Knitting Bucket List

As an employee of a yarn and knitting supply mecca (I've been at JBW for almost 6 years!), I get asked the question, "Do you knit?!", a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. It's a reasonable question, so I don't hold it against anyone, but for years, my answer has been along the lines of, "No, I wish!" or "No, I can't quite get the hang of it." - only slightly embarrassing. And, by slightly, I mean incredibly. I am definitely in the minority at JBW, almost all of our employees are fantastic knitters! I constantly feel like I am surrounded by knitting greatness. I'm only slightly jealous (again, I mean incredibly). 

Recently, I decided that I needed to make a change. Knitting was going to happen in my life, and it was going to happen now! 5+ years was too long to be surrounded by beautiful yarn, and not be able to reap the benefits of having gorgeous FO's (see?! I'm picking up on the lingo!). So, I did what any novice would do. I watched YouTube videos. Video after video after video, to be more exact, but I still wasn't quite getting the hang of it. I was convinced that my internal knitter was broken.

My sweet, sweet co-worker, Brittany, took me under her knitting wing. She teaches the Knitting 101 class in our retail shop, and also stars in some of our instructional videos. She is FANTASTIC! She's so kind and patient, and you know what?! She fixed my internal knitter! She very patiently taught me how to long-tail cast on, knit stitch, purl stitch, and the rest is history, friends! I have now successfully knit THREE hats. Yes, if you can picture it, I did just do a triumphant mini-hair flip whilst wearing one of said hats.

My first hat!

Following my knitting trials and tribulations, you can imagine my excitement when we recently received our shipment of Vogue Knitting's The Ultimate Knitting Book. This is THE book to have, if you're a knitter. I feel like I've found the holy grail of knitting technique books! I snagged one immediately, and have been flipping through the pages ever since.

So, here's the skinny; I am determined to become a true, through and through knitter. I know that it won't happen overnight, but I feel confident that, over time, I can use my copy of the book to grow my knitting skills. Who knows, one day I might even be designing my own patterns...sigh, a girl can dream, right?! In the meantime, I've crafted a "Knitting Skills Bucket List" of sorts. These are the skills from the pages I've dog-eared in my own copy of The Ultimate Knitting Book that I am bound and determined to master someday (hopefully sooner, rather than later!). Until then, I'll keep you posted on my progress! :)

What was your first project? What is/was on your "Knitting Skills Bucket List"? Please share with me in the comments!

Hugs and cozy knitting thoughts,
Jessica