Happy St. Paddy's Day and Learn How to Knit (Part 2)

     Happy St. Paddy's Day- I've got to say that I have lots of Irish in me- Scots-Irish, Protestant Irish and from my Dad's side Catholic Irish. I'm so glad they have peace now. In my childhood and not so long ago we grew up with stories of bombings in Ireland and it was so commonplace it was like you were listening to what we hear out of the Mid-East today. At least that was my impression as a child. Who then could of ever thought there could be peace! It's so good. So Blessings today!

             

     This is Technique Thursday and I want to continue working on our Simple Scarf today. Last week we learned how to choose a knitting needle for your yarn (with the help of it's handy wrapper) and how to cast on. I kind of left you hanging there (unless you delved into the tutorial list I gave). So today we want to simply go over the Garter Stitch- which is Knit on one side and Knit on the other. Real simple.

                                                   Ravelry- Garter Stitch Eternity Scarf

     We started with a cast on. Have the number of stitches you think would make a good width for your scarf. You can estimate that by looking at the gauge on the yarn wrapper. From experience worsted weight can need about 18 to 20 stitches. This might be too wide. We all have different preferences. Remember if you don't like it- you can "Frog" it. Which means in knit speak- rip it out! And start over. I find I always console myself that I have learned something from the experience and I do like my results as perfect as possible (but that's me). Imperfect can have it's charm- now a days not looking like a factory piece and hand made is good. A bulky or super bulky yarn is going to take less stitches. Again consult the wrapper. How many stitches per inch for the needle you got (hopefully you picked out the recommended needle or one size up for a looser drapey knit). So remember it's OK to guess- this is not rocket science and it's only the beginning. You need to make mistakes to learn and a scarf, well there's a lot of leeway room in what you do- if it's not perfect- no big deal. We're just starting.
                                             
                                             Well-Knitting Project 2 – a Garter Stitch Scarf

So here's my video on cast-on with super bulky-
 Cast on

And my how to video on the Garter Stitch- 
Garter Stitch

     If you decided to do the Ravelry- patterns Garter Stitch Scarf  cast on 20 stitches with Bulky yarn and knit away. If you run out of yarn- simply tie the ends together with a new skein at the end of a row; later we'll weave the ends in.
Enjoy the Journey!