Getting frustrated

[kmaclean]

Glad to hear that things are starting to go a little better for you! It will continue to get easier as you keep practicing and you'll be feeling much more confident before you know it.

Keep up the good work, and feel free to ask for help as you go if something isn't making sense to you ... sometimes one little question can save you hours of frustration trying to figure something out on your own!

Happy knitting!

[N0obKnitter]

I took a knitting class 2 weeks ago, and have been practicing as often as I can since. I have really worked on my knits and purls and trying to become more consistent.

I finally decided I had practiced enough to actually try and make something. So, I found a simple pattern for a scarf that uses only knit and purls.

Well, I've been working hard on it, and have really been trying to pay attention to what I'm doing. But, I have had to pull out the whole thing twice already. Once, I was on the 4th row and found out I had one extra stitch. I think I made a mistake when I originally CO, so I pulled the whole thing out. Then, I very carefully counted the stitches each time I finished a row, and I did well until the 6th row, and somehow I ended up with 2 extra stitches at the end. I have absolutely no idea how I did it! I was being so careful! So, I tried to pull out the row, but I couldn't get it back onto the needle, so I pulled the whole thing out again.

I'm just so frustrated right now! How will I ever be able to make anything if I keep having to pull it out? What am I doing wrong?

When I took the knitting class, the instructed said knitting is "fun and relaxing". But, so far, this is neither fun nor relaxing! Help!

When I first started, I only used garter stitch. If you find it too difficult to use more complex stitches, why not try Garter stitch until you feel more comfortable?

[ArtLady1981]

I've knit for years, and I can admit I still have challenges with correct stitch counts on some projects, like lacework scarves for example.

Here's what I told a new knitter at our recent South Sound Knitter's Guild meetup:

"Think of knitting like taking a bunch of kindergarteners on a field trip! Everytime you get off the bus, and get back on...you need to do a 'head count'!"

And knitting can be just like that! At the end of EACH row...I do a "head count"...to make sure I haven't lost any children, I mean 'stitches'!

The use of stitch markers between repeats...or in your case maybe between every 5 stitches...makes the 'head count' quicker to count up!

You don't want to lose any kids, and you don't want to pick up anyone new, either!