Untangled

I wish that I could get into my sewing room every day.  The work week is so busy and hectic, though, and with a long commute, there just isn't time.  In fact, I feel pretty lucky to even get in on the weekends.

Not being able to get sewing done during the week is ok, but it means that too often, I find myself just vegging in front of the computer, not actually doing anything.  The one thing that it allows me to do is hang out with the hubby - heading up to my sewing room would keep me from that.

So, what's a crafty girl to do?  I decided that it was time to take up a new skill - knitting!  I remember once learning how to knit back in brownies, maybe around the 2nd or 3rd grade?  I'd tried to learn how to knit from books before (HUGE bomb) and tried YouTube videos (not so much), but seeing the movements in person?  That's what I needed.

The start of a very basic scarf! 

I stumbled upon a Groupon for a local yarn shop that offers beginning knitting classes for cheap (I think it came out to $15 after the Groupon?), and I went for it.  The class took a few hours, and just taught the basics.  The teacher was great, and it all finally clicked!

We learned how to cast on, bind off, and the basic knit and purl stitches.  We had the opportunity to practice, practice, practice... and then rip it out and start over!  I've been playing around with knitting some swatches, just to be sure I don't forget what I'm doing.  I've had various types of yarn hanging around the craft room for a while, but none of it is really knittable right now.  I've picked up fun fluffy yarns, big poofy boucle's, and whatnot, thinking that I could teach myself to knit on them.  HA!  I'm sticking with some basic wool roving for now, and am off and running!

Now that I know the basic movements, watching videos online has been much more effective in learning some additional stitches.  I've added yarn overs and knit togethers to my repertoire, and actually found a scarf pattern on Ravelry that I can manage.

I've got yarn all over, and it's probably just a matter of time before the dog eats something, but hey, I'm figuring it all out, and I have something crafty to do while I'm hanging with the hubs!