The Ugly Beginning

I am a knittaholic. Completely obsessed with it. If I won the lottery I would buy myself a knitting shop and sit on a rocking chair knitting day in day out. I'm 27.

Take a look on the internet and it is immediately apparent that I am not alone in knitting at a (relatively) young age. But try saying that to the 50% of people who compare me to their nanna when I admit to my favourite past time. The other 50%, (and these statistics are completely pulled from nowhere), tell me that they wish they could knit but they were never taught how.

There is a common misconception that you can't learn to knit on your own. That's so untrue!!! I did ...sort of. At the age of 9 or 10 my late grandmother taught me knit stitch and purl stitch, I produced an unfinished stripey scarf in peach and mint, (gran did the colour changes for me), of just over a foot and then forgot all about knitting for 15 odd years. I tell a lie, I did think about knitting, however I hadn't been taught how to cast on or cast off, so I couldn't actually knit anything.

Fast forward to Christmas 2005 and faced with a week at my parents, I decided that I'd try to learn how to knit again. I bought some bargain wool, pinched some size 4's from my mother, (one of which had lost its stopper and so had a big glob of blue-tack on the end), and went hunting through ma's book collection looking for a knitting for beginners book.

No such luck. ...This is what I found

One of my gran's old books. It doesn't have a date on it, but judging from the contents I'd guess it was from the 40's.

I'd completely forgotten all that my gran had taught me so I essentially learnt from scratch.

The Ugly Beginning

I can't believe I'm going to share my first project with you. It's not a pretty sight. The rationale, I guess, is to prove to those sceptic knitting virgins amongst you that it is possible to learn how to knit on your own. AND that you must keep your faith that you will get there one day, even if you don't get it right the first, second or even the third attempt.

Here goes ...don't judge me...

1. Some beautiful garter...ahem



2. Stripes for a bit


3. An attempt at rib ...at that stage of my knitting career it took a lot of concentration to knit even a simple rib and so I went back to...


4. Stripes again


5. Then I tried to get adventurous with block colours. It didn't work.


6. Another attempt at rib




7. Then I got carried away and tried something fancy. Like it?




8. Quite why I tried a pleat before mastering a cable I don't know, it almost worked, ish.




9. Then I got cocky and tried three at once...




10. An attempt at a simple lace pattern just looked like bad 'holey' knitting.


11. Not sure what this is...




12. Cables!




13. ?!?




14. Hmmm




15. It looks ok all folded up doesn't it? I'll never wear it, but on the same token I'll never chuck my first finished object. I'm rather attached to it.






If I had to learn all over again


1. I'd forgo my gran's ancient knitting book, (romantic as it was learning from something so old), for this fab book.




2. I'd take a look at the hundreds of "how to" knitting videos available on you tube.