Learning to Knit

Last fall, I decided to learn to knit. I looked up a couple of Learn to Knit sites on the internet, bought myself some needles and a Teach Yourself to Knit book and away I went. I made a dozen or so dishcloths, and hats and scarfs for Christmas gifts last year, and then decided I was ready for something more complicated. I made this neck warmer out of Lion Brand Homespun yarn, which I really love, and I'll be using it myself this winter.

Then I moved on to doing baby hats. These are going to be donated to our local neonatal intensive care unit. They're really fun to do, and I can do one in an evening if I work at it.

A baby sweater was next on the agenda. This was a beginners pattern, and there wasn't much shaping to it, but I was proud of it anyway. I'm going to put this away for my first grandchild. It might be the only one I ever do!!
Lastly, a doll afghan ... with a pattern. I still have a hard time following a pattern, and often end up losing or gaining stitches without really knowing where or how and have to tear out a lot, but I'm getting better. I think I'm going to take a knitting class this winter, as I think I need some help, and I've gone about as far as I can go on my own.
One project I'm still working on is an afghan for my living room. I figured I could handle that big a project, because it's all garter stitch, knit in blocks that you join together. For those of you who are knitters, it's the Warm Up America pattern, which is a charity knitting pattern. You can knit blocks and donate them to be put together into afghans for the needy. Our local JoAnns has a collection box there, and I've made a number of blocks to donate out of scrap yarn from leftover projects. They're nice to do when you want something to do that you can finish up quickly, and it helps that they're for a good cause. They're a good take-along project too for waiting rooms and car trips.

I've tried to teach myself to crochet too ... but I just can't get the hang of it. I guess if I want to learn that, I'll have to find someone to teach me!! For right now, I have enough to keep me busy, but it's on my list of "things to do someday."