"Day Two Prompt Skill + 1UP: Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year."
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March of 2010 found me casting on for the most daunting project ever, my first adult sized garment (find hood posts here and here and here) . My sister asked if I would make her a sweater, I suggested a really neat hooded vest from Spud and Chloe. She saw it and fell in love. The yarn drooling commenced and we picked out yarn that was affordable and in a color she liked.Fearfully I cast on. I didn't know how it would turn out. Would it be too big, lopsided, uneven, ugly? Would she wear it once I finished it?
It wasn't too big, lopsided, or ugly, in fact it took 2nd place at the county fair! She wore it for a month straight and even though I haven't seen her wear it in a long time, I know she still loves it. I learned how to make a hood, pick up a large amount of stitches, make sleeves, pom-poms, embroider so many X's I thought I'd die, it was quite the experience. Ever since tackling this big project and finishing it faster than I could have imagined I knew that I could achieve anything! Since this project I've been taking on more challenging things. Like toys, writing my own patterns, and free hand embroidery with out fear.
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| April 2010 |
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| Sept 2010 |
The pictures above are the same pattern (more or less) knit five months apart, the first turtle was knit before the hoodie and the second turtle knit after. It is amazing what five months can do!
In the next year I am knitting my sister awesome gauntlets where I will learn and master many new stitches. Last year I wouldn't have dreamed of casting on for such a project, this year I am confident I can achieve my goals faster than I can imagine. Also, in the coming year, I would like to maybe make something with cables (I'm thinking a sweater or a vest for my son) and two-at-a-time socks, which seems more practical to me.
I am excited to see where my knitting will take me. When my aunt taught me to knit that fateful day in October I didn't know that I'd be here still knitting three years later. I didn't think that I'd want to knit so much that I'd beg a surgeon to repair my wrist (from a previous break) so that I could "at least" knit. I'm amazed that the gigantic pairs of mittens I made ( 3 pairs ) or the hats that didn't look right ( 2 that I can remember) or the too short scarfs or too long ones or the one that had so many different gauges of yarn that it never looked right didn't deter me. I kept casting on, I kept knitting, and project by project I improved.
I am so very thankful for that aunt... I think it's time I knit her a thank you gift.
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