured a very cool pattern and a very fun pink colored yarn. Again, these were fingerless gloves. Not the most practical, but fun and easy enough to make with plenty of challenge still involved.
Third we come to a deep teal colored cowl. This fits extremely close to the neck and is very warm. I reversed one of the cables on one side, but since it sits pretty scrunched up around your neck, it doesn't really seem noticeable. This yarn is the same brand as the pink gloves. It has a fiber content of 30% wool and I was beginning to get curious about working with 100% wool.
These are the latest fingerless gloves. They featured a complicated cable pattern that required pretty much all of my attention. No mindless tv knitting for me. This was also my first foray into using all wool yarn, and I am a convert! I love it! So warm and cuddly and it just feels natural on my skin. Much better than the typical acrylic crap I've been using. It also does not pill on the surface which is nice. Unfortunately it's around 3-4 times more expensive, sometimes more than that for artisan types! This yarn is even locally made!
Finally we have my proudest accomplishment to date. SOCKS! When I first started knitting I never dreamed I would be able to knit socks. It required pattern reading, decreases, selvages, turning, shaping, and use of DPNS. Yet here we are with my completed pair of socks! I absolutely adore them even though they are a little baggy and the yarn worked up in weird patterns. I can't wait to start another pair, I've already purchased more yarn to make more socks.I mentioned earlier that I made a hat for Jeff, but I didn't bother to photograph it since the first hat wasn't entirely successful. I am working on the second, hopefully more appropriately sized beanie now. It will probably be finished tomorrow, but we will see.
The main thing I have learned from all of this? I can knit pretty much anything as long as I just start it!
