First off, you should know that I have a slight obsessive tendency, and by that I mean that I can easily become consumed by literally anything. It can be a new TV series that I simply have to binge in a day, a book that must be read in an entire sitting, keeping a song or album on repeat for weeks or months at a time, mastering a new exercise with my horse, excising, being neat and organized (pillows facing a certain direction, DVDs displayed in alphabetic order…), or when I’m learning a new hobby (yoga, drawing, photography, etc.). It can be a bit annoying at times but thankfully it generally wears off once I feel like I’ve “accomplish” the task. Now that I’ve shared this little tid bit of information about myself lets get going!
I have two amazing sisters who are incredible knitter. Seriously, it’s insane what they can create with yarn. Don’t believe? Jump on over over to my sisters blog and check out her stunning work! You won’t regret it, and if you do, what’s wrong with you?
After watching them create masterpiece after masterpiece over the years, I decided that I wanted to learn and join their knitting club. My family has spread out over Canada, so for me to learn how to knit from one of my sisters I needed to do it over the Christmas holidays while we were briefly together. After some pestering I was finally about to convince my younger sister to teach me.
I was given a small ball of yarn from my mom who surprise surprise also knits, and my sister let me borrow one of her needles. She patiently explained and demonstrated how to cast on, the difference between a knit and purl and how to make them, and how to bind off. To my surprise, and everyone in my family, I caught on rather quickly and was knitting row after row without any major complications.
And this is where my obsessive nature steps in. After practicing with the same small ball of yarn for a few days, I declared I was done practicing and that it was time to make something. After repeatedly telling my sister that I wanted to make a scarf and that she had to go to the knitting store with me before she flew back home to help me pick the right yarn and tools, she reluctantly took me. During my pleading and nagging she told me repeatedly that I first had to find a scarf pattern and then buy my supplies according to that specific project. But obsessive me some how knew better then my experienced knitting sister and disregarded her advise by purchasing two green balls of yarn. She did however give me props for buying local yarn so I think I deserve a slight pat on the back for that one.
All this time I thought I would just create a basic long green scarf with tassels at the bottom with my own pattern because I was basically a pro now. While rolling the yarn I purchased into balls (yes, to my surprise yarn doesn’t already come in a ball. Who knew?!) I began browsing Pinterest for patterns that I could now make. And as you might have guessed, I found a really pretty picture of an infinity scarf that I decided I must make pronto. This is when I accepted the fact that that my sister did in fact know better then me. The pattern I found called GAP-Tastic Cowl and required three balls of yarn, not the measly two I purchased earlier that day, in addition to a larger needle size. So off I went to a nearby knitting store with my pattern instructions in toe.
To my delight this store was having a holiday sale so I didn’t feel over guilty for picking up three new balls of yarn and larger needles. As I mentioned previously, I can get weirdly obsessive and so I began knitting my scarf, and didn’t stop until it was finished. Okay, I stopped a few times to eat and sleep but otherwise I was like a train going full steam ahead without any breaks. I took my project to my friends houses and knitted away and my wrists began getting tired and sore from the surge of repetitive use. Four days after I began my little project I was finally able to strut my stuff in my fancy new scarf.
Not only am I so happy with how my scarf turned out, but I’m rather proud at myself for actually making something with my own hands that I can wear!
After taking a mini break I’ve set my sights on a new knitting project. I have begun making what I hope will be a cute beanie. As my obsessive nature has dwindled after completing my scarf, I have feeling like this project will take me twice as long to finish even though it requires less yarn and the piece is overall much smaller.
Have you recently taken up a new hobby? If so, I would love to hear all about it in the comments below!
