Knitting!

I have now finished all the embroidery and needle lace chapters in Volume 1, so my next challenge is knitting, and I am really looking forward to it!  The weather is cooling down and the footy has started, so bring on the yarns and needles!

My mother taught me to knit when I was 4 or 5, and I have been clicking away, on and off, ever since.  In my 20s, I knitted myself quite a few jackets, cardigans and jumpers, I even made matching fisherman's jerseys (a Golden Hands pattern, if I remember correctly) for hubby and I! What was I thinking??  I knitted lots of baby clothes and a few toddler jumpers for my boys, but then became more interested in quilting and embroidery for a long time.  Just over the past few years, I've taken up the needles again and I've enjoyed producing some small items.  I have a HUGE collection of knitting needles, thanks to my mother and mother-in-law and I will never have to buy a knitting needle or crochet hook.

There is a LOT of knitting in Golden Hands, Volume 1, so I had better get busy if I am to get it all done before the end of winter.  I am starting with the basics, then I 'll go onto the patterns for more experienced knitters.  Chapter 1 has the usual excellent overview of the craft, including a survey of needles and yarns.  There is also a useful yarn chart, showing the tension for certain brands of yarn, and those that they can be substituted for.  Even though the magazine is over 30 years old, I am finding this very useful.

Knitting itself begins in Chapter 2, with instructions for casting on, and plain and purl stitches, and then we beginners launch into knitting a scarf. There  is a pattern for both an adults and a child scarf.  The adults scarf is HUGE, but I made it a more sensible length.

The scarf is just cast on, then knit garter stitch (all plain) until you reach the required length, then cast off - nothing could be simpler.  I used the "thumb" method of casting on which I had never done before, and it was very easy.

I used 5 balls of Patons Jet 12 ply, including the fringe. This yarn knitted up quickly and easily, and was real pleasure to work with.  I used a variegated blue/green wool - it was made up of three strands, one dark blue and two shades of green.  I knitted on 7mm (bright yellow plastic) needles, which produced the recommended tension of 4 stitches to the inch.

My finished scarf: