You Remember Your First

Kathleen Cubley, the editor of Knitting Daily, recently posted a photo of her first knitting project.  It was astonishing that she had the wherewithal to take a photo of her first.  This is just what a beginning knitter's work looks like:

The swatch above is obviously a sampler where Kathleen was trying out different stitches.  There are several characteristics that make this swatch quintessentially a beginner's.

• There is no consistent tension or gauge.  See how the side edges of the sample ebb and flow; they aren't supposed to do that.
• There are unexpected holes that Kathleen was kind enough to point out and I spy others she didn't.  Holes are to be expected as you start to figure out what to do with the yarn.  Most of us wrap the yarn more than necessary at first and create yarn overs.  When the yarn over is knit again during the next row a hole is created.  Holes are great when one is making lace but not required in this sampler. 
• Both the cast on at the bottom and the bind off at the top have tension problems.  The cast on is done too loosely and there is a big loop in the center.  The bind off is done too tightly causing the top to be cinched in.

This post got me thinking about my first knitting project.  It was a scarf, not unusual for most beginners because it doesn't require a fit and the investment in yarn is relatively small.  My scarf was created about 45 years ago with an acrylic yarn in a cream colour.  That scarf was saved through 27 moves until about 5 years ago.  At that time I decided here in the maritime weather of Vancouver I should pass it on to a place that would see someone else could use it.  Too bad I didn't take a photo of my first during those 45 years because it is now gone.

My scarf was done in a basket weave stitch which just like the photo below shows includes 4 knit stitches followed by 4 purl stitches across the row.  Do this the appropriate number of times to create a square.  Again just like the photo my scarf required 5 rows.  I did this until the scarf was about 6 feet/1.8 meters long.  That length allowed me to wrap the thing around my throat several times.  And when I lived in Midwest of the Lower 48, I needed all those layers.

The great thing about that long project was I had plenty of time to perfect my knitting and purling technique.  And with the number of wraps around my neck it took to keep it from being too long some of the errors could be hidden.  New knitters have to concentrate to get their results and often look something like this:

And those first projects often don't quite look like they should

Or as Ryan Gosling put it:  You get a nice present. For someone who wants an oddly shaped, off-putting scarf.  But with practice and lots of repetition it is possible to find your own technique, become comfortable and start to relax with the process.  It is good to remember how hard the knitting thing seemed to be at the start so you can say:  You've come a long way baby; yes, indeed you have.