Project "Knit Wit": The Knitty-Gritty

And so it came to pass that on the Friday night just passed your dear besainted Evelin did take up the needles and begin to knit. 

Casting on did not come easily. An ambiguity in the instructions I was following led to several false starts and a knot to rival the most conniving of ear-phone cables. But after about half an hour's faffing I finally got the gist of it and soon had a needle full of loops upon which to play.

Knitting, by comparison, came easily. The greatest obstacle was in overcoming my tremendous reluctance to set free those carefully crafted loops: once needled it seemed a shame to slide them off again. But slide them off we must, for now we have new loops to call our children. 

A few more lines of this and I decided the moment has come to switch to purl-stitch. After all that knitting, purling seemed intensely fiddly. I'm a left-hander, but have been learning right-handed in an effort to stop my brain exploding from all the flipping of instructions it would have to do. But with the purl I began to think that maybe this was a bad idea. However, a few dozen purls later and I found the rhythm of the thing; it started to get easier, just as the knit had done, and before I know it I was purling away like some purly queen. 

...And really enjoying myself. Because here on my needle is some knitting. Real knitting. It's quite messy knitting, but it's my knitting! Knitted by me! It's quite a magical moment, as I start to feel curiously proud of my achievements. I knit this knitting! Me! Look: isn't it wonderful!

Ok, so it's a bit mis-shapen, and full of holes, but it's my first go, and it took me a while to learn the importance of concentration! The original wool ran out, which was something of a relief as it was a bit too fluffly for a beginner, I think, but now I'm on a second ball (introduced just as I began purling (you may notice that I have knitted more than I have purled)) which seems a lot friendlier. Clearly I need to practice some more and get a grip on tension before I start attempting to knit anything wearable. But I'm really looking forward to the prospect. I rather expected knitting to turn quite quickly into something of a chore, but so far it hasn't done that. Rather it's been quite a peaceful and engaging activity, and I'm keen to get back home and do some more. I think I shall keep going at this first effort until it gradually assumes the impression of a scarf.

Project "Knit Wit": Casting On

Inspired by this blog post by Rachel Bickley, I'd been trying to come up with some sort of New (Academic) Year's Resolution, looking for an Essential Library Skill I ought to hone. At this month's Library Camp I at last identified what that skill should be: a talent that no self-respecting librarian should be without: I resolved that I should learn how to knit.

Last time I knitted.

I must declare here at the outset that I am by no means coming to this project completely untouched by the woollen arts: I have knitted before, albeit more years ago than I care to recall (or "about twenty" in your English money). There were giants in the Earth in those days, and I was reasonably well-versed in the arts of French knitting and crochet. But my attempts at conventional knitting were limited to a few lines of jumper, and, ultimately, other hobbies intervened to the inevitable detriment of the British wool industry.

Consequently, I have a ball of wool knocking around the house. I also thought there were some needles somewhere, but I couldn't find them (save the one mis-shapen creature that lives in the kitchen drawer and sees the light of day only when cake comes out of the oven). So today I popped into Coles and got myself a pair of 4mm needles (that's an 8 on the SWG of my youth) which I have been assured will stand me in reasonable stead.

Last time I bought a needle from Coles.

So now I have a pair of needles and some wool, it's time I did something with them. So it is that tonight I will attempt to embark upon a length of knitted wool of some description or other. Who knows, it might even develop into a lovely scarf (albeit quite a mis-shapen one, doubtless full of holes). We shall see. I will, of course, be keeping the house informed of my progress.