Now that I have the basic idea of how to work the knitting board, I've been trying some experimental stuff with it . . . and failing. As I've mentioned before, my knitting skills are very basic and not that great. I can do stuff that works for me, animals, and the occasional thing for my roommate. Basically everything else just turns out wonky. My last couple of projects are good examples of this.
But they're all unwound now and being repurposed as other things. I'm working on a scarf now and have only done a minor bit of experimentation. And honestly, even that almost killed me. I hate purling on the knitting board. It really sucks. Though, admittedly, it looks really cool.
In a strange way, I think the fact that knitting doesn't come easy to me is why I enjoy it so much. It can frustrate me to no end and I, more often than not, screw up whatever I'm working on. However, even when I screw it up, I gain experience. I have something to learn from. I gain skill in speed or steadiness. So even complete failures aren't without merit.
I'm also usually dissatisfied with the end product. The things I make tend to be crooked or malformed or otherwise lacking in quality. But they're things I made, so I like them. My hats may be strange, but they're warm. My arm warmers may be uneven, but they do their job. I like the fact that I spend weeks at a time wearing something that I personally made. Honestly, I wish I had more things like this. It's one of the reasons I want to learn to sew.
The great thing about knitting is that the more you practice, the less you suck. Your hands gain skill and your eyes gain skill. You learn how to keep tension and how to manage your yarn. Eventually, you even realize how practical it is to count your stitches! I may not have a lot of skill with this, but I have far more than I did four years ago. Back then I thought those needles had some kind of elusive magic.
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