A knitting manual that was very convinced of itself

There are words that sound very reassuring when knitting. “Simple” for example. Or “starter-ready”. Or, especially beautiful: “foolproof”.

You read it and you think, Well, please. Exactly my project. Surely understandable, surely feasible, surely nothing, where later you stare at the needles with a slightly desperate glance.

Tja. Unfortunately, just because a guide says it is simple does not mean that you yourself are of the same opinion. Sometimes you look at the instructions, at the needles, then back at the instructions and realize: “Simple” is a very stretchy term.

It was about the same with me.

I, Evelyn, have already told you that I finally started knitting last autumn. First small project and immediately in love with shock. Since then, I really don’t want to do anything else in every free minute. Very nice for the inner peace, rather medium practical for household and bedtimes.

I started out completely harmless. With countless Sophie Scarves and several small projects. All in an area where one can still persuade oneself: I have now understood. And then a few weeks ago, I thought, Now it's time. I am ready for something bigger.

So I found a project that already has the word “foolproof” in its name. The promises: video instructions, beginner project, well explained.

Shortly afterwards, I also bought the right wool for this project. For a, let's say, not very low amount of money. Whereby the knitting has its own logic: a finished sweater for this money would never buy in the shop, at least not me. But once the same money is invested in wool, it feels totally reasonable.

So I was sitting there with my beautiful new wool, my instructions, my needles and a lot of confidence in the word “foolproof”.

I hit my stitches. The first row on the right. Wunderbar. Alles gut. I was actually already thinking about the finished sweater.

And then came the second row. Smooth right knitting. Sounds harmless, doesn't it? Only I had never knitted left stitches before in my life. Never before! My previous projects had apparently protected me very friendly from it. And all of a sudden, I was sitting there and I realized: Smooth right doesn't just always mean right. Something else learned.

So I had to learn left stitches. Now I can do it. I still don't love them. But all right. Left stitches learned, further in the guide. And then suddenly there was the next great mystery: right-wing increases and left-wing increases.

Ich las es. I read it again and unfortunately did not become wiser from the words. But there were, as promised, video instructions. So I opened the YouTube video, ready for help and a little gentle accompaniment through the world of increases. And then I realized: The video instructions have no sound. None at all!

At first, of course, I thought it was up to me. Maybe my phone is mute. Maybe I'm suddenly unable to turn the sound on. But no. The video was actually mute.

So I was sitting there trying to watch very closely what the hands are doing in the video. Which movement? What scam? From the front? From behind? Why is it so quiet for her and it looks like a single fight for me?

At this point I looked at my big wool sackerl for a moment and thought: It was all for the cat. I'll never be able to do that. Foolproof or not, apparently I was just about to prove the opposite.

This was followed by a phase that, in retrospect, could perhaps be described as “intensive training”. Less beautifully said: I have divided everything again countless times and started all over again. Again and again I had huge holes in the knitted piece. For me, it was not apparent that you have to knit entangled in the left-wing increases. And if you don't know, you don't know.

At some point I made it with a little help. Not very elegant. Not the first time. Not without crisis of meaning. But done.

Meanwhile, my knitted piece is about 250 stitches wide and 20 centimeters long. It exists and it grows. And just because something is described as simple doesn’t mean you have to feel stupid if you still don’t understand it! Sometimes it just takes a bit of patience, a bit of humor, a few new starts and maybe someone to look at it for a moment.

But Evelyn is not the only one who has just ventured a new adventure. Sabine is also currently in a state of emergency. However, this has less to do with incomprehensible knitting instructions, but with a new animal companion.

After Sabines and Christian’s dog Rupert died last October, she and her husband actually agreed that no new dog would move in so quickly because the grief was so great. Tja. And then came Karla.

A three-year-old, sugar-sweet Westie lady with a decent fire under her butt. The shortened summer opening hours are currently used to keep this small rocket somehow in check.

But now back to the woolly topics and to a bit of new summer Strickinspo for you. Whereby we immediately say: For words such as "simple" or "hard" we assume no liability on a given occasion.

Not entirely new, but definitely a very nice summer alternative: For the Grape Tee by Anne Ventzel You can also wonderfully Mulberry Silk by Isager verwenden. Because who doesn’t like knitting with a little silk in the summer?

If you sometimes struggle with the choice of color or yarn for your next project: We have created a bit of a remedy.

From the wonderful Japanese ITO We now have color cards for you. Especially with such high-quality yarns, this is really practical, because colors on the screen sometimes lead a small life of their own.

But now we have come back to the end. Evelyn urgently has to continue working on her project and Sabine probably has no boredom with Karla.

We hope you could have a little fun again and maybe take one or the other Strickinspo with you. For your own projects, we wish you every success, as comprehensible instructions as possible and yarns that are not too offended when you have to separate them again.

Until in two weeks.