Life of a knitting "newbie"...

Part 1 - We've recently made a lot of changes around our household. The biggest of which involved homeschooling my son. He's a younger teen and pretty much self-sufficient. I've found that in certain subjects all I can do is review whatever is in the book and wait on him to complete the assignment. While waiting, I've found that I have a fair amount of time sequestered close by.

Part 2 - I'm an avid thrift store shopper and I ran across this small knitting "How to" book. It was $1.50 and seemed to be very informative. How could I pass that up? Besides, I need something to keep me occupied while waiting on my son. What a wonderful way to be productive and stay busy!

Part 3 - The craft store is the enemy of anyone starting a new craft on a budget! So I come home, after 3 hours of selecting and re-selecting yarn, with a small bag full of goodies. I picked up 3 skeins of yarn (yes, that took 3 hours - there are way too many to choose from!), a set of knitting needles that were on sale and a free project sheet with a neat looking shawl on it. Mind you, the project sheet said "Beginner" in the level section.

Part 4 - Three days later, I'm still trying to cast on! I think I know why someone got rid of this book...

Part 5 - Eureka! I cast on and made progress on the first row, after dropping my stitches off the needles about 4 times. (Muttering under my breath, "I can't believe people think this is stress-reducing.") In the mean time, I've decided that perhaps this nifty book is missing a few steps and I had better stick with the one stitch I have down - garter.

Part 6 - A week later and halfway through my shawl project (that I had to dumb down, because I am a beginner and can't make that pattern), I realize that I don't have enough yarn, I've dropped or slipped so many stitches that the shawl looks lacy in places and too tight in others. Again, I mentally question the therapy side of this craft.

Part 7 - Another week down. My headache from last week has finally subsided. I unravel my shawl and start a scarf!


Welcome to my knitting world...