As you can guess from the title, this blog post is about knitting.
I know what you’re thinking: “why does a 19 year old knit?” Well, the answer is that I’m teaching myself to knit for the personal skills development part of my Queen’s Guide award (QGA). I come from a family of knitters, and I thought it was about time I learned how to knit properly after my failed attempt when I was seven – I’m pretty sure the scarf I was making is still in the drawer at my Nan’s house, half finished!
For those who don’t know, for the personal skills development section of the QGA you must complete at least 60 hours of a skill you've chosen to learn or develop further over a 12 month period. Over the 12 months, you should be trying to set and complete goals for yourself in order to challenge your development and help yourself achieve more. For my QGA skill development, I am aiming to complete all the old Girlguiding knitter badges with the help of my mum’s old handbooks and the specifications the lovely people at Girlguiding HQ have sent to me. So far, I’ve smashed the 60-hour minimum in about 4 months so I'm hoping I might even rack up double the minimum by the time I finish the 12 months next May.
Knitting can be a really great way of keeping yourself occupied if it’s a rainy day or if you’re someone who can’t watch TV on your laptop without doing something else - or just to fill some time between doing things. I’ve found that if I craft while I catch up on TV in my room, it stops me munching through all of the snacks I bring myself to get me through my uni coursework. It's apparently good for your health too, as it can be used as stress relief. There are medical journals that say it helps fight dementia.
So, if you want to give it a go, I’d say just do it! It’s not the easiest thing, but once you get the hang of it you’ll be flying. Here are my tips: