January 22, 2010

I Taught Myself To Knit

As we are getting our house ready to show, I have had to pack up my sewing machine and all related materials since there was not really a "place" for them. I was using the kitchen table for my sewing machine and that just doesn't look nice when showing a home.  Because I have had to pack that up while there were still numerous ideas floating around in my head of things I could make and possible sell on my Etsy shop, I decided to learn something new that wouldn't take a lot of room but could give me something to do when I am feeling crafty.  I decided to learn how to knit!  My mom has always crocheted, and she tried to teach me when I was a teenager, but my fingers, the hook and the yarn didn't get along too well.  For Christmas Annalisa got some knitting looms and has made a hat and is working on a second one. Jacob is also making a hat, and I knitted a pinwheel on one of the looms. After making the pinwheel I decided I wanted to learn how to knit with knitting needles, so I went to YouTube.  You can find almost everything you want --or don't want--on YouTube (just to prove my point I will let you know that while I was watching a video on knitting for beginners, one of the "related" videos on the right hand side of the page was "Pole Dancing For Beginners").  So, I watched video after video on how to knit, and once I thought I understood what to do, I went to Hobby Lobby with my 40% OFF Coupon and bought an "I Taught Myself to Knit" kit for around $6.00.  I used the purple yarn Annalisa got for Christmas to make my first project which is a Mug Mat (similar to a coaster).


As you can see, it isn't perfectly square--it is my FIRST project!  On a couple of rows I had more stitches than I was supposed to have and I think it is because I forgot to let the stitch off the needle.  The more I did it, the better I got, though and I am excited about making more projects!!  It really is pretty fun!

4 comments:

Janette said...

Yay!! Great mug mat. :) You go girl!

Amanda said...

Good luck saling the house!

Anonymous said...

nice post. thanks.

Kathleen said...

I chuckled when I saw your first mug mat...and applauded at your second try. I don't like to knit, but my Mom is an expert. Even though she's legally blind with a little sight left, due to macular degeneration, at 84 yrs old she's still knitting fisherman knit sweaters with fancy designs. She, too, taught herself to knit when she was about 10 yrs old, during the lean times around the Great Depression. She went to the library for books, but had no knitting needles. Somewhere she found two huge nails, and that's the way she began her life-long hobby! :-)
Keep at it! You're doing well! Loved the scarf by the way in one of the more recent blog entries!