Friday, December 2, 2011

Knitting Nightmares

Okay, I am doing it. I have been talking about wanting to learn to knit
for some time now. Well, I bought a pair of needles about a year ago
and gave it a go. What a first-class disaster! I just had the worst
time trying to do the stitches. They were too tight and just a pain in
the backside to work with. I remember learning to knit when I was in
elementary school. It was a very informal group of girls learning from
a girl's mother who came to the school and volunteered as a room mom. I
remember how she taught us to cast on to load the stitches onto the
needle. Well, after learning how to do the basic knit & purl stitches,
the family moved before we could learn to increase, decrease, or finish
off the piece. In a nutshell, I learned how to do basic knitting to
make a scarf, but never learned how to take it off the needles.

Last year, I carefully loaded a needle and began knitting. When I
reached the end of the first row I switched the needles in my hands and
started the next row. Got through that one and thought I was doing
great. I thought to myself, "Woo hoo! I'm knitting!" Little did I
know, lurking around row 4 was the beginnings of a nightmare. The
stitches were becoming gradually tighter and in row 4 were actually
making a slight squeaking sound as the yarn slide across the metal
needles. By row 5, I could not even slip the needle under the yarn on
the other needle to start a new stitch. I was in such a state of
frustration that I was ready to cry. I set the work aside until I was
ready to deal with it again. So, here I am nearly a year later looking
at that knitting attempt. It lurks on the shelf. I know I need to just
remove all the yarn from the needles and start over. It is my albatross.

A week ago, I was at a craft supply store and saw a beautiful pair of
wooden knitting needles that I fell in love with. I thought about some
handcrafted wooden crochet hooks that were made for me. I use the
wooden ones and prefer them to the plastic or metal. They feel very
comfortable to work with. I thought that if the wooden knitting needles
are as comfortable as the crochet hooks are, I would enjoy using them.
I didn't buy those needles. I love them, but will consider them as a
reward for learning to actually make a finished project using the pair
of knitting needles I have right now. Sigh.......

So, here I sit with that Knitting Nightmare mocking me. I am really
going to do it. I am going to reach over tonight and undo all that yarn
from the needle and banish that nightmare from my sight. If I don't
post again soon, I may need a rescue from a savvy knitter to get
unraveled. Or maybe a Knitter's Anonymous intervention. Or maybe a
good cry over a piece of dark chocolate. Will see what happens.....

New Blog Name

Well, it was on the horizon and needed to be done. I hadn't known at the time years ago whe I began using the Prairie Mom name online that there was another lady in Oklahoma using it. I have never had contact with her, but out of respect I have changed my blog name and email. It no longer reflects the Prairie Mom name. The blog is not being changed in any other way. It is still going to contain posts about family and homesteading. For those folloing my blog through email, there should be no change. You should still receive it as always.

I realise that there may be a bit of confusion at first. I apologise for that. I am just wanting to prevent trademark or other issues later on. The scope of just how many people have access to my blog is gaining enough ground that I needed to make this change now.

I have been gradually making a few change to the blog that readers may have noticed. First, I no longer am referring to my children by their names. This is for safety reasons. The second change is that the future posts are going to include more ofthe back to basics information. Many topics from the early years ofthe blog will be revisited with updated information. I am hoping that the revisiting of the "old ways" of how things were done generations ago will be a welcome pursuit. So much of the knowledge is being lost, but in today's economic situation that information is sorely needed.

Thank you to all who have been following and reading my blog. I never thought it would have such interest as it does. When my beloved husband first encouraged me to start a blog, I didn't think I had anything to say that others would enjoy reading. It humbles me to see just how many actually do read it.

My new URL for this blog is http://grannysimplicity.blogspot.com and you can email me at grannysimplicity@gmail.com.

Blessings!