Lace Table Runner

This lace table runner was my first knitting project (& the first thing on my needles period). It's acrylic, but that really doesn't bother me since I enjoy machine washable fibers. Throughout the project I experimented with different types of increases & decreases. It truly is what I learned knitting on.

I'm not a big fan of being afraid of knitting. No one ever told me not to attempt lace first, so I went ahead & tried it out. Really made a great way to learn not only knit & purl, but also increases, decreases, & how to correct mistake stitches.

That first foray into knitting is most likely why I believe that those skills are all those of a beginning knitter. An intermediate knitter should know a couple ways to cast on & off, knit & purl, increases, decrease, & (hopefully) how to read one's own knitting. An advanced knitter should not fear major projects & should be able to design (or at least alter) projects. I've been told that my ideas regarding the levels of knitting are far from accurate. I think I'll have to start looking towards advanced classes for myself even though I consider myself an intermediate knitter (by my own scale) at best.

Not Knitting Incorrectly

It seems that there are many knitters who are telling new knitters that they have their stitches reversed (from "normal") & are knitting wrongly. These new knitters aren't knitting wrongly or incorrectly. It does not matter how the stitches are set up as long as the knitter can read them & understand their orientation. I've posted some illustrations below of both "normal" & "twisted" setups & how to knit, purl, knit through back loop, & purl through back loop. Someday I'll post picture equivalents of the illustrations.