Rock the Knit

Is this goodbye forever? Maybe? Yes, I do like throwing around the word maybe because I like to surprise people. I’ll come back in few months when I have something amazing? A scarf perhaps? A knitting revolution? Follow me on Instagram to keep yourself updated.

I showed my paternal grandmother my knitting progress, you should have seen her face. She was so proud of me, and she was already grading me on it.

Enjoy this meme, I honestly feel like it does represent my knitting journey so far as a beginner. From a messy to a sort of perfection? Wait and see until I start knitting scarfs, socks or sweaters… that’s going to be a whole different story.

Enjoy this video with my progress. I know, I know it’s a vertical video. I should have used my Canon and added more scenery, but finals week are getting closer.

Bye for now, wish me luck for my finals. If you need any music advice you know where to contact me.

My paternal grandmother, she values a lot manual work because she has worked her whole life. She saw me under a different light when I showed her my so called progress with knitting. She usually says I study and stay at home too much, so, I guess this changes one thing. She learned how to knit because of her mother, it really helped her during the World War II to produce garments to keep warm. She still knits until now, however, she only knits scarfs because they are easier. She is done with sweaters, socks and blankets.

My material grandmother also used to knit but, she stopped about a decade ago. But, she still keeps her masterpieces in her apartment to remember what she did. For example, a blanket she knitted when I was born that I always use whenever I stay in Colombia. She also learned from her own mother. 

One craft, two grandmothers from two different nationalities: German and Colombian. It is clear, the craft is passed down from mother to daughter. In my case, there was a generational skip, because my maternal grandmother did not pass it down to my mother. 

As I stated before, knitting is a craft that is passed down women to women in the family. It would nice to break that chain with school programs. The industry is very much gendered based. Most of the tutorial videos on YouTube are by women. Also, the physical stores demostrate it. 

W-O-W

 Playlist now has a lot of of ... punk? I can now knit listening to punk/hardcore music. At the beginning it was so hard to listen to music but now it’s easy peasy. 

With a lot of patience I got there. Slowly, slowly with a bigger knit. I think I can knit and cast off with my eyes closed now. Or is it too early to say that? This knit travelled with me to Amsterdam, Netherlands. No, I did not knit in a coffee shop. 

The cast off, looks more tight on the end, looks awkward but I’m pretty much happy with it. 

I just wanted to show you all how big it was with putting my hand beside it. 

Gif source:

Playlist is getting filled with more fast pace music. 

I have gained confidence to do a bigger knit, little by little. I think I jumped too fast at the beginning in making long knits. It’s better to start with smaller exercises and then to the real game. The I have made from the previous is outstanding, not because I did it but you can see yourself from 0.4. I have somewhat mastered the casting off, and I’m very proud of myself.

I learned how to always knitting very tight because I had the anxiety of losing it.

Gif source:

When I was comfortable enough I did knit in public. I first began on the train I take every day from where I live to university. I also knitted in the library of the university, again before working so I could get ready mentally for my assignments. Last but not least, at Lido San Domenico, in between a break during my shift. I was sitting facing the lake around 1-2 pm, and a lady sitting a meter away from me told her friend “Is this the place to do knit?”. I gave her a heavy stare to make her feel comfortable. LEAVE MY KNITTING ALONE. I was surprised because the environment of the place is very laid-back back, so are the individuals that go to it.

This Playlist is made to knit in public, to have a little boost of confidence. Because sometimes the stares from the haters get way too heavy. They just need to open their minds about knitting in public. 

Gif sources:

Gif 1: https://giphy.com/gifs/season-3-the-simpsons-3x5-26tk1NIB8piCd7SX6

Knitting has been a good therapy from day-to-day life, to get a break studying and work. Now, it has become a tradition for me to knit before I start working on my university assignments. It has become a coping mechanism.

Listen to the playlist I made for internal activism.

In the last few months interacting with knitting I have been thinking a lot about writing a manifesto for female promoters, because, there has not been enough conversation about it. There have been some manifesto’s about women in the music industry but not specifically women who promote shows. The promoter business again, is dominated by men and to enter as a women has it’s ups and downs. But there is also another aspect, promoter are expected to be party animals but I’m not or maybe I used to be when I started? The music environment changes individuals in good and bad ways. Gets you into some circles that you just want to see and not be a part of. I guess I have always been the odd one out in promoting shows in Lugano, Switzerland. Sometimes I think I was placed there as a joke, to see if I would be able to survive? But my passion for music and seeing my ultimate favourite or a band I admire play in my city is a feeling that nobody will be ever be able to take away from me. It’s not all selfish, I also enjoy letting other people discover new genres of music or weird bands. Overall, knitting has helped me find myself in messy promoting game. Maybe, to start a knitting club at concerts?

