So, why the big explosion of all things Yarn Craft? Well, it was a confluence of several stimuli, actually. First of all, remember I promised last week that I was now going to turn my attentions to my first true knitting project, my lovely scarf? I actually did so early in the week, and though it may not look like much, I was almost giddy with excitement at my little beginner level of progress.
So much so, in fact, that I got ridiculously ambitious and tried to jump straight into the scarf that "started it all," the Harry Potter house scarf that I've been determined to make for almost 10 years. Which has to be knit in the round. Either on circular needles, or double-pointed needles. And the only circular needles I had in the house were waaaaaaay too long. And the only double-pointed ones I had in the house were my husband's bamboo ones. Size 5. And I already knit too tightly. It was a very painful, evening-long fiasco. (Yes, Michal tried knitting once. Get this: he was great at it. He just didn't like it that much. Prefers spinning and weaving. Don't men make you SICK with shit like that?! It's like how they can't cough without losing 30 pounds off their gut, but I can't lose weight anywhere except in my breasts, the one place I would like to KEEP it. Okay. Deep breaths. I feel better now.)
ANYWAY, obviously, that trauma was so great that I really did walk up to Good Man Michael and say, "This incident is dead to us. We shall never speak of it again." True story. I swear. Also obviously, I had to move on to some stellar crochet triumph with a ridiculously easy project IMMEDIATELY to re-boost my spirits and confidence. This is where the second stimulus comes in.
My new church does yarn crafts to give to local charities--baby blankets for teenage mothers at the local high schools particularly caught my eye, so the poorly-taken picture above is a little granny square afghan. It makes me go all dewy eyed every time I think about some sweet little bundle being wrapped in something I made for him or her. Notice the sort of soft, garden-like colorway I chose; I figured, it's suitable for boy or girl, and it's as close to pastels as I'm ever going to get, because I hate most true pastels. Anyway, nothing rebuilds your faith in your own crafting ability like a fall-off-a-log easy granny square. Hurray! I bought enough yarn to make four little blankets, and maybe enough left over for a matching hat to go with a couple of them. I'm pretty excited, I must admit. It feels good to be part of a community again, and I hope my little blankets will let someone who is going through a rough time know that someone out there cares about them.
P.S. I had to go with all acrylic, because it's cheapest, but if anyone wants to help me make blankets for these little ones out of softer, better quality yarn, all yarn donations will be gratefully accepted, and I'm sure the church will be happy to give you documentation for tax deductions and such. If you're interested, let me know. Either way, thanks for dropping by the blog today. :)
Your commentary made me laugh this morning...I can knit a storm, but what you call a "fall-of-the-log easy granny square" eludes me. I spent a week working on one little square (even with video tutorials), ripped apart I don't know how many times, and finally managed one square, but have never been able to do another. All I can manage so far is single crochet back and forth. How exciting, no? It is on my list of things to try again this year, since I always love the look of other people's finished projects. Thanks for sharing today.
ReplyDeleteNothing makes you feel better then to stitch for charity. Well done keep at it. I have a 2nd blog dedicated to charity, my own for the homeless and I can't tell you how much joy I get from it. Do check it out, the link for Bridge and Beyond is on my regular blog, Sandy's Space.
ReplyDeleteLove the garden-like colourway as well. You'll want to be sure to have the right needles for your scarf otherwise the drape won't be right at all!
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness I love the afghans to single mothers.. I remember when I was a single mother and a handmade blanket meant so much to me ... it meant my baby mattered.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so led.
T
You are funny! I had a similar incident attempting to knit my fist sock. Being new to knitting, I was in no way ready for a sock. I embarassed myself in front of my husband by stating that I wished the person who wrote the instructions would die. Oh! I am so bad. And I yearn to be a good Christian. I wish I had thought to do what you did and tell him we would never speak of that moment. Love the colors for the baby blanket, I'm sure it will be well loved.
ReplyDeleteDPNs were definitely tough for me at first and I think I probably started and restarted my project about 4 or 5 times (my poor yarn) but now I finally have the hang of it. I have been knitting since October and have made a few scarves and also knit in the round on circulars so I'm probably a bit less new to knitting than you but hang in there! Trust me, once you do figure out DPNs you feel like you are the awesomest person in the world haha!
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