Knitting Publicly

So I went and started up a blog and then dropped off the face of the internet. What a great start eh? Well, I've said it before... blame the kids. That baby I was on bed rest for went and came anyway, 6 weeks early, and so I thought I'd have gotten a couple more blogs in before she came! But sweet as she is I really can't blame her.

I brought my knitting to the hospital to keep me company at night in my room but once released I still kept it with me for my time in the NICU. There are always a few hours between tending to the baby that I quietly spent knitting at her bedside and this kept me sane and content. But what I noticed was how many people, who might not have stopped to talk otherwise, did! It was like an open door for conversation which I didn't mind at all. But nurses who had been doing their job quite head down suddenly were my best friends! One nurse told me I'm the first mom she's ever seen knitting there in her year and a half. Other mom's were 'jealous' I had the patience for it. HA!

And they all complimented me on my work... but really, its so flawed its comical. Firstly I had been feeding my needle to the back of the other causing trouble with my gauge (too tight). I really have no idea why I did that but my mom was good not to laugh at me when I showed her. Then due to this my entire gauge changed when I started to knit properly. Then I was wrapping the yarn around the needle in the wrong direction on the first stitch of every row causing two stitches to be cast! Fantastic! So instead of a diamond shape being created its more of a staggered arrow head look. My yarn over effect now has completely changed although for the better. I don't know who the lucky recipient of this blanket will be but I'm thinking I'll get so good that in future years some lucky soul will have, on hand, a one-of-a-kind muck up worth hundreds! In addition, this past weekend my mom, yet again, pointed out that although its fine I pick up my stitch quite differently period. I'm just making crap up as I learn apparently. But whatever. Its a blanket and no one will need a brochure to tell them so when I'm done.

Here's some photos of my masterpiece.

At the halfway mark you can see I started out quite rough and have finally got it going... left to right.

Even scarier up close

So just stand back and blur your eyes... its just marvelous!

Get Your Gauge On!

I've tried to learn to knit about three times in my life. Each time I learn how to cast on, knit and purl and well... then I don't continue and forget it all over again. The person who has taught me each time is my mother. She's been knitting for about 30 years so being in a room with her while she knits sounds like this... "snip, snap, snip, snap, snip, snap, snip, snap..." of the needles. She will watch TV, a movie or just clack away as a passenger of a long drive in the car. She barely has to look down.

Here's what I sound like knitting "Sssssssnip, slash, dammit, swwwwwish............. son of a motherless... what the heck happened?!"

I have a very simple pattern. But I don't have my mother here in person so I'm learning the basics from the Stich'N Bitch book. Its very handy. Having said that I would have been able to 'cast on' much quicker with my mother here. It probably took me 30 minutes with only illustrations from the book and a toddler jabbering away. I may blame the toddler a lot. Great scape goat! It was FIVE cast-ons that took about half an hour... not just one by the way.

To help me learn my mom sent 2 skeins of yarn and a circular needle and this Lion Brand pattern:

The baby blanket is knit in a diamond shape so you start at a point.
The directions look like this:
k3, yo, k2
k3, yo, k3
k3, yo, k4

k3, yo, knit to the end of the row up to 207 stitches.

WHAT THE WHAT? I thought this was a simple pattern!

If you know how to knit its the simplest thing ever. So I look in the book as to what 'yo' means... "yarn over" and its easy. Just wrap the yarn around the needle once without 'knitting' to give yourself a hole so its a bit of decoration to the edges.

Yarn Over Result

All I have to do is remember to do this after three knits. Right. I found myself five knits in and that I had forgotten some times! For the love of... And then I tell my mom who says "oh you just rip it out then and start the row over."

PFFFFFTTT. Yeah right. Like I would even know where the dropped stitches are afterwards! Forget it. So I missed a couple y'o here and there.

Let's just get right to it and show you how the blanket looked after two hours...

I started at a corner of the blanket but 'corner' shape is obviously optional for me.

And up close it looked so awful. Messy. ROOKIE!

A few days later. You can kind of see the yarn over effect on the edges.

Then my mom's suggestion is not to worry so much about counting stitches to know when to start tapering again but as this pattern asked for two skeins of yarn, that I just start tapering before I'm a few yards finished on the first ball. So easy. But have you seen the size of the ball? (above) This is going to take me awhile! Which is what I need. Did I mention that finally learning to knit again is because I'm 34 weeks pregnant and on bed rest since 32 weeks? I needed something I could do laying down! Now - try chasing your toddler who's just run off with the ball.

Maybe by the end of the blanket I'll get a rhythm with my gauge... cause right now I don't and my left pointer finger tip is tender from pushing the right needle out on the knit since its so tight sometimes! What a whole lotta stuff to go awry! And that's why I thought I'd blog it all. Laugh at myself and my rookie mistakes!