The Good, The Bad and the Practical - Knitting Update

On my "things to do when I retire" list was learning to knit. I got started on that one this past summer. A couple of earlier posts gave the early reports on this "new trick". So, I thought it was time for an update.

After taking the hat class and making one hat, I started working on a couple of scarves. This is the GOOD SCARF:
very nice, easy to work on, very cooperative. In fact, I just finished it last night. The yarn is a tweed lambswool, made in England, purchased on sale at the yarn store in Manzanita (T-Spot). I found a very simple pattern on the internet - Aran Print, 8 rows of seed stitch and 2 rows of garter stitch. So, any experienced knitter will immediately see why this scarf was a successful project for a beginner.

This, on the other hand, is the BAD SCARF ( or what little has been completed on it after much time spent):



I also got this yarn and a pattern at the T-Spot. It looked like a good next step in terms of learning something new. I signed up for "Knitting Studio" - a class at Twisted where you bring a project and can get some help while you work. Very nice instructor, much patience and STILL - I knitted and ripped out, knitted and ripped out...... Then, I decided to get different needles - these are called "TURBO" needles. You'd think that would really make for some significant forward momentum. But, no. Not on the EVIL scarf. This photo represents fairly major progress and yet I've now made another mistake that I don't know how to figure out. This will be a real test of my patience as to whether or not this ever becomes a scarf.

And, the "practical" refers to what became my Christmas gift project. Some of these patterns were called dishcloths, some washcloths, but my favorite was the "spa cloth". Basically, they're all the same kind of thing, made with cotton yarn, using various free-on-the-internet patterns. The first one was my very first start-to-finish project. It has some noticable flaws, but actually works quite well. Then, off and on over the past few months, I made seven more that I gave to various friends and family as parts of Christmas gifts. Most were variations of these two:


So now I feel ready to try something new. Based on advice from a friend who is a knitter, I think my next project will be a felted bag. Probably something I can use - like a bag to carry around a knitting project I am working on. But, there are TONS of patterns for them and the trick is to find something that is just enough challenging so that I learn something new, but not so much that it is way over my head. If any of you are knitters, send suggestions!

Knitting Rookie

Learning to knit was on my list of things to begin once I'd retired. And, after some other projects last year, I started moving on this goal last summer. I've taken two short beginner classes and then recently took a class on how to make a hat.

I started with a couple of cotton dishcloths. That seemed like a good way to learn how to follow a pattern and complete a project from start to finish with the limited skills I had.

This is the beginning of the hat. The new skill was knitting in the round - really easy until you get to the part where the circles need to get smaller and smaller and then you have to switch to a bunch of double pointed needles and everything feels VERY awkward and you feel like you have 40 fingers.

The completed hat

Unfortunately, the hat looks really bad on me. But, most hats do. I don't really have a hat kind of head- particularly for close-fitting knitted hats. So, I need to find someone to take it off my hands. These two below offered and seemed to enjoy it. But, it's a little big for them. I'll have to try making one their size sometime.


I had started on a Christmas stocking in preparation for a class where I would learn how to make it and then found out this week they are having to cancel the class due to low enrollment. So, now I have to decide whether to try to do it anyway or take up something else. It really doesn't matter. I don't have great ambitions, but it is kind of relaxing and I love the colors and feel of the yarns.

Sand, Yarn and Local Food

Another quick trip to the coast this week for beach-sitting, local eating, and knitting, not to mention 99 (actually got to 100 on Saturday) degree weather-avoiding. I left early Friday afternoon. I was inordinately happy driving to Manzanita - tuna sandwich, bag of fresh cherries and an iced latte for lunch en route, windows down and sun roof open. I was on my own this time. Grady had to stay behind to do his neighborhood civic duty on Saturday morning (innoculating elm trees in Ladd's Addition). And Molly was not invited. With guests coming to use the house Sunday morning, I didn't want to spend any extra time cleaning the house since we had already done a thorough cleaning the last time we left.It was actually HOT at the coast the past couple day - in the 80's. (This is unusual in case you are not familiar with the Oregon coast.) So, it was a great time to sit on the beach and read or nap, and I did plenty of both. On Friday, there was a pretty good breeze, so we had lots of kites and kite surfers. Today, it was completely calm.
Friday evening I went to the farmer's market in Manzanita to get dinner. Wow, talk about crowds! I got there about 20 minutes after it opened and it was already getting crazy. I got my dinner items and scooted on out.
So, I had a nice simple local meal for myself. Broiled ling cod, mixed salad greens with a bit of hothouse tomato, and roasted red fingerling potatoes, plus a sauvignon blanc from our neighbor state to the north.

I first started this blog to write about my experiences with learning to make local foods a regular part of our diet. This was one of the things I wanted to learn about and do in my retirement. Among the other "new tricks" on that retirement "to do" list is learning to knit. It just happened that a brand new yarn store opened up in Manzanita recently and they were offering a one-session introduction to knitting beginner class this morning. So, I signed myself up and drove down to attend. Lou, our incredibly patient teacher, got us started with two ways to cast on and the basic knit stitch. And, "TA DA.....", here is my first effort (well, actually second, but the first one looks pretty much the same, except even more uneven.)
The store is called T-Spot Yarns, Teas, and Chocolate. Doesn't have a website yet. But, if you like any of those three things and find yourself in Manzanita, I would encourage you to stop by and see Olga.