Last night, some of the girls invaded Kelly’s house for crafts and convo. I brought along a knitting project I’d started, and was amazed that nearly everyone there had knit at some point. I finished my project tonight, and thought posting about it would be a great kick-starter for all the other people out there who, like me, knit in a previous life.
Seriously, I have not picked up a pair of knitting needles since middleschool, when my best buds Erica and Eve and I got into it. I made a pair of slippers. That sounds really complex, and I think it was. I have no idea how I did it, and could barely remember how to purl until Bill’s sister was so kind as to teach me last weekend.
I’d purchased these bad boys (I also keep Bill in check with them while knitting):
"Are those training needles?" Bill asks when I get home from the craft store.
Along with 2 skeins of chunky Lion brand yarn (by the way, this brand is so soft and the color palette is fab-dab-ulous). I’ll buy nicer, more expensive Yarn Tree yarn when I’m better at this.
So after 7 (yes, s-e-v-e-n) false starts, I figured out what I was doing, and cast on 40 stitches. And just kept going until I ran out of yarn.
Notice those stripes. They are mistakes. I purled instead of knit, or knit instead of purled. I decided to embrace the flaws, and I'm glad I did.
Toward the end, when Heather was no longer around to answer my novice questions, I realized I needed buttonholes. Youtube to the rescue! Then, I didn’t remember how to get the finished project off the needled. Youtube again. I lurve Youtube.
See those buttons? They are literal slices of wood! My heart skipped a beat when I saw them at M & J Trimmings today.
Final result:
2 buttons buttoned, 2 unbuttoned for a shawl style. But wait, there's more...
Button them all up for an oversized cowl that deep down inside you know you'll mock yourself for in 5 years, but for now you LOVE it.
My favorite part--it's a hat. I'm ready to adopt my boys in Russia in the middle of winter!
So break out the rubbermaid storage box in your basement, unpack those old needles and moldy yarn, and get stitching, friends! Send me pictures if you do.
And completely unrelated to this post, I saw my nieces and nephew this weekend. Cutest. Kids. Ever. No contest.
They refused to take a normal shot.
Oh wow Jess it came out so beautifully!!! I love your creativity! We should hang out more…. Maybe those creative juices will rub off on me.
Whoa! Nice work Jess. It looks amazing! Learning to knit is on my list of things to do one of these days. So impressed!
Hey Jess- I liked this so much that I frogged the scarf I was making and started over on a shawl/cowl/hat creation. Thanks for the inspiration!