That reminds me of my first time...

Knitting, that is. ;)

Recently, one of my co-workers asked me for a favor. Her daughter had received a blarf for Christmas. "What's a blarf???" you may be asking yourself. I was informed that her daughter's friend took up knitting and, for her first project, began making a scarf which turned into a blanket. Blarf. :) Well, after one wash in the washing machine, the blarf partially unraveled. Panicked, my co-worker hid the blarf from her daughter and brought it into work to me. I took it home and began the task of taking it apart before rebuilding it. Taking it apart was actually really cool. It reminded me a lot of my first knitting attempt.

I always loved scarves but I was not a fan of their prices. I would go into a store, find a scarf I liked, and study it. Finally, I decided, "I can do that." So I googled "How to Knit" and gave it a go with two pencils and a pink ribbon I had laying around. I didn't want to invest money into the tools if I wouldn't be able to do it. Once I figured out how to cast on and do the knit stitch, I was ready for the real deal. I went to Michaels the next day and bought a Lion Brand Yarn beginner's knitting kit which included a set of 11 US size needles, a skein of denim colored yarn, and an instruction booklet on how to knit a scarf and a matching hat. First up, the scarf. Boy was that a disaster. There were yo's and k2tog's and dropped stitches everywhere. I don't remember how long it took me to get it together, but that first scarf included garter stitch, purl, and ribbing. I had the basics down (and accidentally a few extras) and I was hooked.

This blarf reminds me of that scarf. Lots of character, lots of memories. I'm not sure where that scarf is. I'm pretty sure I took it apart and used the yarn in my first crochet project, now that I think about it. But I'll never forget the hours, the frustration, and the sense of accomplishment when I knitted 4 rows consecutively without any slip ups. I've often said that knitting is my therapy. And it is. I can spend my time doing something, making something, creating something and at the end I have a tangible item to show for it. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't. But every time I feel good about myself.