A New Skill

Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one
day? maybe you’re a crocheter who’d also like to knit? Maybe you’d like
to learn to knit continental, knit backwards, try cables or attempt
stranded colourwork

There are lots of techniques and skills involved in knitting.  While it’s true that knitting is nothing more than knits and purls, there are a myriad of techniques using those two basic stitches to create beautiful knitted items.

Many people are writing about steeking today.  While steeking scares me a little (Seriously!  Cutting your knitting gives me the heebies even though I know it turns out just fine.), I don’t have any desire to learn to steek.  There’s not a pattern out there where I wanted to do it but decided not to because of steeks.  Same goes for intarsia.  I’ve never used intarsia, and I don’t have a desire to either.  Intarsia doesn’t scare me like steeking though.  If I wanted to knit something using intarsia, I would.

I’ve done colorwork–Fair Isle mittens on size 0 needles.  I’ve done entrelac.  I’ve knit cabled items.  I knit socks and intricate lace.

My new skill to learn is continental knitting.  I’ve fooled around with it in the past and did pretty well with knitting in continental, but purling in continental was bad and ugly.

I also just want to become better at knitting as a whole.  I want to be able to modify patterns to better suit my needs–add in short rows for bust shaping, change a neckline, or size something up or down as suits me.  I want to become more proficient in the technicalities of knitting.  I guess this ties into wanting to design my own patterns.  I see the two going hand in hand.