i have just been reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Casts Off - and as always, it's very funny. (i have for sale if you are intrigued!)
When i got to the chapter entitled "Five Things to tell to a Recent Immigrant to Knitting" i broke up laughing! These are the same things i've been saying all along, and i think they bear repeating.
1. This is not Rocket Science. I've seen schematics for rockets and they are way harder than knitting. So take a deep breath, steady your hands, roll your shoulders back and down and smile. You are half way there!
2. No one knits well the first time! Because my darling hubby is a golfer and i did try to take it up in a foolish moment, i liken learning knitting to golfing - it can feel like the most unnatural motion in the world - you just have to practice and practice makes perfect. AND, knitting is un-doable. We can fix it.
3. We all make mistakes - and sometimes those of us who are supposed to know better, make them! Chalk it up to experience and move on. Don't give up - your masterpiece is right around the corner!
4. Don't knit with crappy yarn!!!! Look ... if you have to cast on 85 stitches and the gauge is 17 st and 24 rows to 4", that's 20" x 120 rows of knitting to knit a square, but 2,040 stitches. Multiply that by ... lots and all of a sudden you've got a garment that has potentially thousands of stitches and you're knitting it in ... acrylic? This is after you've bought bamboo needles because they are ecco friendly and you're knitting ... plastic. You've invested the time ... invest the money and buy the best quality of yarn you can afford. Your project will reflect your efforts. Promise.
5. Buy some good wool cleanser - it really doesn't take long to rinse out a wool sweater and the extra time you spend on cleaning will result in lots of years of use.
Okay - steady now. Knitters forward!
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