A Little Learning Experience

I've been playing around with the ball of Kid Silk Haze I was sent by an oh-so-generous secret pal somewhere out there in the world. This stuff will be giving me hours of fun, not to mention some lessons in lace knitting. I have done two false starts on a scarf based on the Bird's Nest Shawl (I think that's what it was called) in the Folk Shawls book by Oberle. Obviously, there's not enough in one ball of yarn to make a shawl with, but I really like the stitch pattern in that shawl, so I'm giving it a go.

While working with it, I've realized three things about myself as a knitter.

1. I don't follow instructions very well. I apparently skim them, leaving out whole entire sections. This is something I'm sure my 3rd grade teacher could have predicted, right?

2. I wasn't making my yarnovers correctly. This has been rectified, and from now on, purling back on a row with yarnovers will be MUCH easier.

3. I had no clue how to properly do a SSK. I've looked at many of my handy-dandy books for instructions, and none of them did any good for me. Maybe it's because I knit Continental style and the photos (though incomplete-seeming anyway) were done from English style knitters. I've watched a nice little video, though, on www.stitchguide.com (great site - even if it is done English style, at least you get videos) that enlightened me, I think.

So, with the three things in mind, I will cast on again for this scarf, and hopefully I'll come up with something satisfying enough to take a picture for you.

In non-knitting news, I created something else today using one of my other passions that I haven't done in a really long time. I made bread. Mmmm. Nothing like the smell of fresh homemade bread. And, it turned out really well. When you first start learning breadmaking, you get lots of not-so-great breads (even some that never rise at all). I have long since gotten at least good enough at this hobby to have consistent results that rise each time and produce yummy bread. Let's hope that someday, I will be able to say the same about my knitting! And, to better myself in that way, I've been wondering if it might be a good idea to get certified as a master knitter through the knitting guild (I forget its official name). At first, I thought it would just be a piece of paper, so what's the point? But, the more I think about it, the more I think it may be a nice way of making sure I try to perfect every technique I can, instead of just telling myself that it's good enough when I fudge it on a project. Has anyone done this? What did you think of it?