Knitting II

Some of you have asked me 

why I have been taking knitting classes lately,

when I've been knitting for so many years.

Well…  most of the time,

when you learn how to knit, it’s a one-session class.

They just teach you how to cast on,

how to do the knit stitch, how to do the purl stitch

and how to bind off. 

Then you generally knit the obligatory scarf.

And if you’re still interested in knitting after that,

 you move on to project classes. 

A hat, a pair of mittens, a felted purse, maybe on to socks…

I did all that...

But I never really felt like I was gaining

a systematic knowledge of the subject. 

It all felt very much like a crazy quilt in my mind. 

This and that, here and there--very haphazard.

And then, a friend of mine happened to tell me

about the knitting class she was taking.

  She said she learned how to fix a dropped stitch. 

I didn’t know how to do that. 

She said she had learned how to make a buttonhole.

 I didn’t know how to do that. 

Needless to say, I signed up for the next class the next day.

And the teacher even has a Knitting II class. 

What a treat.  Also 4 sessions.

We had our first class of Knitting II the other night,

and for our homework she had us exploring Texture Stitches.

Our samples included the seed stitch,

the moss stitch, mistake rib, and the trinity stitch,

AKA the raspberry or bramble stitch. 

Texture Stitches, by nature, are patterns

that mainly use just the knit and purl stitches

and they lay nice and flat. 

It’s amazing what changing the order of these 2 stitches can produce.

Oh, and my faux fur stole that I started last fall? 

I finished it!  I bound off on New Year’s Eve. 

I just barely had a FO for 2011.

 (FO = finished object.  UFO = unfinished object.  J !)

Knitting is such a great balance for my art. 

I can do it in the evenings in my lap in front of the TV. 

I don’t have to be the Designer. 

I can just relax and let the repetition

of making the stitches boost my seratonin levels.

Unless I’m working on my lace. 

Then I have to be on high alert. 

I joke that knitting lace is easy unless you find a mistake!

And I found a doozy of a mistake

in my lace shawl last month. 

Consequently I am becoming quite expert

at unknitting Rowan Kidsilk Haze.   <sigh>

They say it can’t be done, but it can. 

I had to unknit 10 rows last month,

so I know it can be done. 

And it wasn’t just knit and purl stitches, either! 

Whew!

 (And, yes, I use lifelines.  Didn’t help.)

That’s why most knitters have several

projects going on at once...

A challenging one, an easy one,

and perhaps even a small portable one,

 for doctor’s appointments, etc.

And that’s why I even have 2 different lace projects going on. 

My original, challenging shawl, and a 2^nd easier scarf to work on.

And now that my faux fur stole is finished,

 I need a new mindless, easy project. 

We’ll see.

 I think I have some beautiful handpainted mohair that has volunteered.

TGIF!!!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