milestone

Thursday, January 31, 2008 - Posted by Amanda Bast
Remember the time I was scared to even think about using double pointed needles to knit in the round? Yes, I'm sure you do. It's something we all think about. Again, to refresh your memory, this is what knitting in the round with double pointed needles looks like:
See? Scary. There are eight points of possible injury when you knit like this. Since I like an arts and crafts challenge, I decided to try it anyway. At first, all the needles are like siblings, and they get in each others way and push and shove and are generally not very laid back about not being the centre of attention. It's frustrating. But after awhile, things start to happen, and things start to take shape. Then it becomes really enjoyable.

Then your knitting becomes like a security blanket and you take it everywhere, even though you know you won't have the opportunity to knit, but YOU NEVER KNOW, because if you didn't take it with you everywhere you go, then a stranger might get a hold of it and rip out all your stitches - your beautiful, even stitches - and you would have to start all over again, but it wouldn't be the same because you know that if you had your knitting with you, a stranger wouldn't have gotten a hold of it and ripped stitches out and then you would be half a mitten ahead of where you are now, so it is absolutely necessary that your knitting become like your child because hey, you wouldn't want a stranger ripping out your child's hair now, would you? I didn't think so.


Ahem.


Behold, the beauty of knitting in the round with double pointed needles:Now, when I look at them I can find all the flaws, but they're still pretty rad. There were many hours of Gilmore Girls put into those mitts, including three episodes late last night. I also learned my knitting late at night when overtired is a bad idea lesson once I got to the thumb (I was knitting inside-out and backwards (that takes talent, folks), but I fixed it, but then I dropped stitches on the VERY LAST ROW and had to sew up some gaps..it was eventful), but alas, they are done two weeks ahead of schedule.

p.s. the red knitting above is the start of my next pair!