How to Knit: Tutorial 3, Casting-off

Happy Tuesday all!

Today was a wonderful summer's day here in SA. Hot, vivid blue skies, and signs of growth all around... ooooh I LOVE summer. Winter and me don't really play nice together, so I am enjoying every moment. I had to collect some photographs for a client today, and it just so happens that the binders' office is at the flower market. I walked around the most glorious flowers, roses, orchids, lisianthus, carnations, and so on and on ...... stunningly beautiful! I really felt a tremendous thankfulness for the beauty I could experience :) I bought some bright pink gerberas, and some purple roses for Linda, some red roses for my mom, and some lovely apricot coloured roses.... and all this was on impulse, I should actually have collected the pics and left, but was so taken by the loveliness...

And just when you thought it was safe to go into the water...um, sorrrry....kitchen, Marmalade once again makes his appearance. He was seen sculking into the kitchen, and when I shoooo'd him, he ran to the corner where the milk is kept, and as brazen as "if you please", he sticks his snout into the corner, and sits!!!!! No fear.... the little miscreant!
Obviously, he thought, that if he can't see us, we can't see him...So now I have a major dilemma.... my girls have vowed permanent rioting should any harm come to Marmalade...does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can deter Marmalade from establishing permanent residence in our pantry?

Now, thankfully, back to knitting!

Ok, so you have learned to do the two foundation stitches in knitting. That's cool, because you have a whole world of items available to you to knit now! All you have to learn, is the cast-off and you can start to make the mystery toy I have been planning... :)

Step 1. Ok, you have completed 18 rows (9 knit rows, and 9 purl rows), and you are back on the "knit"side. Knit two stitches.

Step 2. Using your left hand needle, you will push the point into the loop of the first stitch that you knitted in Step 1. Take a look above.

Step 3. Taking care not to let the second stitch (from Step 1), slip off of the right hand needle, pull the first stitch over the second and allow it to come off the right hand needle.

Step 3. I haven't yet let the lifted over stitch drop, so that you can see exactly what it looks like.

Step 4. And this is what your work should look like now...

Step 5. Knit another stitch, so you again have two stitches on the right hand needle.

Step 6. Repeat exactly as before...lift the first stitch over the second, and let it off the right hand needle.

Step 7. Repeat this procedure until the end of the row, where you are left with two stitches on your right hand needle, and nothing on the left.

Step 8. Repeat again, don't worry that there are no stitches on the left needle, use it to loop the cast off stitch.

Step 9. Leaving a generous tail, cut the working yarn.

Step 10. Being careful not to twist the last stitch, thread the tail end through the last stitch, and gently pull tight.

Step 11. Voila! You are feeneeshed mademoiselle.... :)

And so your square is complete. Fear not that it doesn't yet look like a square, but like a rectangle....you will learn how to block your squares tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will hopefully have a bit of time to post some interesting links, and perhaps do a new

word of the day!

Have a lovely evening,

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)