My First FO -- a trip down memory lane!

I am entering the contest on Lotus Knit's blog ... so here is a picture of my first ever FO ... her name is Carroty and she is 30 years old.

Although I am fond of telling people that I taught myself to knit from a book when I was 34 years old, the actual cold hard truth is that I actually learned to knit when I was in Brownies to get my knitting badge.

Carroty was my first finished object, knit from a pattern in a book I borrowed weekly from the bookmobile for what seemed like a year (but was probably only about 2 months in "grown-up time"). She is looking good for 30, eh? and it is nice to see that she is still a fashion icon after all these years (now that tank tops, Capri pants and a brown and orange palette are back in vogue again!) She was soooo hard to knit at the time ... lots of pieces (no shaping), sewing seams, hooking the hair, and embroidering her features on that incredibly long face (I think my mom or my grandmother helped with the embroidery). I think I cheated a bit on her -- I know I couldn't cast on at 8 or 9 years old! and luckily, she is only garter stitch, or I never would have got the badge I wanted so much, as I didn't know how to purl! I remember picking out the yarn with my mom, and thinking that the colours were "so cool", and that she was going to be beautiful (I think she might be Sayelle by Patons, but I am not sure).

As soon as I had the coveted badge for my sash, the needles went away and knitting never entered my mind again until I was 34 ... and when I picked up the needles then I forgot totally how to do any of it! Apparently, knitting is not like riding a bike -- I retained absolutely nothing! It all seemed foreign to me.

If you want to enter the contest over at the Lotus Knits .... (the prize is some really nice hand dyed yarn), the rules are as follows: (** and if you want to enter my contest, or a few other contests, scroll down a few posts here on my blog and you'll find some more ways to win some yarny goodness!)

"All you have to do to enter the contest is:1.) post a picture on your blog of your first finished knitted item OR what's next in your queue that you *haven't* cast on for yet and 2.) make sure to mention this contest! Scarf, dishcloth, sweater, whatever! I wanna see! Then, 3.) email me at lotusknits@gmail.com (or leave a comment) to let me know you've posted so I can come check out your blog! Let me know what blog you saw the contest on, because for every person that mentions your blog as a referral, you get another entry into the contest.I'll draw two winners on July 4th!"