I have successfully knitted a jumper!! Before I finished the jumper I had knitted a beanie (that unravelled) and a beret (that is still going strong), but this is my first ever jumper.
It didn't even take me too long to knit. I probably started it about 4 weeks ago, and obviously I wasn't working on it all the time. I also had to undo huge portions that I had done wrong (knitted back to front and the like).
All in all I'm pretty happy with it. I bought some red wool today so that I can start knitting a vest, and I also got some green, blue and white wool so that I can knit a Raiders scarf (for the football).
I have to say that I really like knitting. It seems a lot simpler than sewing. Admittedly it's actually more difficult (the pattern reading alone takes some concentration), but it's a skill from another time, that is still valid today, and hasn't changed any since centuries ago when people first started knitting.
I just did a quick search and it seems that knitting started gaining popularity in the sixteenth century with a high demand of knitted stockings. There is also evidence of some kind of knitted stuff from even earlier...so it's definitely been around for a while.
I desire a nice knitted sweater, but I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for it, so I'm going to try and make one for myself! I went to buy a knitting pattern, but luckily I read through the pattern before I bought it. Lucky because I realised that I can't read knitting patterns and I have no idea what I'm doing!
Enter a book: Not your mamas knitting. Bought from an actual bookstore in an attempt to support the dying out chain that my sister was working for.
It is pretty handy and fairly easy to follow, and when it isn't easy to follow I simply head to YouTube and find a tutorial. For example, knitting on a round needle just wasn't working for me no matter how much I yelled at it. So I found a YouTube tutorial and now I should be able to do it (I haven't tried yet).
Things I have learnt:
- Cable stitch - very cool for jumpers and the like
- Fishermans rib - essential for the bottoms of jumpers and sleeves
- Assorted abbreviations - it's like a whole new language! Very strange!
And so I don't think I'll be letting this book out of my sight any time soon. Oh, I should contact it so that it doesn't get damaged. I will do that this Sunday. I'll spend some time contacting all of my books. It's not weird - it protects them!
