Knit One Purl One

 Knitting is a real pleasure for me. A few years ago I had a sudden crafty itch that really needed scratching and I remembered that I'd tried knitting a cardigan when I was younger. Not a huge success but not a bad effort considering... so off to the wool shop I went!
 I can find it quite difficult to switch off in the evening and knitting stops me twitching and relaxes me. I also get a huge buzz from creating. It's not an expensive hobby to get going with, apart from the wool. I tend to get around this by asking friends and family for particular items as birthday and Christmas gifts.

Boys tank top

I started off with simple projects such as scarves and blankets where I could practise the basics and the repetitive nature meaned that practise I did. Having produced a couple of items to the right size and without any extra holes, I began to look at experimenting with different stitches and projects. Gifts around this time were in the form of books - The Knitting & Crochet Bible (Claire Crompton & Sue Whiting), The Complete Guide to Knitting & Crochet (Nicki French) and Fitted Knits (Stefanie Japel). My mother-in-law also gave me a great gift of a scarf kit with big bobbly 'yarn'. It looked pretty daunting but in fact was extremely simple. Whenever I wear it, I get lots of compliments!

Recently I have been tackling more complicated projects such as a cable knit yoke. The finished article - a shirt-sleeved cardigan for my daughter - is my best effort yet (even if I do say so myself!).



Boys hooded cardigan in progress

I admit that when it gets a bit tricky, I tend to shy away from it but I've found myself dwelling over little problems when I've got a spare moment and suddenly the solution appears and off I go again. I'm currently finishing another cardigan for my daughter. My Mum had given me a lot of (expensive wool) for a cardigan project for myself which I had finished and I still had 5 balls left which would just make something else. Unfortunately I don't like the finishing and that is where I have stalled now...

I recently came across Kate Davies' site, Needled. She is a hugely talented and inspirational knitter and designer. If I had a hundredth of her talent I'd be pleased! Check out the link on the side.