I finally sought professional help for my knitting problem.  Not to cure me of the proclivity, but to show me how to do it correctly.  There's a wonderful business called Hill Country Weavers in the increasingly tony South Congress neighborhood.  I found out through their website that they offer a 2-hour open class on Sundays.  So, after church this Sunday I grabbed some lunch and went over.  The business has a dizzying array of supplies and tools for every fiber art you can imagine.  The yarn, oh the yarn!

Within 5 minutes of entering the store, one of the very helpful staff members pointed out that what I thought was “knitting” was indeed something out of this world and odd.   This confirmed my reasoning behind seeking help.   Then, I joined the ongoing class where I sat with the owner of the business and 5 other students (all women) in a room and knitted for two hours.  It was so much more than knitting though, oh gentle reader.  These ladies were really fun to hang out with.  Their sense of humor was delightful and they told such great stories. Although being a total outsider (and a funny looking dude, to boot) I felt welcomed.

I learned so much more in these two hours than I could have ever done on my own. The improvements to my technique made knitting so much easier and more pleasant and the end result looks so much better.    When I was doing it wrong, my hands and arms got very tired.  With the correct technique it seems the only thing stopping me now will be finding enough time to pursue the hobby.

 I’m still not making anything proper but for the time being I guess I’m making a practice scarf.  I’ll throw the whole thing away and start over once I’ve learned what I need to.  I also bought a few supplies including a kind of butch looking knitting bag/organizer (it’s as butch as such an item could be.)