Casting On

My second blanket is underway and it feels like deja vu with the start of my last blanket. Casting the stitches on the needle and doing the first few rows is my least favorite part of the knitting process. I feel defeated because the first row looks like something has gone horribly wrong, so I constantly feel inclined to restart the blanket, which ends in frustration. However, if I ignore the strange looking start and continue stitching I realize it is normal and just needed a few more rows to make that apparent.

The preparation for this blanket is where I did most of my observing. I discussed with my house mom and she showed me some of the sweaters and blankets that she had knit for her grand-children. One sweater caught my eye that made a ribbed pattern that still looked manageable for a beginner. She explained the pattern, which was very simple: she knit 7 rows and purled 1 row. However, she used size 7 needles while I was using size 50, so we decided that knitting 4 rows and purling 1 row would produce a similar pattern since the stitches are a lot bigger with my needles. I have been knitting in between studying for my upcoming exams, and so far the resulting pattern looks pretty cool:

I am knitting this blanket for my mom who saw the blanket I knit for my bed and had to have one. She is so excited to have this for her room, and that was exactly the point of me learning how to knit blankets in the first place. If you recall from my first post, one of the reasons I chose to learn how to knit as my quest was to bring joy and comfort for my family, and the happiness in my mom's voice when I told her I had started knitting her blanket was confirmation that I am on the right track to keeping the tradition of knitting blankets for our loved ones in the family. I plan on finishing the blanket before I head home on Thursday, and I can't wait to see my mom's face when I hand her the final product.

Take 2

I have my yarn! I have been talking with my house mom over the past week when I had time between studying in the library, and we figured out the best plan of action. I showed her many patterns and ask how do-able they were, and unfortunately she did not know how to teach the more complex pattern. After we talked we realized that it would be best for me to keep it simple and master the basics better.

I realized that because I needed  to buy so much yarn to make a blanket, I would rather make one that looks good and then be able to go from there one day to make a better blanket that I know I won't mess up. When I realized that I would have to look at the perl stitch online again in order to be able to start my blanket, I knew that it wasn't time to move on to more complex things. When our guest lecturer came and talked about practice and the importance of it, the lecturer mentioned that it took at least 10,000 hours of practice to master something. While I don't think I will reach that any time soon, I realize that I need more practice before I can go onto bigger and better things.

Let's see how much knitting I can get done in between studying for my finals!

Drowning in Yarn!!

Back In Action

After my first blanket, I realized that I would be spending all my money if I kept up making blankets at warp speed. Luckily, by becoming a member of JoAnns club (crafting store), I received a discount on a lot of yarn so I am back in action!

I have talked to my house mom at my sorority since she got so excited seeing me knit the first time, I figured she was into knitting, turns out....she is! Her face lights up whenever we talk about it and she has started to help me look at new, more challenging patterns. As I went from beginner (the first blanket I knit) patterns to easy patterns, I got completely lost in the terminology of the craft. Understanding the language of knitting is important, but there are few websites that spell it out for you what the terms mean, which is what I will turn to Jan, my house mom for. She is willing and eager to help me with my next blanket and asks me every time I see her, so once the yarn arrives in the mail from JoAnns, I'M GOING TO GET THE (YARN) BALL ROLLING....again.

In the meantime, enjoy this ball on a yarn game:

http://thedogpaddler.com/RandomUploads/Ball/ball.htm

Jan, my house mom, and I matching in animal print earlier this year. BFF!

First Blanket Thoughts

My first blanket was very rewarding. As I started out, I figured there was no way that it would possibly turn out nice without mistakes or flaws. But in the end, any mistake I did make was able to be concealed by the thickness of the yarn or an impromptu change of pattern. Just like Tejada-Flores in "Games Climbers Play" explains how climbers are able to define the rules of the game through the communities preferences to make each experience just as rewarding for each climber, the same idea can be applied to knitters. Knitters are able to change their patterns from the one being used to fit the mistakes or likings of the knitter, and the final result made me just as pleased as it would have otherwise, if not more happy that I was able to put my own personal twist on the blanket and go with the flow.

I think that knitting a beginner blanket like that to start off my journey was very important for my progress in learning how to knit afghans with detailing. If I were to skip to a more advanced pattern, I would have never learned how to purl, which is a basic stitch and used in many patterns in advanced blankets. Since every other row was purled, I became really comfortable with the stitch and am now confident when having to remember certain patterns that I can do it mindlessly. If I were to skip that stitch, almost like a glider in World of Warcraft, I would not have the basic skills I needed to be successful in the future.

I was able to get into the flow of things. I was lost in the process of knitting and found myself sitting on the couch knitting for hours before I realized how long it took. I just kept wanting to unravel the yarn more and more and see the blanket grow bigger and without realizing it, I finished the blanket in two days once I actually got started. I got in a trance of knitting and purling, however at one point I did lose track because I got distracted, it resulted in a cool pattern and a further understanding of what the pattern was actually creating. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains my feelings perfectly when he has his TED talk "On Flow" (http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html) and describes what happens when you engross yourself in an activity and become one with the motions.

How I felt mindlessly going through the motions of knitting

I was forced to look up a few things when I got stuck. I looked up how to knit in new yarn when my first set of yarn balls ran out, how to add a stitch when I accidentally dropped one, and how to end the blanket with four strands. Some I looked up on knitting blogs, and most I copied from YouTube videos. I think that the availability of directions online has made the task much less based on observation and bonding than it was previously. For example, when I was learning how to knit at the beginning, I learned hands on from my Mimi who was able to show me on her own needles and help me with mine. Through observation and conversation I was able to quickly pick up the skills I needed and they stuck. Now, through the creation of the virtual world, so much is learned through strangers with no connection made between the piece being made and the relationship with the teacher, which was forced when no internet was available in the past. The very important role that observation in life, which Erving Goffman talks about in "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life", is being lost through the increasing reliance on the internet. Because of that, I have decided that any questions I have will be dealt with by either talking to my Mimi on the phone or taking a trip to the knitting store nearby (http://www.knitaround.com/).

