Knit My Dog

Before I discovered knitblogs I was knitting in a vacuum. I've been knitting for years and I have some friends that knit, but I just went about my merry way, finding patterns at local shops, knitting what I saw that I liked . I didn't belong to any knitting group or guild. I'd knit for myself, my family and friends. It was a hobby that I found relaxing and enjoyable. Sometimes I'd make up my own patterns or alter an existing pattern to fit my needs. If there was something I didn't understand, I'd try to figure it out by myself or I would improvise.

Take socks, for example. I know that every sock pattern tells you to graft the toe stitches. I once looked up Kitchener stitch in one of my books. There was NO WAY I was going to take the time to figure that out. It was on the toe. Of a sock. That resides in my shoe. So I improvised. I did a three needle bind off. On every pair of socks that I knit. I think they look neat and are functional. The worst part about it was shoving the whole sock inside that little opening to turn it inside out before performing the bind off. But I worked that out too. I was content in my knitting.

See? Jaywalkers with a three needle bind off toe:

Fast forward to this year. From reading assorted blogs, I've come to the conclusion that everybody uses the kitchener stitch to finish socks. Everybody but me that is. So I figured that I should take the plunge and learn how to do it the "right" way. And of course, there are a million tutorials out there to help me instead of some confusing diagram in the back of a knitting book. Today I sat in the dining room with the bright sunlight shining in and my laptop tuned in to a Knitty tutorial. I got out the tapestry needle and went to it. There was a moment in the middle when I knew I did something wrong, so I took all of the stitches out and started again.

One completed and kitchenered Terrapin sock:

It's a little wonky, and I'm not sure I like it any better than my old bind off, but I'll let you know my final thoughts after I finish the second sock.

Today I also started a hat for my nephew's birthday using the "String of Purls" stitch that I saw over at Nona's. Her hat inspired me to look up the stitch and make my own pattern. I'm about half way into the hat and I think he's going to love it.

I don't know why I was so late to the knitblog party. I only discovered them a little over a year ago. I think of all of the things I have learned and the people I have "met" and realize that it changed the way I approach knitting. So thanks.