The Return of the Purple Scarf

After sidelining the purple scarf for a little less than a week, I resumed knitting it on Wednesday night. Rather, I resumed messing it up. I ran into a problem on the first row. Somehow I managed to turn one stitch on the left needle into three on the right. I examined it for a sign of what I had done wrong. No luck.

Kristin could give a more informed answer, but I feel like I've picked up knitting quickly. I think I should be doing better than I am with this Katia Duende yarn, so I'm frustrated that I can't knit much of it without encountering problems.

After Thursday morning's Casino Royale screening, Kristin tidied up my stitches. (I also showed her the massive knot that tormented me earlier this week.) I left determined to knit this scarf without more of the same problems. I don't want to bother her with it after what seems like every row. Also, I don't have any other yarn, so it's this or nothing for the time being.

Thursday night I intended to make a pie for Kristin and her huband--Toll House/chocolate chip, if you're curious--but I discovered that I didn't have enough shortening for a crust. (An early run to the grocery store allowed me to make it this morning.) Instead I used the time to knit. I'm pretty much over my initial hang-ups about knitting, but those previous sentences make me sound like a 1950s housewife. Not that there's anything wrong with baking pies, knitting, or being a homemaker.

I knitted deliberately, making sure that I was sliding the right needle through the correct place and doing everything else properly. One of my problems has been putting the needle through the stitch below where it's supposed to go. The stitches have been wrapped tightly around the left needle, which is how they should be, but it means I'm more likely to miss the spot. I've improved some at undoing stitches, but I'm having a hard time seeing where the completed ones are once they've jumped off the left needle.

I finished a row, half held my breath as I counted it, and found that everything was fine. It's a start. I knitted at a turtle's pace, which helped me catch a couple mistakes before it was too late. One of the reasons I wanted to learn how to knit was so I could slow down. This yarn was giving me a prime opportunity to do that.

Gradually I increased my speed, not by much but some. I started making the stitches tighter so the scarf wouldn't be too loose. I looked at the beginning and feared that I'd finish the project and realize I needed to frog the entire thing. I found that one row had fifteen stitches. Two were very close together. I decided that I'd knit them as one on the next row and hope for the best. (This is called decreasing, right?) There was no way I'd be able to undo four or five stitches. Knitting those two together worked, and I went along until my project was a foot long.

You have no idea how happy this modest success made me. I've been struggling with this scarf since I began it. Kristin frogged it once, and this is the third pair of needles it's been on. I think everything's going to be okay now, but I ought to cross my fingers when I say that. The yarn is so soft and light. I think the final result will be terrific. If all continues to go well, maybe, just maybe, I can finish it this weekend.

Next...work continues on scarf #4.