I’m a new forum member and a “restarting” knitter. My babysitter taught me to knit when I was 7 or 8 years old, but there have been long gaps when I didn’t actively knit. Recently, my family decided to draw names for handmade Christmas gifts, so I dragged the old needles out again. At a suggestion from my daughter (well, actually, somebody had given her the book “Charmed Knits” by Alison Hansel, and she’s a crocheter, not a knitter, so she didn’t know what to do with it and gave it to me) I decided to make a Weasley sweater.
It’s listed as a “first year” pattern (from the Harry Potter series, “first year” is the beginning of your education at Hogwarts school) so I figured it would be ok for someone as inexperienced as me, and I certainly did learn a lot in the process. For one thing, I’ll study a lot before I try intarsia again. Here’s a photo for those who are interested
I used Red Heart Super Saver 100% acrylic yarn in “Claret Fleck” as the main color and in “gold” for the letter. This yarn just struck me as the perfect thing for a kind of homespun sweater like I saw in the movies. Plus, I’m not sure if my brother (the intended recipient) is allergic to anything, and I figured acrylic was the least likely to cause problem. I think my mom is allergic to wool, so I wanted to play it safe.
There’s a saying in business that “everything takes longer than it does” and I found this applies to knitting in a big way, especially if you’re learning as you go. I started on the first of November, and didn’t finish until last night. I put it in a box at Christmas for my brother to open, with the front and back done and part of one sleeve, and then took it back for completion.
Now that I’m going again, I’d like to continue to pursue knitting. I really enjoy it. Ironically, I accidentally became the sponsor of a middle-school knitting club in the process. I took my project to a school where I work and found out about the club, so I attended. A few weeks later, the sponsor told me she would have to drop the club unless I wanted to keep it going, as she no longer had the time. So far, it’s just been sitting and kntting and talking with the three or four people who show up. I’m not sure yet if I want to try to promote it or liven it up at all. We’ll see.
I’m glad to find a community of like-minded (obsessed?) knitters.
Cheers,
Michael
