I Can Knit Wristwarmers!

I do not know how many times my grandma sat down with me to show me how to knit. She used to be amazing at knitting before her hands got stiffer with age and it became hard for her to manoeuvre the needles. My mother also used to knit, so there is a family tradition to be upheld. Alas, after each time that my Oma taught me how, I would knit a scarf or two, then don't knit again for a while and forget everything I had learned.

When I first came to London, one of the girls I worked with was a knitter and introduced me to a technique of dropping loops to create a more lacy pattern. So I knitted about three lacy scarves - and then forgot everything that she had showed me.

But I am determined to one day become a committed knitter, so, a little while ago, I signed up for a knitting class at The Make Lounge in order to learn how to make a pair of wristwarmers.

I liked the atmosphere at Make Lounge, all us students were sat around a big, blond wood table and were provided with cookies, chips and wine. The teacher, Catherine, was very helpful and passionate about her craft. I was a bit disappointed when I found out that our wristwarmers were basically going to be a tiny square scarf that was to be sewn together at the edges, but never mind. There will be a time when I will knit non-rectangular items, I'm sure.

We were shown how to cast on, knit and purl, alternate these methods for patterns, fix mistakes, read instructions, increase & decrease, cast off and seam edges together. I found out that I knit "continental style", which meant that I was the odd one out and was holding my yarn different from everybody else, namely moving the needle through a loop instead of looping the yarn round the needle.

One of the best parts of the course was when we had finished off our wristwarmers and Catherine bust out the ginormous button jar for us to choose embellishments. I'm quite pleased with the finished product, even though I have a feeling they are something only a mother could love...

Have a look:

 

© Annika - All The Live Long Day (unless otherwise stated)