learn to knit better

Knitting meetup tomorrow! I’m kind of nervous; is that normal?

I just need to get some circular needles between now and then. I wish they sold them at the grocery.

I think I will make this a continuous goal of mine since I am always striving to knit better. To do this, I will be more daring and try new things (stitches, techniques, etc.)

I decided that it would be wise to change my RSVP to ‘No’ for tonight’s meetup. I was brushing my teeth this morning and kind of spacing out and thinking of the day ahead, when Jack shouted from the kitchen to ask what else I wanted in my lunch. I thought about it and realized that I needed to pack a ton of food because I wouldn’t be home for the next fourteen hours, and then I thought about the fact that we still have shopping AND packing to do before we leave tomorrow, and it all felt a little overwhelming.

If I don’t go to meetup, I will be home around 7:00, and will have time to have a glass of wine and pack at leisure. And, I can console myself that I will have plenty of time to knit while on vacation. I am so very, very ready for vacation.

I joined a knitter’s group through Meetup. I knew it was the right group when I looked at the RSVPs for next week’s meeting and many of them read something like, “I can’t make it—inauguration!” Which, as it happens, is why I can’t attend.

I wish it met more frequently than once a month, but I understand how much work it is to coordinate something like that. And I should look at the bright side: it gives me time to practice!

I dropped “get and stay organized” because that’s just way too nebulous at this point; I can’t even focus energy of thought on it right now. Knitting better, on the other hand, now that’s a goal!

Like every person alive in the entire world, I can knit a scarf like nobody’s business. I even taught myself how to put ribbing in. But that achievement is like a trap, man. Until I learn to knit in the round, I’m just plateauing.

As an aside, I notice people knitting and they look so zen. What’s up with that? I don’t find it relaxing. I approach it as I approach every other thing that I approach, like a competition, and I clench my teeth and hunch my shoulders through the entire process. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it, but still, perhaps this goal should actually be to chill the eff out while learning to knit better.

I was actually able to master the knit and the purl! LOL…...And that’s good enough for me! ;-)

My mom taught me to knit right after I learned to crochet when I was 8 years old. It frustrated me because you want to go fast so you can see your work progress, but when you do, you drop stitches and it’s really hard to fix that and make it look nice, so I’ve always favored crochet.

Now that I’m older and have more patience, I want to learn how to knit better. I’ve tried to knit socks for the first time. The first time, I was not dilligent about counting the stitches and did not quite understand the placement of the needles(I’m using the Lion Brand red short 5 needle set for each sock), so I ripped it all out at the point in which I got to the heel. Try #2, I dropped stitches. Now that I’m on try #3, not only did I get through the heel, but I’m counting stiches about every three rows and I’m knitting two socks at once, so twice the experience in one shot and I’ll have a pair of nice warm socks when I’m through.

A few years ago I taught myself to do basic knitting. I’d like to learn to knit more advanced things and, this is a big and since I haven’t managed to do it so far, learn to pick up those damn dropped stitches. It should be easy, but I end up unraveling like a mad woman.

A few years ago I decided to finally figure out how to knit. My mother, aunt and grandmother all gave me lessons but I never really got it. I finally figured it out and now I want to learn enough so that I can make my own patterns and knit them. Maybe buy some sheep and move to New Zealand. Hmmmm.