I am not a prolific knitter, in fact beginner might be a bit of a stretch. I have completed 4 scarves. The first one was a sampler scarf where I experimented with purl and knit stitches. It was knit with low end black yarn and can't be worn because of the awful synthetic feel of the yarn and the waaaaay too big tassells I used to finish off the scarf. That was at least 5 years ago.
The second and third scarves were totally composed of plain knit stitches, using variegated and bulky yarn. Both were completely wearable. The second of the two, third one total, I actually gave to my sister-in-law as a hostess gift after a family vacation. Wish I would have known that besides were being a near-professional seamstress, quilter, and folk art painter that she is also exceptionally advanced at knitting. I consoled myself that while simple, the scarf was presentable and not too riddled with flaws.
The third project. I loved the idea of this project. I came across beautiful Christmas yarn (2009,
Lion Brand, I think it was from Vanna's collection). I bought a ball of white and a ball of red. These were bulkier yarns both with a little gold thread in the yarn for added, festive interest. What to make? What to make? A scarf of course! This was mid-November, I started knitting the scarf in early December after being laid up with foot surgery. My design was knit two rows of read, knit two rows of white repeat. Easy-peasy. Turns out I had no idea how to change colours. I improvised - rather than looking on-line or asking a more experienced knitter. I knit two rows of red, snipped the yarn, tied on the white, knit two rows. I repeated the process for about 30 inches of scarf. Then my mother-in-law saw the 3/4 completed scarf and took pity on me and showed me how to correctly change colours! What sense, what style! So the long and the short of it is that I have a pretty Christmas scarf that I wear with pride, especially the last six inches of it!
This brings me to my fourth and current project. A beautiful prayer shawl for my mother-in-law. As for shawl read as "really wide scarf". This is another one of those situations where I saw the yarn and was inspired to do a project, rather than, as I understand, the traditional chain of events where you have a project in mind and find the materials to make it. I was browsing at the local craft store when I came across a beautiful mauve yarn, again of the bulky variety. I thought "perfect for Gramma". What can I make her? She doesn't care for overly bulky scarves with her winter coat....hmmm this project may stretch the bounds of my scarves only repertoire. The photo on the yarn was of a lovely woman wearing a prayer shawl. Perfect! Knit only stitches, (wider) large rectangle. It was again November when I found this project. November, 2010. Now November, 2012! I have three more inches of knitting and tassells and I will be done! Finally the hand-made Christmas gift I've been wanting to give.
Wish me luck! I really hope to posting a photo of the completed shawl/scarf soon!
