Adventures in knitting

I have done a fair bit of knitting lately. Not only did I finish my daughter's shawl, but I have made a couple of calorimetries. They're fabulous headwarmers if you want to wear your hair up or just don't want to frizz your hair by wearing a hat. Plus, they keep your ears toasty warm. I made one for my friend Marge who lives in Michigan, and another for my friend Angie, who lives in California. I'm working on a sage green one for another Californian friend, and the next one (hopefully the last for a while) will be for me. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the two that I've made recently, but I'll make sure to post a picture of Vanessa's calorimetry (aka knitted headwarmer thingamabob) when it is done.

I've been attempting to learn to knit Continental style, but I think I'm going to throw in the towel. It looks so easy, and is supposed to be faster, but I just can't get the hang of it. My grandmother, who taught me to knit in my early teens, didn't knit Continental. She was what is often referred to as a "thrower", meaning that instead of holding the yarn in the left (inactive) hand and passing it back and forth using the index finger (Continental style), you hold it in your right hand and "throw" the yarn across as you knit. It is slower, but given that when I knit Continental, my stitches are all twisted and it doesn't feel natural to me, I find it faster than Continental. I gave it a shot. And it just didn't work out for me. Not a big deal. I have more control of my tension if I throw, and I learned it that way. My grandmother was not a slow knitter, so in time, I'll be the fastest thrower in the west *LOL*

I haven't started my knitting bag yet. I hate the circular needles I bought since the yarn gets hung up on the joins and makes me cuss and swear. I'm hoping to get a set of KnitPicks Options. They're pricey, but I'd never need to buy needles again since they have all the different sizes in the set. I've heard nothing but good things about them.