The Novel Knit Girl Blog

It's true. I seem to have finished my first garment. I started it, oh, I can't even remember when... I should have recorded the date, but I didn't. I know that I was at least working on it in April of 2014, and it is September 2014 now. And, I did it. I finished. Yes, it has a few mistakes and a couple areas of questionable stitch integrity, but it's complete! I mean, your first sweater isn't supposed to be perfect - right? Otherwise it wouldn't be your first sweater. Kind of like first loves - they call them "firsts" for a reason. You learn and make better decisions the next time around. This is the Lion Brand "my first sweater" pattern and I utilized the online class by Amy Ross. The class was OK. It was good to have visuals, but I've taken better online classes. But, cheers to Amy. She got me through this and she just seems so very sweet. I did enjoy knitting with her, even if some of the directions weren't totally clear, whi

James Foley was executed in Syria 2 weeks ago. You might find this bit of information odd for me to add to my "knitting" blog, but we are both Northwestern graduates and I work at his other Alma Mater. I didn't know him, but I've been following the Free James Foley site since news of his captivity was announced in 2012. This project will be named after Jim. I think I'll just call it my JIM hat. This hat is from a Craftsy class pattern (Sidebar: I love, love, LOVE Craftsy.com), One-skein Accessories: The Chevron Collection (instructor Aurora Sisneros).  And, I'm actually loving this pattern. This is my third hat, but I'm considering it my first hat since the others were pretty awful. Both in black bulky yarn and just a boring old garter stitch pattern. This one has been a fun challenge for me to knit. Some might call it easy, but so far, only dishcloths have been easy for me on the first try. I ripped the hat out once. I had some trouble with my stitch