Natalie Knits

(A picture from Spring 2006 Interweave knits,

Hi to anyone who comes across my new blog. Thanks for visiting! I have been thinking about blogging for a long while now, and I finally decided to take the plunge. I read a few knitting blogs regularly, and I always appreciate the inspiration and reflection they provide. And then I often think a response, but it fails to materialize, as I think maybe it would be weird to comment on someone's blog when they don't know who I am (so to speak, or write, I guess). So I thought maybe it wouldn't be so strange if I had my own blog, where people could come to get to know me.

And... I think I have started such a good project, and I am so excited about it that I want to share! I have always loved working with yarn and fiber, and I usually make scarves, or something similiarly simple. But for a while now I have felt that I need to prove myself as a knitter, and take the plunge and try a sweater. So I spent a long while looking at patterns-- I wanted something not too hard, but also not too plain. And sweater patterns are so long!! I am used to mastering some sort of stitch pattern and being good to go for the project. Last week I went to my wonderful library, and checked out a pile of vogue knitting and interweave knits magazines from the last year or so, and hauled them home to browse. I often see things that I think look beautiful, but the pattern looks too complex, or I think it wouldn't look quite right on me. But when I was paging through the magazines, I found it! The perfect pattern for my first sweater!

It is from the Spring 2006 Interweave knits, and it's the Drop-Stitch Hoodie. I am a hoodie sort of girl (and I just like fun words like "hoodie"), and when I read the pattern, it magically made some sort of sense to me (at least I think so!). Then I went to the yarn store and picked out lovely grey merino, even if it's just cheap yarn (pattons, on sale). My friend Molly advised me to start out with a cheap yarn, and I think she was right, and this yarn was ok on my budget. So I bought it! And I knew I made the right choice because I had a feeling about it and I just couldn't stop smiling. I am a loyal follower of Cara's blog, and the excitement she conveyed about her last few sweaters made me long for that sort of knitting passion. I thought, how can such a big project like a sweater actually be fun, and not drag on forever? Well I think that maybe I am experiencing what she wrote about, a sort of knitting groove that I didn't know I was capable of.

A few days ago I cast on, and I am already almost done with the back! I can't believe how fast it's knitting up (although to be fair, I am spending quite a bit of time with it).
So I will try to figure out how to post pictures of what it will be when done, and how far I am. Look for those soon! And thanks for visiting my blog!