My adversary

 

Here’s the thing. I kind of suck at knitting. I consider myself to be an “artsy” person, so that’s a pretty big blow to my ego. Yeah, I made a few scarves back in high school but that was when I had my mom right there to do all the hard parts like starting it. And picking up dropped stitches. And finishing it. Ok, so I kind-of sort-of made a few scarves. But it can’t be that hard, right? I mean, come on. It’s like making a friendship bracelet but with sticks, right? Right?

So here I am, back on the knitting horse as it were. My goal: my own cute knitted hand-warmers/fingerless gloves. (That little punk streak will never die.) Hopefully these as they seem not too advanced, and don’t require double-pointed needles (gulp). (Some day, Vickie Howell, I will master all of the cute knitting projects I lust after on your site! I hope!)

But first! I am determined to master Knitting 101: An Entire Freaking Scarf Which Is Just One Long Thing For Goodness’ Sake How Hard Can It Be.

Answer: Kind of hard. 

Hurdle numero uno: Casting on.  Now, the actual knit stitch is super simple. I got that one down no problem. And was thus lulled into the false sense that knitting is easy peasy across the board. Well, whoever thought up the first part of knitting i.e. casting on is probably either A) a masochist B) double-jointed C) a circus freak or D) all of the above. It took me two days to find some source on the internet describing or depicting the how-to of casting on that didn’t leave me either scratching my head in confusion, trying to dislodge a knitting needle from somewhere uncomfortable, or with my hands completely tied to each other and the knitting needles by the yarn. Yikes. (Side note: Don’t tell my mom who was my Girl Scout troop leader but apparently I can’t tie a slip knot to save my life.)

But victory was mine! I finally found one tutorial that explained the final crucial step (the needle goes THROUGH the final last loopy thingy by your thumb. Of course! Who knew?) So, hopefully I am well on my way to finally, after years of promising, actually finishing a scarf for my poor cold-necked boyfriend.

Behold! The humble beginnings of a scarf!

 

Will she finish it? Will she give up halfway after dropping three stitches and having no idea how to pick them back up? Will she stab herself with a knitting needle? Will she even get it done before the incredibly mild “winter” of Central California is over? Will she actually be able to figure out how to bind off? Stay tuned, hopefully!

[Added suspense: As it is Friday, it was a rough week coming back from the holidays, and I have a beer in my hand, I am probably going off now to explore the world of Drunken Knitting. Watch out, I am a party girl.]