Brows Knit with Concentration.... When will this be Zen?

My knitting class was one of those adult education classes which met on two different Mondays for a total of $10.00. For me, it was money well spent. In the first class we learned how to cast on, how to knit, and how to bind off.

I already "knew" how to do all these things. However, I realized the way I'd been casting on worked and was fine but this was a much better way to do it and it took me awhile to figure it out. Knitting was fine and I actually got to try out bamboo needles and feel the difference in using that kind rather than my slippery metal needles. I wasn't convinced at first but after borrowing my friend Marcia's, I am sold.

Most of the class was working on straight knitting... the garter stitch. I already knew how to purl (the subject of week two) and I could knit one row and purl the next creating the stockinette stitch. However, what I was having trouble with was how to rib. So I asked for help and within stitches I realized my mistake. Yay! She even taught us a very simple technique for dropping a stitch and creating a pretty patten in the garter stitch for scarves using all those funky yarns. The next week was more of the same and I learned how to do the seed stitch. What I wish I knew was how to use circular needles but I am determined to figure it out. That is my next challenge. I plan to attempt this darling infant hat in the Stitch 'N Bitch book.

Pictured are my actual first knitted articles. The purple scarf was just practice in switching colors and at every place I did it, I tried a new method until I finally on the last trial got it right. It produced a rather ugly scarf but I was actually wanting to simply practice on something I didn't care about so much.

In an effort to try to follow a pattern I found in Stitch 'N Bitch Nation and possibly create something to make the scarf look less ugly I created a flower. I made a mistake toward the end but it actually added to the creation so I didn't feel the need to start all over. I was thrilled that I was able to actually read a pattern and produce something. This flower was my first true knitting victory. The red yarn project should be a ribbed scarf when I am done. This is something I might actually wear.