I really dislike admitting that I frogged this baby. Although it blocked nicely and looked great at first, I just chose the wrong yarn for this technique. After wearing it once, I found the stitches beginning to loosen and I was losing the ladder effect. It really needs a more “sticky” yarn like a mohair or an angora so the stitches don’t slip. I will chalk it up to experience and move on. Still, the pattern is terrific and I’ll probably use it again. It’ll give me an excuse to play with mohair.

If you’re so inclined, read my notes below:

The project is obviously very easy, but I’m just learning and I’m going a bit nuts here, so this is going to take a bit longer than I thought. Although my first completed knitting project turned out great, I realized that I’ve been doing it wrong. I’ve frogged this piece several times in an effort to get the stitching correct and I’m determined to master this whole purling thing if it kills me! I’m tempted to continue the way I’ve been going just because the end product LOOKS correct, but I fear that as I get into more advanced techniques I’ll regret not doing things the “right” way from the beginning.

I’m using size 11 needles and a worsted cotton yarn which should yield a fairly open pattern. I’m also casting on only 18 stitches to make a scarf rather than a shawl.

Okay, all I need to do now is block it. I’m not thrilled with the ends because I probably should have cast on and bound off even more loosely than I did. Other than that, it looks pretty good. With more practice, I think I’ll be good at this whole knitting thing.

On to the next…