Day two: Skill +1UP

Thank you all for stopping by my blog on the first day of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week! I love reading your comments and try to stop by your blogs too.

Now for day 2!


(2KCBWDAY2)
Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?


Last year, around the end of April, I decided to do more than just crocheting. I love crochet, and it's my go-to craft whenever I just want to do 'something' (when I'm not in the mood to head into the kitchen and bake, that is), but I've always been very much in love with knitting and the stitches look so much more cozy and neat than crochet stitches. So, knitting it was.

You may remember this. I was so optimistic about my newly-to-acquire skill! I got the book, I got the needles, I got the yarn, I got everything!

And, well, it didn't go as well as planned. I'll show you something adorable. Something that has been around my desk for this past year because I couldn't get rid of it.

My first bit of knitting.

Isn't it cute? Weird stitches, wobbly ends, and it's really nothing in particular. I was hopeful, though, that it would lead to gorgeous knitted sweaters and shawls and lace patterns in no-time, so I kept practicing. But after about 10 rows, my interest would often wane and I'd put the knitting needles aside and pick up my trusty hook whenever I wanted to create something because, well, crochet is fast. Unlike knitting. Especially my knitting.

I practiced more. This time even with stripes. I figured, if I can add colour, I can keep it interesting. Didn't work. These needles, along with the yarn and the swatch, disappeared in my stash.

But I figured I should stop giving up after a few rows and keep going. After all, look at those cute stitches! Knitting clearly is appealing, and it can't be hard to just keep going, right? So for a number of weeks, I had two big needles and two balls of black acrylic yarn lying next to the couch with an ever-growing project stashed in it.

I kept going, and produced... Eh.. This. A large, black, knitted something. It's about 50 cm. long. It's black. It's knitted. In all stockinette stitch. I think my original plan was to knit a warm, cozy scarf for my boyfriend.

Why did I call it quits this time? Well, as I said, it's all stockinette stitch. And you know what happens when you knit stockinette stitch without any type of shaping?


It curls up.

So I gave up and cast off. Also, I needed the black yarn for a quick project.

Crochet, of course.

I do think that I learned a lot from this year of experimenting with knitting and I think that this year, I should just pick up an actual project and finish it.