Finally I'm Finished: First Knits

I have been knitting a whole lot more over the past couple months and I'm happy to say it's been very enjoyable.  As a crocheter, trying knitting was like going to the dark side lol!  I think the hardest thing so far has been regulating my yarn tension.  When I started my stitches would be super tight and hard to work.  That was also making my hands feel very cramped most of the time.  So to remedy this, I went online for tips on learning how to hold the yarn looser, but still keep everything neat.  I'm still playing around with how I hold the yarn, but it's going well.

I wanted to share my first few knitted finished projects today.  All three of these pieces have been finished within the last 3-4 months.  I'm so proud of myself ^.^

First, we have my "I Thought I was a Ravenclaw Socks."  I showed the first sock of this pair in mid-March and finished the second sock at the end of March.  They were knit for the Harry Potter KAL but I didn't win anything.  le'sigh... better luck next time! [click -here- for the progress post!] Anyhow, these socks are so comfy and not at all as hot as I expected them to be.  I've worn them to work in my sneakers and they did very well.  They also survived their first machine washing ^.^ I count this as an awesome win!  I worked them cuff down and using a long circular needle for the magic loop method.  These socks took me about a month to complete.

The next thing I cast on my needles was the Seaforth Hat.  I mentioned this hat a couple posts back when I talked about my needle adjacent projects (projects that I want to start).  This hat was SUCH the learning experience!  I learned how to knit regularly on circular needles (not magic loop), I learned how to read a basic lace chart, I learned how to do yarn overs... even though I found out after finishing the hat that all my yarn overs were wrapped the wrong way, but whatevs!  This is a hat pattern that I will surely be making again.  I want to do it in a smoother yarn next time.  This hat was made with Impeccable worsted weight yarn from Michaels.  Next time I think I'll use simply soft or something like that.  This hat took me less than a week to complete.

Third knit item is another pair of socks.  This time, I knit the socks toe up magic loop.  I really enjoyed going toe up because that meant I knew exactly when to start the heel and then I could knit as long as I wanted for the leg without the pressure of maybe running out of yarn.  At first, these were to be socks for myself, but once I finished the heel I realized the foot was a bit baggy.  Turned out they fit Lamar perfectly. -___-  And that's how he got his first pair of hand-knit socks. *shrug*  He likes them and said they are so comfy that he forgot he was wearing them ^.^  The new thing I learned with this project was how to do wrap and turn short rows and how to knit two at a time socks.  I decided to do them two at a time because I felt like they were taking forever once I got up to the leg.  I don't think I really care for two at a time... people were saying it makes things go faster, but I'm still on the fence.  These socks took me about a month and a week to complete.

My last knit project is... yep... another pair of socks! Lol!  I wanted to try my hand at worsted weight socks so I cast on a pair to give to my friend Tiff for her birthday.  I think I really like worsted weight socks! They were so fast!  Only... I doubt I'd be able to wear them in shoes... These socks were knit one at a time, cuff down on magic loop.  I used some yarn from my stash and actually finished most of the ball.  I love using out my stash!  This project forced me to learn how to correct a sizing problem.  The first sock I knit turned out to be about 1.5 inches too short, so I had to undo the toe and continue knitting on the foot to make the sock the correct measurement.  Then I had to reknit the toe.  It was a little nerve wracking pulling out the stitches, but I was able to get everything back on the needles properly and continue working.  These socks took me about a week and a half to complete.

There you have it!  My first few knitted projects!!  I feel like each one of these projects has made me learn new techniques.  Whenever I came across a problem, I went straight to youtube to search "how to..." and that was really helpful.  The next knit project that I want to cast on will most likely be the Ventura Shawl that I mentioned in the needle adjacent projects post.  I tried it after finishing the Seaforth, but I couldn't get it right.  That's when I found out I had been making the yarn overs wrong.  Next time I think I'll get it! 

I hope you liked seeing my newly created pieces :)  Are you learning any new skills or learning new things within your hobbies?