New skill

After refreshing my knitting skills last year with a boat load of scarves I gave away as Christmas presents, this year I needed a new challenge. With the nest even emptier a year on, I need all the distraction and busy work I can get. Every year about this time I’m always on the lookout for projects I can make and give as gifts. Luckily  I ran across the idea of knitted boot cuffs. You know those cute little not-quite-leg warmers that stick out above the tops of your super cool, tall winter boots? All I had to do was to learn how to do it.

They’re brown on one end and grey on the other, to match with different outfits. So cool!

So a few weeks ago I turned to my favorite source of knitting tutorials: the Youtube search bar. I quickly discovered that there was such a thing as KNITTING WITH FIVE NEEDLES AT ONE TIME. Intimidating, but what else am I going to do on a string of quiet weeknights at home alone? One trip to Joann’s Fabric and Crafts later, I had five beautiful wooden, double-pointed needles, some really cool yarn, and a mission.

There were four or five initial attempts that involved starting, swearing, stopping, swearing, ripping apart, swearing, and starting over. My hands didn’t know how to keep all those pretty, slippery needles in the right places, or how to concentrate on two needles when three more were poking out all over the place. No tears of frustration, though – I took that as a good sign.

Finally I started to get the hang of it, and I completed one cuff. Cool! Except that I didn’t bother to look up how to cast off on a ribbing stitch. Consequently I ended up with a boot cuff that would not slip over the calf of Popeye’s scrawny girlfriend Olyve Oyl, let alone a real human female. With regret, I tossed it into the trash and started yet again – after looking up advice for a better cast-off stitch.

This time I was a double-pointed knitting whiz. I completed a functional – and adorable – pair of cuffs for Middle Sister. In the last few days I’ve made a pair for myself, too. Next it’s on to a set for our oldest, and for a couple of other female relatives who also love to wear tall boots in the winter.

Nothing like a cup of tea, a blanket, a good mystery on Netflix, and a new hobby to keep me happy on a cool fall evening!

 

 

 

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