Getting the knitting bug!
Published by JoAnn on Tagged Background
I want to use this site to help people who wish to learn how to knit, how to find information about patterns and what kind of tools they will need. I have been knitting since I was about 7 or 8 years old. My mother and grandmothers were avid knitters and my sisters and I learned to knit from them. Some of my friends have wanted to learn how to knit and I have enjoyed sharing what I have been taught with them. I hope that you will find this information helpful as well.
When we first began to knit, my other would do all of the hard stuff while my sisters and I did all of the easy stuff - like knitting straight lines and simple purl and knit stitches. For instance, Mum would cast on the stitches and start the pattern for us and then we would take over and knit the leg of a sock or the cuff of a mitten, then Mum would turn the heel of the sock or increase the stitches for the mitten and we would continue knitting until it came time for decreasing the stitches and casting off. Mum would show us how to increase the stitches and cast them off until we finally learned.
I found that the method that my mother used to cast on (English cast on) did not work too well for me. I used to have problems figuring out how long a “tail” of yarn to leave so that I had enough for the stitches and just left a few inches to be woven into the work later. I developed my own method of casting on - I call it the no name method and used it until I discovered the continental cast on method - they are very similar, but the continental method is more professional looking. All I needed to do was form a slip knot, and start making stitches and I was on my way. I am thankful that my mother was such a patient teacher. I learned to knit and I have been knitting ever since. I will be sharing some of the simple stitch patterns that I enjoy knitting and will include some of my current and past projects. It is my hope that you will enjoy taking this journey with me.
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