Knitting a Necklace

The blanket I use for my backgrounds was knitted by the lovely Virginia Campbell for my little boy, Felix.

My one random purchase at Unravel was 70% super fine alpaca and 30% blue-faced leicester DK in Mustard and Moss from UK Alpaca. I had to have it because it was so soft and squashy, I loved the colours and it was on offer (£3.50 per ball rather than £5.50). Gill and Sarah (my Knit Night buddies) said that I could always make socks out of it, so that rather sealed the deal for me.

I would like to learn to knit socks and I found a wonderful tutorial by Kristin at Silver's Place after a bit of Googling. Ok, so this shit just got complicated. I mean, four needles and trying not to drop them and/or all your stitches? Sounds like a recipe for complete disaster, as I'm not renowned for my dexterity. Indeed, that's one reason for starting to learn crafts: getting better at doing stuff with my hands. Add that to the fact that I bought two different colours of wool and I'm just not so keen anymore. I will learn to knit socks but I will start with a single colour and not complicate things more than necessary.

So, what to do with my mustard and moss alpaca? Well, while at Unravel I saw a few knitted and crocheted necklaces that I thought were pretty creative and there was also a very fetching example on the final episode of Dancing On The Edge (set in the 1930s), worn by the character Sarah. It looked simple and I loved the idea of pinning the two strands together using a brooch at the collarbone. I think I will use some of the felt that I bought at Unravel to make a flower with a button or bead centre. This way I also get to practise my sewing skills! 'That is totally something I could do', I thought.

So here is the project in its infancy. I'm using 9" long, 4mm needles, cast on fourteen stitches in the Mustard and am practising my stocking stitch (knit one row, purl one row). I have tried stocking stitch once before and it came out a complete mess because I find purling a bit of a fiddle. The picture above shows my second attempt because I got several rows done and then realised I'd somehow gained two stitches (I probably accidentally did a couple of yarn overs while purling).

I went back to the You Tube videos I originally used to learn to knit (Knitting Tutorial for Beginners) and checked that I was doing stocking/stockinette stitch correctly. Some people might find the style patronising but that is precisely what I need: please treat me like a clueless idiot and show me each step nice and slowly, thanks. My second attempt is going pretty well and I think it should curl around  itself in a pleasing way and therefore be a little more casual than the 1930s version. I haven't quite decided whether to knit random stripes in each colour (some thick, some thin) or to use up all the Mustard and then use as much Moss as I need to achieve the desired length.

What I need next is a large brooch pin, something to go in the centre of the flower and some coordinating thread. Watch this space and I'll let you know how it progresses.