Before I start on the topic of knitting, I just wanted to announce that all my classes for this semester have officially ended!! I had my last class today and I felt a load of weight lifted off my back! It felt soooo good! But the last class had me a little worried about my next semester, about what I’m going to face. A little scared. Of course, I don’t really have to think about that for now… So I’m just gonna shove that to the back of my head for the time being! :)
So, knitting! That’s what I have been up to ever since I finished my last assignment. I am actually working on a project (that’s how knitters call their knit work in-progress) right now, a secret one, not from my blog readers but my bf! Sadly, (or fortunately?) he does not read my blog. Actually in most ways, it’s good because then I can blog about more things, like this post, and rave about my idols as much as I want! He can get a little jealous when it comes to idols. :P Anyway, as I mentioned, I’m knitting something for him right now as a Christmas gift!
Take a look at my stash and how my current project looks like:
Can you guess what I’m making? I can’t remember if I ever mentioned before in my previous posts about this… but in any case, it’s quite obvious what I’m making from the way my work is turning out. I’m making him a scarf! I know it’s an easy project but I just learnt knitting in July and I didn’t have the time to further my skills during the semester, so I’m starting easy!
For me, learning how to knit has been a fun and easy process, no thanks to Youtube! There are a gazillion of videos on knitting, from the most basics to advance levels! It’s outrageously easy for anyone to pick up knitting! As long as you have the right “tools” and materials, you can learn all the basics in a day. Before I really got down to starting the knitting process for the very first time, I searched and read about it on the internet. The “getting started” is probably the most important part that every beginner has to know about before going out there to buy your needles and yarn. Personally, I find Knitting Tips by Judy a very helpful guide on the starting process as she explains about the types of needles and yarns out there, as well as the best needles to start with for beginners. In addition, the website has an accompanying youtube account which was like a bible to me throughout my learning process. Judy’s youtube account is fantastic for first-timers as her demonstrations are clear and easy to follow, as compared to other youtubers. Also, her account covers a whole range of stitch patterns, tips and advise for the type of project to embark on.
Before I started on my project, I practiced a lot like what Judy has advised in her videos. I spent a lot of my July semester break on practicing- learn a new stitch, practice…, learn another new stitch and practice again. Because knitting is all about repeating the process, but if you don’t practice you’ll make mistakes often while working on a project and you wouldn’t want to re-do something after working on it for so long.
Right now, I’m still quite the beginner and I have ran into several mistakes when I embarked on this project which is my first one ever. When I first started and successfully decided on the type of yarn I was going to use, I thought that just using the needle size as suggested on the yarn label is right.
As seen here, the needle size suggested is 4.00mm/8UK/6US (all the same, they use different measuring systems). When I bought that needle size and started knitting, I found that the stitches were small and tension was really tight for a scarf. I think I’d probably take several months to finish this but I need to finish it by Christmas! So I went back to the store, hoping to find a large type of yarn but sadly, Lindcraft was having a clearance sale of yarns, which was good and bad. I could get the yarns at half the price but a lot of the thicker and better yarns were gone. However, as I was browsing through the shelves, I chanced upon a knit magazine specially for the brand of yarn I bought. There were different types of projects in there and of course, scarves for men too! I read through them and realised that I didn’t have to use 4.00mm needles and that a scarf for my yarn needs a 4.50mm needle size for the right tension- not too tight or loose! And yes, the needle size was way easier to knit as it wasn’t as tight as before.
As for the colour of the scarf, I wanted to knit everything in the navy blue but I only managed to buy 4 yarn balls before all of the same colour sold out! So I had no choice but to mix colours so that the scarf will come out long enough. It’s just a pity Lindcraft does not have a great variety of THICK yarns although their range of thin yarns is rather impressive. Winter in Korea requires THICK yarns which understandably something which Brissy doesn’t really need. So I have to settle with something thinner.
Right now, I’m enjoying the knitting process. It gets very addictive and you don’t really feel like stopping once you knit a large part of it (like where I’ve stopped in the photo above). The best thing is, I save time but knitting while I watch my Korean dramas. Ain’t that just perfect? :) I think I’ve found myself a new hobby!
I’m really excited because this time I have to be more independent in Korea which is GOOD so that I can know my way around Seoul, travelling on my own, buying my own stuff, and so on! Previously when I spent a month in Korea, I depended SOOOOO MUCH on A. Even when I was shopping for girly stuff, I had him to speak to the salesperson for me, everything was done by him! I want to learn how to live in Korea! I want to live in Korea like how I’m living in Aus right now! Of course, with the language barrier, everything will be so much more difficult but it will not only strengthen my independence, my Korean abilities will improve as well! Hopefully!