Monday, October 15, 2012

I'm Purling It!

The guilt is killing me and I must share the secret of my shame. I have been neglecting my darling babes, knitting and this blog, of course. I was losing sight of my focus a bit in the past couple of weeks but fear not, I have a few updates on my progress.

I have started purling everyone with the help of Knitting Help's video the purl stitch. The purl stitch is the knitting technique that is the reverse of the knit stitch and I surprisingly caught on to it very quickly. It seemed a bit easier than the knit stitch for me except that my needle would constantly slip before I could get the stitch on the opposite needle. With more practice throughout the weekend, I was able to find my rhythm not only with the purl stitch but also with the knit stitch.
 

This is not yet a real project but a practice of the basic knitting techniques in which I started off with twenty cast-ons. I decided to begin with the knit stitch here to find my rhythm before I began my purl stitch. I do not know why my knit stitches have not been able to come out a little bit neater. There are a few places that I missed a couple of stitches which I think is due to not paying close enough attention and the constant unraveling of my yarn. But it's nothing to it, just a little more practice.


I then switched to the purl stitch after several rows of knit stitching. This was my very first time attempting the purl stitch and I am still not quite sure yet why there was a large gap between the stitches. This image shows my knit stitches and then the first two rows of my purl stitch.






At this point into the purl stitch, I stopped because I added a stitch while purling. The one thing to be aware of is actually getting into the stitch properly. Because the purl stitch involves the working yarn being in the front of the needles instead of the back (like in the knit stitch), there is a chance of stitching into the previous row and getting confused with the stitches.




So, when in doubt, I just started over with the same twenty cast-ons. This time, however, I did not begin with the knit stitch and went right into the purl stitches. I have to say that I, personally, was impressed and proud with the outcome of my first attempts purl stitching.





This last image just shows my continuation of the purl stitch. It looks pretty neat and even, and I focused more with my rhythm rather than getting it perfect. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I realized that my stitches are parallel to the needle and some videos I have seen shows the stitches perpendicular.  Also, knowing what stitch to use for certain projects would help propel me into the next phase of my adventure, starting my first project! I'm hoping I will clear up these inquiries and continue to update you all.
Stay encouraged! 


[We, ourselves, are works in progress. Keep knitting.]

4 comments:

  1. Your focus on rhythm rather than stitch makes perfect sense to me. I get caught up in peripheral stuff rather than focusing on what is present and right in front of me. Sometimes, for me, zoning out and not thinking yields better results than the focused methodical variety. I do the same with my writing. I will sometimes walk with a voice recorder and just spill my idea into it. Eventually a focused idea presents itself and I run with it.

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    1. It does make sense and it also yields great results. I feel that sometimes when we think too hard about what we're doing we lose sight of the task as a whole. With my writing, I also have to step away from my computer and let my thoughts flow. With knitting, I have to stop focusing on being perfect and focus on the natural flow of my hands, working the needles to produce the stitches.

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  2. Glad you're back! Thank you for posting so many pictures and such awesome instructions. I really want to pick up knitting, and I am so glad I have this blog to reference!

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    1. Lol. Thank you! I'm glad to be back. It is my pleasure to share this experience. If you're interested, I say go for it, knitting truly is an incredible craft. If you have any questions or need help, don't hesitate to ask. I will definitely assist you the best way I can.

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