Make me knit, I said...

Last year I discovered a lovely little shop near me called Make Me It Said. From the outside it looks like a normal gift type shop selling the usual handmade cards, dangly things and personalised gifts that you get in any town. But inside, at the back of the shop, is a large table around which magic happens. Craft workshops and lessons take place here most weeks and they're regularly fully booked. Anything from mixed media to glass, knitting to sugarcraft.

I spotted the beginner's knitting evening and booked myself on back in October, unaware at the time that I would soon find myself in pain and need an operation in December to remove a large alien from my ovary (thankfully large and nasty but benign, and, three months after the op, I am well on the road to recovery thanks to a genius surgeon). So I missed the November workshop because I hadn't got the pain under control. But lovely Hannah who runs the shop, hearing of my impending operation, scheduled a workshop just for me and a couple of other women at the start of December, so that I would know how to knit and have something to do when I began my long recovery of sitting and not lifting anything.

Hannah is exactly the sort of local business we should all be supporting. She goes out of her way to build relationships with her customers, to find out what they think and want and underestimates her own ability as a knitting teacher. She also makes marvellous tea. Life is tough for small businesses at the moment and I hope Make Me It Said is here to stay.

Anyway, the knitting. I have to confess that, as a Brownie, we learned to knit, but Tawny Owl did all the casting on and off for us, so although I can do the knitting part, I didn't know how to do anything else. I do now, and Hannah has the patience of a saint. All three of us left after two hours having cast on and off a few times and learned the knit and purl stitches. The workshop cost (£25) also included wool and a pair of needles and an invitation from Hannah to pop in whenever we were stuck and she would help us out. There is also a regular knitting group at the shop but I haven't been yet. I have also endured endless jibes from my friends about knitting club, old ladies and cats (I don't have a cat but clearly I should)!

So, operation over, I set about my first project - a scarf. I just could not get to grips with purling (this is how basic my skills are) so it was all knit, but it was with much excitement I learned how to put a stripe in thanks to my mum. My mum also introduced me to Pack Lane Wool shop. Less expensive than Hobbycraft, and with really knowledgeable staff. I have since discovered I can print something off Ravelry, take it in there saying "I want to make this" and they will furnish me with the right wool and needles for the job, and advice on how to do it. I think the shop has been there for years but is quite hidden away.

The scarf took about two weeks to complete, between naps, and I don't really like it much but as a first project with no holes in, I'm very proud of it.

My second project involved following a pattern I found on Ravelry for a hat with an enormous pom pom. Again it was all knit because I hadn't yet overcome my fear of purl, but this time involved slipping stitches and knitting more than one stich at a time. More things learned. I also learned that with huge needles (size 10s) and super chunky wool, you can make a hat in a couple of hours. For someone with such a small attention span, to be able to see it growing so quickly is brilliant!

So a hat and a scarf completed in January. And then I packed the needles and wool away and went back to work.