My new friend, Knitting

I am so excited, I got two more rows done on my City Green quilt. 

13 rows done and 3 more to go.  Then I will put a brown strip on the side and decide if or how wide of a border I want.  The book has about a 2 inch border.  I will have my conveniently long armed husband hold it up on the wall and decide.

I won't post another picture of this quilt until it is ready to go on Gladys, my faithful Long arm quilting machine.

To continue the excitement, I finished a scarf for me!  I made 6 of these fluffy scarves with big needles for presents and finally I got to make one for myself.

It hasn't been too cold but maybe it will finally be scarf weather.  Although I would kind of like to wear this one as more than just an outdoor protection scarf.

I think it would look good as an accessory but would I get too hot?  I have been hot flashing for about a decade now.  We shall see!

What I love about this scarf is that the yarn makes stripes on its own. I used the fluffy "eyelash" yarn with a plain bright blue cotton yarn.  I had bought the cotton yarn thinking I could make a hat for a friend but I didn't have the skills yet. 

Here is the first scarf I ever finished.  The latest one is much better.

I like the first one and I wear it but I dropped stitches and the width of it wavers, sometimes shorter and sometimes wider.

I made a similar one for Shelby but forgot to ever take a picture of it.  This was not the assignment in the Knitting 101 class that I took in June of 2010.  That scarf was challenging for me and I needed something more "mindless" to just acquire the muscle memory of knitting.

I don't mind that I have made so many projects that are just pure knitting, I like to challenge myself in sewing and quilting but not yet in knitting.  I let the fun yarns be the focus!

This pink scarf is a basket weave pattern and was the project for my Knitting 101 class.  We were supposed to finish it in June which I did.  However, I finished it in June of 2011 not the same June during which I began it.  I had to make the other simpler scarf and started this sucker over like ten million times.  But finish it I did, by golly, and you can even see the design.

Knitting was hard for me at the beginning and I was so surprised.  I had forgotten how hard it was to learn something new, particularly when you are 57 which I was when I started the class.  I somehow thought that I would pick up those knitting needles, sit in that class and magically just KNOW how to knit.  I was a bit irritated when I had to work at it and learn it.  Sewing is instinctual for me and that summer I had to struggle with the new quilting machine, knitting and golf.  I have conquered the first two after working at it for a year.  The golf, well, let's not talk about that, this is a sewing/quilting/knitting blog after all.  Fine, I still stink at golf, are you happy now?

Skills we have already acquired and can do without really thinking are marvelously entertaining hobbies.  But it's good to add to our repertoire, to really be bad at something and struggle to even be mediocre.  It's humbling and when you do achieve it, it's a great feeling.

Unless it's golf or yoga, I wouldn't know what it's like to conquer those and I am beginning to wonder if I ever will!  Someday?