Skill + 1UP. From Scarves to cupcakes.

Author: Esther

I vaguely recall having learned to knit as a child when I used to sit beside my mom as she knit. She was a great knitter. I on the other hand was not and haven’t touched a pair of needles until I started working at Soak.

I’ve been interning at Soak for almost 7 months now and it’s hard not to pick up knitting while you are here. Jacqueline, Chris and Ngoc all know how to knit and they often bring in their projects to work on during lunch. Seeing their fun projects, as well as seeing all the beautiful colourful yarns laying around the office made me wonder if I could actually learn again and maybe even finish one project.

I grabbed some Louet Riverstone yarn and a pair of borrowed needles from Jacqueline and started to knit a simple scarf. I learned how to knit and purl. I finished in about a week. Even though it was a very simple pattern, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment as I wrapped my finished scarf around my neck.

I moved onto my next project right away after being inspired by a cupcake on Jacqueline’s office desk that was knitted by Chris. The instructions I found for cupcakes all suggested crocheting so I tried my hand at crochet. My first cupcake was horribly big; perhaps I didn’t pull the stitches tight enough. My next one was much better. It was so adorable that I gave to my friend as a present. I made one last cupcake before my interest started to subside.  I looked through our library to see what I could make for my next project. I decided on a cute little yarn cactus.

I took a break from knitting until I went with Ngoc to a Heel testing/review at the Purple Purl, lead by Amy Singer. That was the first time I went to Purple Purl. I just loved the entire store and the people within it. Everyone was so friendly and made me feel so comfortable and relaxed. I decided that I had to buy some yarn and start my next project. I had initially picked up some black yarn but put it back once I saw Ngoc shaking her head in disapproval. She persuaded me to be a little wild and pick a beautiful raspberry pink yarn instead.

I went from not knowing how to knit or crochet to making 2 scarves, 3 cupcakes, and a cactus this winter. Not bad. For my next project, I might even try cables or even entrelac. Do you have any suggestions for a project for a pretty beginner knitter?