starting out

[adventures_with_kat]

Hey guys

I've recenty lost a huge majority of my vision and have always been to art/crafty things and was looking at getting into knitting.
Do you guys think it is very visual?
Also any good book recommendations to use to help start out?

thanks in advance :-)

Comments

[untonuggan]

I echo what everyone's said here about yarn choices, etc. I would also mention you might want to try wool first, as it's stretchier than things like cotton and thus easier on your hands.

Thinking a bit further down the road - it might be harder to do some of the lace patterns, but there are tons of stitches using just knit and purl that are very, very textural. Every yarn store I've ever been in is filled with knitters/crocheters running their hands over the yarn, so that should give you an idea about how much touch is involved.

It's worth a shot, right?

Also, in terms of first project ideas: I usually recommend that my friends start with hats rather than scarves, because you can just use a circular needle and keep knitting for 6 inches and then you pretty much have a hat. Whereas for a scarf you have to knit for about 60", and it can get frustrating. I'm not sure what would be easier for you, but that's something to keep in mind.

FYI: The decreases at the top of the hat might be tricky, but a "quick and dirty" way to close a hat is just to run a needle through all of the stitches and pull it tight. In the fancier hat patterns, you just decrease until there are fewer stitches and do the same thing. However, because of the decreases you have to switch to using either double-pointed needles or two circular needles for the last few rows. I guess you could experiment with this, or maybe ask someone in your local yarn store or knitting group (or here) for advice. I hope I'm not bogging you down with too much information!

[untonuggan]

As for books, I really like "Knitting Rules!" by the Yarn Harlot aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (she also has a blog). Also, anything by Elizabeth Zimmerman can tell you a LOT about knitting and she is hysterical. Both of these wonderful writers give you freedom to play with your knitting and create your own patterns. They also give you good templates to add your own stitches to. For example: here's a basic hat pattern, now add whatever you want to it. Kind of like: here's basically how you make cookies, but you can add whatever kind of toppings you want or change the flour or what have you.

Neither of them has actual instructions on how to knit and purl. I started out a few months ago with Knitting for Dummies (from a used bookstore) and found it rather impossible, because while the info was good the drawings were done by someone who did not knit. I ended up looking at Youtube videos to learn how to do the stitches themselves, and there are plenty available. I don't know if that's something you'd be able to do, but the audio might help at least.

Good websites: Knitty (an online knitting magazine) and Ravelry (an online knitting community). Both have free patterns.

Also, there was a post in this comm recently about knitting books.