Lacy Keyhole Scarf

Oh, look what the cat spat out. Yes people. I've finally completed my first project in the Craftsy Knit Lab class which I signed up for.

I decided I should model the scarf. Perhaps it'll make you smile or laugh. I'm not accustomed to taking photos at this hour in the morning so I can't get the lighting right. Yes, that's me in my home wear - $5 tee and $5 shorts. And yes, I colour coordinate. Alright. Next time I'll pretty myself up. Promise.

Here's a closer look. I've left in the mess in the background in the name of keeping it real. Alright, I was too lazy to retake the pics or crop.

It took me a long time to knit this thing. I'm finding it hard to call it scarf. I think it's quite hideous. When it's worn, it's not too bad. As I never really learnt to knit before, you could consider this my first knitted project.

This scarf is knitted in two parts and joined in the center. One half of the scarf has a small hole to insert the other end of the scarf. I did not block the scarf because I think this kind of scarf is meant to be curly. Alright, I was too lazy. Besides I don't think I'll ever wear this scarf. I used a yarn that I already had in my storeroom and it's probably not the best yarn to use for such a scarf. It's scratchy and too thick. Also, I don't like to have anything so tightly wound round my neck. It makes me feel like I'm being slowly strangled to death. I can't even wear high neck tees.

This is just my opinion but if you go into this Craftsy class without any idea how to knit and no one around to help you and you dive straight into the first project, you're likely to have a lot of problems. I would suggest you practise your knits and purls first.

For those of you who are also following this class, I have a couple of tips for the Lacy Keyhole Scarf. When you make the first half of the scarf (without the hole), you should follow the written pattern all the way. If you knit along with the teacher (Stefanie Japel) and reference the written pattern at the same time, you're likely to think she's not following the pattern. But she kind of is because the end result is the same.

But for the second half of the scarf, I thought it was better to knit along with her for the purl ridge and keyhole section. I couldn't tell if she followed the written pattern because honestly, I really got lost. Sometimes the teacher makes mistakes but she corrects herself so you really have to follow what she's saying. Anyway, the difficult part in the second half was to create the hole. Even though I watched the specific lesson over and over again, I still ended up with an extra stitch right in the middle of the hole. I wished she had slowed down in the binding off. Anyway, even though I had followed the lesson faithfully, I still ended up on the wrong side when I reached the lacy part. I decided I didn't give a damn and just added another row of knit. It solved the problem for me.

I learnt a few things from this project. Well, I didn't learn how to do them. I learnt I lacked a lot of skills. Firstly, I need to be able to visually tell which is a knit and which is a purl stitch. Right now they all look like interlocked noodles to me. Secondly, I need to be able to fix dropped stitches. Right now I just do whatever I think is right which usually turns out wrong but you won't know until later. Lastly, I need to be able to "unpick" stitches to fix an error. Without these skills, my knitting will always have mistakes.

I have two more projects to go for this class. They look a lot easier!