I’ve gained  more ideas to further my future independent projects. Of course, with a little help of my friends. Sometimes, you might be scared of crazy ideas but if you believe in them and you have friends that support you, it’s the best combination. The key word is collaboration, we can try as much as we want to be “I can do it by myself” but get smart. This means connecting with the right people that you can trust with your projects. I’m speaking from experience, be careful who you decide to bring into your projects. Sneaky snakey people are out there, to take full advantage of your projects. I’m not saying to have a contract but have a clear layout of what you expect and what they should expect. 

Gif sources:

1 Gif: https://giphy.com/gifs/oFNyN0smj99Qyv1Bdv

2 Gif: https://www.harmonieaupetit.com/go-honor-go/

The craft of knitting has given me a new attitude. I don’t like being disturbed while I knit, I lose my concentration.

I was talking to my mother about knitting at bars but she said it would be too antisocial. Maybe I can start a new trend? I think it should be an acceptable craft to pursue anywhere at anytime.*

*Depends on certain events.

Enjoy the Playlist Knitting 0.4, the drums are faster now. So stick to the beat.

Smaller but better. I wanted to start by knitting a scarf but I noticed that the best is to start from a small knitting square. I could concentrate more and perfect my craft with knitting tighter loops. I still need to work on my initial knot and loops, I’m still scared to make them too tight. However, my ending knot is getting better.

By now I don’t use the YouTube tutorials. So I don’t have to stop my music whatsoever.

So my advice, would be to start with small goals and not to get yourself too much ahead of your skills. Know your own limitations.

I’m so happy to see my own progress. In the first photo I’m exhibiting my knitting process just like a masterpiece nailed to the wall. I deeply believe that what I have made is a form of art displayed in such manner (I tend to think that everything I do is a masterpiece).

Anyway, it has been an eye-opening journey. I think I have regained my patience that I had lost. As a child I used to have more patience in doing crafty things but I guess I lost it, with time. Now, I think I have some of it back.

Knitting has honestly helped me, through midterms week as a stress reliever.

I shared some of my progress on my personal Instagram account, I got a lot of positive feedback.

I made the four playlist. They clearly represent my progress in knitting. The playlist start with some docile and slow beat. Because that’s what you need when you begging knitting for the first time. Slowly proceed to what I called “advanced level of listening to music and more confidence in your own knitting skills” which is the final stage (when I become an expert I want to listen to Black Flag and knit). By the final stage I have reached, the beat of the songs are faster to help knit.

I also, learned that I preconception of knitting being a gendered craft is represented on YouTube. Most of the videos are made by women. There is the occasional “Oh look, a man is knitting!”, which is ridiculous. Hopefully, it will change in the future.

My last step now is to show off to my grandmother Barbara and possibly challenge her in a knit-off? Maybe I’m getting too ahead of myself?

I wonder if I knit more in public, more elderly women will become my friends? Maybe they will stop complaining about my generation for a hot second?

I will be knitting my life away just like my grandmother Barbara. I can’t wait to see what the knitting future has in store for me.

Give some food to your ears with Playlist 0.3 Knitting. 

My knitting process keeps on getting smaller, nonetheless, I do see a big progress in my skills. As you can see on the first photo I usually knit in front of my studying desk at home. Whenever, I take breaks from studying or doing assignments. It also, gives me a break from scrolling down from social media, especially, my Instagram feed. I always lose a great amount of time on it. 

I enjoyed watching my cotton yarn getting smaller and smaller. I learned that having a tight knit is important but not too tight. I had to find a right balance.

The pace of the music is picking up with Playlist Knitting 0.2.

This time around, the start wasn’t as rough as the first one. Although there were still some big holes… There is always room for improvement. I think my hands, especially, my fingers have adjusted to the craft little by little.. As you can see on the first photo, I was knitting on my own bed. I wanted to be more comfortable. I also, wanted to get away from my study desk and work for a moment. 

I left some important gifs that show what I struggled the most in this process, casting off the knit. I had about three to four attempts. I still watched the same YouTube tutorial video, “Knitting Basics: Getting Started” to constantly remind me how the casting off works.

On my finished craft, you can see the evolution of my own making. As always the first few rows looks doggy. But, they don’t have to be aesthetically pleasing. At the beginning I thought my mistakes would look more “cute” because I was knitting, but I was proven wrong.

First Playlist Knitting 0.1, is docile, just like the start. 

I took two days of break from knitting. I was getting too frustrated. I needed some time apart.

On the first photo I casted the first row. As you can see the loops are loose, it’s normal for a beginner. I continued to use “Knitting Basics: Getting Started”.  

This time around, I was able to cast the stitch to the other needle. It took me about three to five tries to get it right. My mother could hear me from downstairs cursing. She was no so happy about it, and told me to calm down and to have more “patience”. 

Here, I was knitting at the Writing Learning Center, trying to avoid studying for a midterm.

