Despite much difficulty, I conquered a new knitting pattern. I am not a very good nor experienced knitter. I have mostly done knitting and purling and that’s about it. My mother did teach me to knit a tube with a closed end which is mighty tricky and fun to do. But, I’ve never in my life found a pattern, taken yarn and needles, and followed the pattern.
Until Saturday, that is. Saturday, I sat down to knit a scarf for a friend for Christmas. (Not you, Jody! 🙂 ) I knew that I wanted to knit with one ball of yarn, something big and lacy, on big ol’ needles. So, I started searching for patterns. I am a member of a website called Ravelry. It is for knitters and crocheters. It’s awesome. I found a fantastic pattern on there called the Peasy Scarf. It was perfect. So, I tried it out.
Knitting to a pattern . . . as my poem of the other day suggested . . . is difficult until you get the pattern in your mind. This pattern was easy. Slip 1, Yarn Over, Knit 2 together, Knit 1, Yarn Over repeat until you are at the end of the row. But, until I had that pattern locked in my brain, I could not do it smoothly and by smoothly, I mean that I could not remember to yarn over when I was supposed to so I would end up with too few stitches and then have to backtrack (ie. rip out or un-knit). The trouble was that until I was comfortable doing the stitches, I couldn’t backtrack successfully and had to rip it all out. Frustration loomed.
And, then, all of a sudden, I had it down. I didn’t have to work to keep the pattern in my head, repeating it over and over to myself as I went along so I didn’t mess it up. Suddenly, I was just doing it. I knew what each stitch should look like and I kept myself on track. When I did make a mistake, I could easily backtrack until I found the error and fix it. It was like magic. Plus, once I reached that point, the pattern really was totally “peasy.” Loved it.
Hope my friend does too. I ordered this to go with it. I think it’s a rockin’ cool gift.
The guy who makes these shawl pins has some truly amazing other shawl/scarf pins. Check his Etsy shop out. Supporting small artisans during this troubled economy is one way to feel good about spending money!
mother. wife. friend. teacher. writer. reader. photographer. birder. quilter. blogger.
Liza Lee Miller 
The yarn you chose is beautiful and I LOVE the pin. She is going to blown away. Homemade gifts are the best!
Another knitter here–I learned when I was a wee lasss (6 yrs. old!) using bent bobby pins–straightened out.
Anyway, I know what you mean about getting a pattern in your head. Oddly, some of the simplest patterns are the ones on which I get lost the quickest. Current project–a blanket for my daughter (she’s 26) being knitted on a circular needle. Pattern (on an uneven number of stitches cast on) K 2, P 1, ending row on a P. Over and over again–it looks like a big stocking stitch. Cool. But I can get off track easily–of course it is so easy to back up and fix.
It’s gorgeous! Congratulations. And yes, I’m jealous of the intended recipient, whoever the lucky girl is.