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Tuesday, 01 January 2008 18:00 |
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I've tried knitting in the past but never had much success. I had given up on it until my mother-in-law introduced me to loom knitting or what I think of as knitting for dummies.
So a few months back I decided to give knitting a try. I picked up a book, a skein of yarn, and two needles from JoAnn's and proceeded to learn. Or at least tried to. Perhaps I needed more instruction than the book gave me. Or maybe I needed to invest more time in the learning process. No matter what the issue was, I just couldn't get it. I'd do my first row and then start to get lost. Doing a simple rectangle was a wreck. Added onto that I found that my wrists and hands would hurt
after 10 minutes of knitting. I don't know if I was keeping my muscles tenses too much or if it is some kind of carpal tunnels (I do most of the day on the computer). So I gave up and put my knitting supplies away in a box under the bed to be forgotten.
That is until a fateful family camping trip. My mother-in-law brought along her loom knitting supplies to make a few hats. I was entranced watching her work. It seemed so simple and she churned out the hats in no time. I had to learn. Luckily, we had plenty of free time since we were stuck in the middle of the woods. But it took no time at all for me to learn, in just two hours I had completed my first baby hat (which became a gift for my soon to be born nephew). I was hooked - pun intended.
As soon as we got home, I was off to JoAnn's to buy my own set of looms and skeins of yarn. It is amazing how quickly I can fill my arns with $60 worth of yarn! I've been making hats and scarves. Sticking to the basics for now. I've experimented with a few different types of yarn and different knitting styles. Yes, the looms do give you more than one way to knit. I hope to do a shawl next. Perhaps a baby blanket or throw for the couch. It has just become a fun, relaxing past time. And I can do it anywhere! I now take my bag with me wherever we go. I knit when we are in the car. I knit when conversing with friends after dinner. I knit waiting in the parking lot. It is great!
So if you are someone who has had trouble doing the real knitting thing, give loom knitting a try. The Provo Craft website has a nice section of patterns and tutorials to start with. Loom Knit is also a great website with all sorts of patterns, tutorials, and videos. And of course, there is always Google to find more!
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