Knitted Object #1: The Skinny Beginner's Scarf

First ever finished knitting object!

My very first knitted object is complete! It's that thing most beloved of beginner knitters, a scarf in stocking stitch. The only remotely interesting things about it are that (a) I used some balls of vintage wool from the bag full of yarn I was given. I didn't have enough for a scarf of any one colour so I used some similar seeming grey and green wool that I had a bit of; and (b) I did a sort of self-stripe effect thing with the stocking stitch.

The scarf is actually about 1.6m (1.75yds) long, but it's only like 9cm (3.5") wide

This was a total learning piece so I didn't have any expectations about how well it would turn out. However, in the end I was actually pleasantly surprised by my scarf. I expected dropped stitches, but while there are some they're not too horribly visible. I expected my "pattern" to go wrong a few times, and it did -- sometimes I couldn't remember whether I should be knitting or purling and did an extra row of the wrong one. I didn't rip back unless I went wrong mid-row, so those mistakes are still in there. I managed to pick up an extra stitch at one point and didn't notice for a dozen rows, but I left that in too. Extra stitch aside, I also expected to have gauge problems and for the thing to have a lot of variation in width as a consequence.  In reality, I did much better than I expected on gauge. The first section is pretty dreadful -- I don't think there's a consistent row in the first foot or so -- but I was still trying to relearn technique at that point. Once I settled into a technique of holding the needles and moving the thread, the gauge became LOT more consistent within the colour sections, although not between colours. The green wool seemed to stretch a lot more and it's wider as a result. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it as my first knitted project!

In this view all my errors are much more obvious, particularly that added green stitch!

I'm already well embarked on another project, codenamed Knitted Object #2: The Giant Blobby Thing, which is actually marginally less interesting from a technical point of view, as impossible as that might seem. It's knitted on really big needles so even though it's quite large as a finished object it's progressing quickly. It's so pleasing to see the fabric of the project emerge from the needles! I suspect it will take me a couple more weeks to finish though.

A sneak preview of The Giant Blobby Thing.