I have decided for my next blanket that I will either learn how to use circle needles or use a pattern that is intermediate from the same website that I found my beginner blanket pattern on.

Circular Knitting Needles

The End of the Beginning

I have finished my first blanket on my journey to master knitting afghans! The pattern says it should take 6 hours, so I figured it would take me about a week or so, trying to find time between classes, work, and other activities to finish. It only took two days though! The large needles and thick thread contributed to the quick finish, however I also found myself getting into the zone. I found myself not even realizing what was happening around me or how much time has passed, it related very closely to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's TED talk (http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html) on flow. I got lost in my activity, and I became a part of it, doing it almost mindlessly until I was distracted by someone walking into the room, which at one point made me lose track of which stitch I was working on, knitting or purling. I feel really accomplished and have already started looking into more difficult patterns because I am eager to learn more. My mimi is really proud of me, I emailed her some pictures and she was really excited. Now, not only do I want to make more, people who were observing me in the sorority house now are putting in requests to have blankets made for them! Here are some pictures of the final results:

My blanket now being used as a throw at the end of my bed

The size of the blanket spread out

Me cuddled up in my new blanket at the sorority house watching the Superbowl (Mallory in the background, another UC 256 class member observing)

The Final Stretch

I am coming close to the end of the last balls of yarn, however as I get closer I will decide if I want to make it larger than suggested. Now you can see the patterns that my mistakes have made, however you can see it repeats itself which I did on purpose to make it look intentional. Also, when I knit in the new yarn balls, I didn't leave enough yarn to work with, and it started unraveling, which I will have to try to fix once the blanket is done by crocheting the loose ends in. Here are some more pictures and I plan on finishing the blanket as I watch the Super Bowl!

The pattern of the blanket close up

The full blanket so far, almost there!

A fellow UC 256 class member, Jordan Litt, helps show the blankets actual size

A Few Setbacks

So as I have been researching patterns and techniques for a while, and I finally decided to start knitting my afghan today. I am using this pattern, made for beginners: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90031AD.html

I began by casting the yarn on the needles, as I did so the yarn started literally falling apart and breaking into pieces. So after a trip back to the yarn store to replace the defected yarn, I was back on track. I am not used to working with four strands of yarn, and mix that with the needles made for a giant, I faced some difficulty. I restarted about 7 times because it just wasn't looking right. Finally I decided to just keep going and maybe it would look better as I went along, and it did! Finally, I got the yarn ball rolling. I had to learn how to purl stitch by watching YouTube videos as I went along. Once I got into a rhythm it was just as easy as knitting a scarf.

A few things went wrong, I missed a stitch one time and it got lost and a little messed up but since the yarn is so thick and I am using four strands of it, it's barely noticeable. Another mistake was with the pattern of the stitches. The pattern goes knit one row, purl one row, then knit one row and so on. About halfway through the first ball of yarn I knitted two rows after another since I lost track of the count. I decided to make it part of the pattern and switch it up every so often to make it look like it's supposed to be like that.

I decided to call it a night once I ran out on my first set of yarn, tomorrow I will knit in the four new yarn balls and keep working on my afghan as I watch the Superbowl!

Here are some pictures of my progress so far:

One side of the blanket

Further along, the opposite side

Why I'm Doing This

I am starting a major quest to learn how to knit a blanket. I know how to knit scarfs in their simplest form, but I want to be able to make something that's bigger and better. I have started this journey for two reasons:

1. My Mimi (grandma) knits afghans for our whole family. In every house you enter, there are at least five blankets that have been made by her laying around the living rooms and bedrooms. Although to the untrained eye they might seem store-bought because of their intricate detailing and professional stitching, I've seen my family brag on many occasions that they have been made by my Mimi. Some have been passed down through households, others made to the likings of her grandchildren to match their room, but either way they are all made with love and provide warmth for the Goodman family (who are known to keep their houses strangely cold). I want to be able to one day give my family the same feeling that I was able to realize as I packed my bags for college and knew I couldn't leave my afghan at home, security.

2. From what I have witnessed from the knitting community through outings with my Mimi to local specialty knitting stores, every person there is eager and willing to help. I think part of this comes from the realization that as time goes by knitting is less and less common and is beginning to get lost in the generations. But I also have a hope that people's desire to knit stems from the importance knitting has to each individual and their life story, and that is what I hope to discover as I talk to people throughout my experience.

To me, learning how to knit was special time spent with my Mimi as we got frustrated with each other until all we could do was laugh. I learned with my cousin, so we spent a lot of time together going to craft stores and knitting together in Dallas. When I would visit her in Atlanta, we would sit together knitting, talking and bonding as we shared this common hobby. My mom has never picked up knitting or cared to learn as much as my Mimi knows, so through this I hope to be able to continue this tradition that brings the family together.

I have talked to my Mimi several times about learning how to do this, she has helped me through the yarn store as I figured out what exactly I needed, and guided me towards patterns that would be best to start with. I didn't realize how much it meant to her until today when I received in the mail a knitting book she had with a note inside filled with words of support and love, driving me to want to get the most out of this experience so I can show her all she has taught me.

Here are some pictures from the start of my journey and then....Let's Get the (Yarn) Ball Rolling!

The letter and knitting book I received unexpectedly from my Mimi today

I have eight balls of this yarn and one pair of 25 MM needles and I'm ready to go