 As you can see knitting keeps on getting slightly better. Aesthetic wise it’s not that pleasing. I had a hard time beginning and casting off the knit. After that, I did not want to touch my cotton yarn for a few hours.

Sometimes, frustration gets the best of us. In my case it took a lot. I was quite happy of the result but it does look a little bit like garbage. But, that’s what you go for as the first trials.

Well, I have to start from somewhere? Last week I started the practical steps. I touched the knitting needles and the cotton yarn for the first time with confidence. I researched on YouTube “knitting for beginners” and clicked on the first one. Entitled “Knitting Basics: Getting Started” by the channel Hobby Lobby. The individual narrating the instructions was a woman.

IMPORTANT VOCABULARY:

·     Loop

·    Working yarn ( yarn attached to  the big yarn)

·     Cast on stiches ( turning the stiches to the other row) 

I thought I was going well, I thought my mind was not in the clouds but I completely  botched it. I realized it after a day or so, that I did not cast on the stiches in the correct way. I did not follow my personal instruction of having a clear mind while crafting. 

My mistake, regarded how I was not finding the loop to pass the first line to the other knitting needle. I underestimated the craft of knitting. Something I will not do in the future.

I think I was also way too excited.

It’s important to choose the right environment to start it. I noticed that I needed to be in a calm environment with silence with barely any distractions.

As I previously stated in the “Why?” blogpost I told my grandmother Barbara about my new crafting journey. On that same day, she bought me all the materials I needed to start to knit, such as knitting needles and red cotton yarn. She bought two types of knitting needles, 4 mm and 6 mm., she advised to start with whichever I feel comfortable. She stated that starting with cotton wool is best way, because it’s easy to knit. As I get better I could always choose more elaborate wools and technique of knitting. She also told me, that the first few knits won’t be the best and I should not worry about it. That I would just need time to keep on practicing.

Only time and practice will tell, when I can start challenging myself to do socks, beanies, huge scarfs, sweaters and blanket.

I will find information and support from my grandmother Barbara and especially help from YouTube tutorial videos. For sure, no wikiHow would be involved in such process.

My first steps on approaching this craft will be:

·     Find time

·     Have a clear mind

·     Have a good mood

·    Positive motivation

·     Find the “one” YouTube video that will help me throughout this journey

·     Form a good relationship between the knitting needle and cotton yarn

·     Create a playlist to pursue the craft

My tools:

My red cotton yarn.

My circular knitting needles (4 mm).

And a pair of scissors.

I’m crafting this blog to show that knitting can be fun if you combine it with the right playlist. Unfortunately, I’m not that retro to create tape or CD playlist. In this case I’ll be making YouTube playlists to each personal knitting stage I hit. On the other hand, the craft of knitting has been often been, associated with grandmothers or elderly women. I would like to show that such craft is generation-free (babies and toddlers are out of the picture, I don’t know the appropriate age to start knitting?). Also, gender-free, I would like to see more men knit.

Through-out the blog I’ll be applying visuals such as my progress and gifs. I choose the platform Tumblr because I have operating all my personal on it since I was 14 years old. Therefore, I know how to operate it and to push the right buttons to make it look good aesthetically.

I hope to accomplish a new skill that will be useful in the future. But, I also want to show the internet world that ANYONE can pursue such craft. I also want my fingers to rest from all the typing I have to do for university and let them take a break another route. I think that such craft, helps alleviate my stress and escape it for a while.  Last but not least, I would like to enlarge the crafting online community with individuals that enjoy my genre of music. Thus, bridging a connection between two different world.

I would like for the readers to get out of it of this blog is that learning a new craft doesn’t mean their whole life has to be invested. To spare 15 minutes per day or so, is not that hard to accomplish.  Plus, I hope my readers enjoy the playlist I make for each step of the way. Overall, I hope I inspire somebody to pick up this craft or maybe another craft close to knitting.

I choose as my knitting as my craft because ever since was a child I saw my paternal grandmother Barbara knit her way through life. That’s my earliest memory of her. She would always knit for me, socks and matching scarf and beanie. I hated getting socks for Christmas but nowadays I get so happy. They slowly became part of my childhood, teenagerhood and now beginning of my adulthood. It has been incorporated into my identity. The Socks are part of my pyjama wear. Whereas, scarfs have become part of my daily outfits.

My grandmother Barbara is alive, therefore, she is a great resource to better my craft in knitting. It’s great to know that I have an expert by my side. Also, this would create a further bond between her and me. When I told her about the crafting project I saw sparkles of happiness in her eyes.

I want to challenge myself on to continue the craft, to keep preservice. One of my goals it to knit a sweater or even a baby blanket (just like the one my maternal grandmother knitted for me).  I just can’t wait to gift the items I create with my own hands to the people I love. I wonder if I ever have grandchildren, will I be the western stereotypical grandmother that knits?