Question for those who knit

[chuicafina]

I'm a newbie knitter. I made one sweater for DS in February, I've almost finished my first knit stuffed mouse and now I'm working on another sweater for DS.

Thing is, I'm slooow as, well, the craft board. I think I finished 4 cm over 4 or 5 nights (the weight of the yarn for this sweater is fine, as opposed to the worsted weight sweater I made last time). At this rate, DS will have his new sweater by spring.

How long have you been knitting and how long did it take you to really get "good." I mean, I know there are lots of different levels so this is hard to describe on a forum, but I'm just curious. Thanks

[charlatti]

I've been knitting for about two years. I'm definitely not fast, but I'm way faster than I was when I first started. I'm working on a sweater for my DD right now, worsted weight, size 5Tish and it will probably end up taking about a month. (I usually knit for about an hour most evenings.)

[cmeon]

Going on 5 years (I know because it was my obsession with putting my then infant son's head into adorable baby hats that got me started). I'm pretty quick now- and love that I can knit without watching my hands (I still have to check my hands with crochet, and I've been doing that longer!). Knitting something boring (no cool stitch pattern or at least color changes) with thinner yarns is not my idea of fun, though- and knowing my habits, I avoid patterns that will end up languishing half-finished foreverandever.

[chuicafina]

Sept 5, 2012 20:27:21 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Going on 5 years (I know because it was my obsession with putting my then infant son's head into adorable baby hats that got me started). I'm pretty quick now- and love that I can knit without watching my hands (I still have to check my hands with crochet, and I've been doing that longer!). Knitting something boring (no cool stitch pattern or at least color changes) with thinner yarns is not my idea of fun, though- and knowing my habits, I avoid patterns that will end up languishing half-finished foreverandever.

Yes! Being able to knit without looking at my hands will be great. And I think you're right about not choosing boring patterns. This one is kind of boring, but since I'm such a newbie, I figure it's good to start easy.

Thanks ladies for motivating me to push on!

[drloretta]

I've been knitting about 5 years.

I've gotten good in maybe the last year or 2. I look back at the crap I used to knit and can't believe I gave it to anyone. I've also learned a lot about fiber types, gauge, "reading" my work to help spot problems, etc.

It also helped that my old LYS owner was very encouraging. I'd see a pattern and she would say, "You can do this. And we can help you if you need it."

[chuicafina]

Sept 5, 2012 22:35:51 GMT -5 drloretta said:

I've been knitting about 5 years.

I've gotten good in maybe the last year or 2. I look back at the crap I used to knit and can't believe I gave it to anyone. I've also learned a lot about fiber types, gauge, "reading" my work to help spot problems, etc.

It also helped that my old LYS owner was very encouraging. I'd see a pattern and she would say, "You can do this. And we can help you if you need it."

I think I need to knit a lot more to become as seasoned a knitter as you in 5 years.

That's wonderful about your LYS owner. I just discovered one close to my house and they have knit alongs and things that I might join one of these days. They usually don't start late enough for MH to get home and put DS to bed though. Someday, though.

[reinedumonde]

I've been knitting about 6-7 years. I think it took maybe a year or two before I considered myself to be "good," but I was knitting A LOT, experimenting with different fibers and techniques, etc.

You know, there really is something to be said for the "boring" projects in finer yarns. They make for great stockinette practice and fantastic tv knitting. Sometimes, with more complicated patterns, I have to make sure I pick something predictable or something I've seen before.

Really, the only way to increase speed is to practice. In college, when I was first starting, I used to time myself - see how many stitches I could do in a minute, etc. I'm not nearly as fast as I was then, and especially not now that moving is getting in the way, but I can still churn out projects pretty regularly.