Knitting for beginners #4

I can't quite believe I'm already halfway through my knitting course! Even though pretty much everything we're learning can be found in books and online, I take things in much better if I can see it them up close and personal, so for me, learning this way is great!

For homework this week I practised my rib and stockinette stitching some more. 


Then in class we learned how to decrease our knitting, which is what you need to do to get a sleeve to fit an armhole etc. You do this by knitting a couple of stitches together near the beginning and end of each row, until you've decreased your rows by the required amount. 


Finally, we managed to get started on moss stitch, which is my favourite-looking stitch so far. It's so cute and bobbly...almost like little polka dots! For this stitch you literally just alternate between knit and purl stitches. When you start a new row, you've got to make sure that your stitches are the opposite to the ones directly below – for example if the first stitch of the last row is a purl, you've got to start your new row with a knit stitch. It takes a fair bit of concentration, so I definitely need more practise! You can see that I fudged it a bit, so I've done a few rows of stockinette to clear the slate and get me back on track!


On a slightly different, but very related matter, I've made a decision! So inspired have I become by Karen's talent, Mela's tenacity and Jane's resourcefulness that I've decided to be fearless and give this free snood pattern a go. After Karen showed hers off she sparked a virtual snood frenzy, which is brilliantly documented here.


Don't laugh, I'm serious...I reckon I can do it with a bit of help from online video tutorials and the like. Look, I've even gone and bought everything I need...I'm so excited to give this a go!



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Since writing this post, I've totally realised that I've only gone and got the wrong wool! It's nowhere near chunky enough! Ooops! Nevermind, I'll just have to go and get something more suitable tomorrow. You live and learn I guess!!

6 comments:

  1. Wow you've done so much! It's looking great. I too love Moss stitch :) Good luck with the snood, I'm sure you'll do a great job, can't wait to see the finished item!

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  2. You go, girl! You can totally do it! The best thing about knitting is how easy it is to undo work you're unhappy with and redo it until you love it!

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  3. Can't wait to see your snood. I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did. It was really fun. So much so I am going to make a longer version. I am snood addicted, I'm afraid.

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  4. Go for it! You can totally make this. It's really easy. Shame about the wool - you can always use that for something else. I love your knitting samples. I love the look of moss stitch but tend to avoid using it substantially as it gives me repetitive stress, you're moving your hands back and forth around the needles so much. (It's also slow to grow ie takes longer to work up.) But it is a lovely-looking stitch, so tactile. I am so impressed with everything you're achieving.

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  5. Thanks for the encouragement all! I've made a start and it's looking alright...apart from I feel like I'm working with comedy needles and my fingers hurt - lol!

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