A guest blog by Dragon Dave’s
Wife
 |
| A regular-sized pence jug, and a supersized one, next to an English ten pence piece on my lap board. |
I wasn’t always addicted to
knitting. Until a few years ago, I
didn’t even care to pick up a needle and yarn.
I was into Cross Stitching then, but that is a different story. I learned the basics of knitting when I was
young: knit, purl, going back and forth, etc.
Probably the only thing I made back then was a blanket for my teddy bear
and maybe some potholders for my grandmother.
After we married, I remembered enough to teach Dragon Dave the basics so
he could create a Doctor Who scarf while we watched those long NASCAR races. But I was uninspired by the back and forth
nature of knitting.
Then, a couple years ago at the
local Sci-Fi convention CONDOR, I attended a hands-on panel on knitting and crochet. As I had never learned to crochet, I chose the
knitting project. It was a Victorian Pence
Jug: a small coin purse in the shape of a jug.
I had never knitted in the round or followed a pattern before, so the
instructress helped me learn the techniques involved and I was soon hooked.
(Oops, that’s a crochet term!)
Armed with a copy of the pattern,
we stormed Michael’s during the dinner break for some yarn and double point
needles. They didn’t have the size needles
the pattern called for, so I choose ones 2 sizes bigger, and what seemed the
right kind of yarn. During the evening
and the rest of the convention I knitted and knitted. I finished my project, but it didn’t look quite
the same as the picture on the pattern.
So the next week, armed with a coupon for JoAnn’s, I secured the proper
size needles, in bamboo, and a finer yarn.
I proceeded to complete the project again – getting better results this
time.
The project taught me that I
liked the double point needles as they fit in my hands better, and the movement
from needle to needle kept the project interesting. I found knitting to be faster then cross
stitching, and completing projects faster gave me a greater feeling of
satisfaction.
 |
| I go hat-tastic. |
I completed a few more Victorian
Pence Jugs, giving most away to family and friends, and then decided I needed a
new challenge. On the Internet, I found
a pattern for a simple hat. After
acquiring the correct size needles (thanks to the lesson I learned with the
Pence Jug), I started making hats, and hats, and hats. I enjoyed making the hats, and was soon doing
so without referring to the pattern. I
found a book with more hat patterns and increased my repertoire and
skills. About this time, the air
conditioner at work went crazy and began freezing us instead of cooling
us. My hands were getting too cold to
type, so I found a great, easy pattern for fingerless gloves, and I kept making
the fun gloves.
 |
| Need some gloves to accompany those hats, anyone? |
Needless to say, all my
co-workers got a pair for Christmas.
That Christmas, I was surprised
to receive a couple of knitting books.
(Okay, I may have suggested them). One was on knitting Amigurumi, the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. This book had fanciful creatures on the
cover, just asking to be made. Needing a
challenge from the hats and gloves, I dived into the patterns, using my leftover
yarn and some new needles. My first project was a tomato, but I quickly progressed
to the Star Fish, Octopus, and finally took a stab at Nessie, the sea monster. These projects gave me more tips, instructions,
and confidence in my knitting.
 |
| Aristotle, my octopus (yes, just like Pugsley Addams' pet), guards my tomato. I think I should give the tomato eyes like in the Killer Tomatoes movies, don't you? |
Now in the evenings I love to
knit. I’ll even make the occasional
back-and-forth project, like my afghan last year (which kept me
warm while I worked on it), and the scarf I am making now.
Check back for blogs on my other projects, favorite books and knitting websites, and maybe
even one of my own patterns.
Dragon Dave’s Wife
Related Dragon Cache entries
Related Internet Links
No comments:
Post a Comment