Well, one of my friends, who is a *very* accomplished knitter (she even makes things that are auctioned off at charity events!) taught me how to knit in just a few minutes, but somehow I haven’t figured out how to purl. I have another friend, who is also a very good knitter AND crocheter (is that a word? I guess!) – who I’ve been meaning to ask, but yesterday, I found a site that has illustrations of how to purl.
Anyway, I wish I had figured out how to do it about a month ago when I started a baby blanket (my first non-scarf project) for my new neice, who will be here later this month. The last time I was in Mobile, I visited the YarnHaus, and -this is how beginner I am – I asked the very nice lady that was working there this:
A blanket is really just a big scarf, right?
And the answer was…yes! I just needed to buy some circular needles so that all my extra knitting (the width of the blanket) would have somewhere to go. She gave me a free pattern that showed how to do it with both knits and purls, but I explained to her that I really only knew how to knit, and she said that, by all means, just to knit the whole thing and it would turn out beautifully anyway. Well, if I do say so myself, it is looking really pretty. It’s just 56 knits per row using five balls of Plymouth Yarn Heaven, which is sooooo soft, perfect for a baby!
I’m really happy with it, and I’m almost done with the third ball of yarn, so I just have two more to go and the blanket will be finished.
Once I finish, I’m going to practice my purling technique on one more scarf, then I’m thinking about branching out to other things….I’d love to learn the techniques I’d need so that I could make what’s on the front of the latest Knitty – how cute is that?!?! Hmmm….I don’t think I’ll ever get into making socks, but maybe some neat sweaters, or pillows, or hats, or….