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.