Paths to a goal

So, I finished the cable scarf, and it is sitting in the stash of finished goods, awaiting washing and blocking. Now, I have never blocked anything in my life, but I've seen it done, and I think I know how it should work. At least I have the "T" pins . . .

I thought I might, having completed the scarf, get serious about working on THE AFGHAN. That would be the one my daughter yelled for help about. And I did make some progress, to be strictly fair. I am almost done with the 1st of seven panels, so I think that qualifies as something. (I'm just not sure what.)

But to keep to my goal path, I must be unfaithful to the afghan. So, venturing bravely forth, I got out Cat Bordhi's Treasury of Magical Knitting book, my harmony wood cable needle set, and cast on a Moebius scarf. The cast on is strange, but not hard. The knitting is actually kind of fun. But Friday night I decided to be done with the width, and started the I-cord bind off. I thought, okay . . . I've practiced the I-cord bind off . . . no biggie.

THREE HOURS LATER I was done with the bind off, done with the scarf, and just plain done.

(Note to self: allow three days for an I-cord bind off on a Moebius scarf. Rome was not built . . . etc.)

Knitting in the New Year

I guess I can say that I'm not really new to knitting. My mother tried to teach me forty plus years ago, but she got frustrated and so did I, and it all unravelled smartly. My grandmother then taught me how to crochet and do embroidery -- that worked quite a bit better. After mother died, I inherited her needles and the will to knit, and got started with a basic "I taught myself to knit" book. I won't say I knit well -- my first sweater took six months, and looked -- when it was done -- like something designed by Omar the Tentmaker. It did eventually end up fitting someone, and the less said about that, the better. So I confined myself to simple scarves (seed stitch, four strands, sz 13 bamboo needles) and all was well!

This last year, I've been doing online school as required for the new job that I love, and haven't had much time to do anything other than work and school (and ride my horse on weekends . . . totally necessary for my sanity).

School finished in December. All the loose ends tidied up and woven in, so to speak . . . so now to knitting.

I'm not much for New Year's Resolutions (they don't seem to last too well for me). I am a fan of decisions. When I buy clothing, I buy the best quality I can and take care of it. When I buy horse tack, ditto. So why have I been torturing myself with cut rate needles? HMMMMM.

I ordered a set of Harmony Wood interchangeable needles from KnitPicks, and they are gorgeous. Not to mention the incredibly nice, lightweight feel (even lighter than the bamboo I adore). And the cables are like butter (which I no longer eat after emergency gall bladder surgery -- but that, too, is another story)! Smooth, slick, yummy.


So now to the New Year's goals for knitting:

1. Mastery learning of one new pattern stitch per week
2. Mastery learning of one new technique per week

This week I worked on cable stitch, which really intimidated me in the past as my new pattern stitch. Pleased to note that I have completed almost one-half of a scarf that I plan to donate for the Employee Action Committee raffle at work (along with a matching hat). I also learned how to knit on two circular needles, and how to apply an I-cord binding.

Yay! I'm ahead of schedule.