pleasure or not?

Is this nice? I'm not talking about the Junya Wantanabe X Comme des Garcons jacket...it's the green scarf! I KNITTED IT!

QUOTE
(from some website):
"Knitting will give you a lifetime of pleasure & relaxation. You can create handmade knits for yourself and people you love. When you give a lovingly knit gift, part of you goes into it. Your time, talent, the yarn and colour you select - even the thoughts and feelings you have as you work - are part of your knitted gift."


Hmm...here's my long story:
A new Indonesian friend here told me about this knitting shop in Nanjing West Road with nice stuff, and I went to check it out. 2 days later, I went there again, bought 4 yarns and got started! I was surprised how expensive it was! Anyway, the teacher was a little fierce but she was patient with me and taught me the basic knit. After that, i started to knit the pattern i wanted. The ONLY reason why i took up knitting is to kill time at home instead of watching TV. I remembered that Elvis had to leave for San Francisco, and asked if he will be able to see the finished scarf when he's back...n i said a loud & confident "CAN!". He had only seen my 1st day's effort - 3cm of the scarf. BUT nevermind, I remembered THE QUOTE. Little did i realise it was much tougher & sloooower than I had imagined...
This is going to be my first & last scarf.

I go to the knitting shop every day coz the teacher said it's better to have someone to help me in the beginning when i'm stuck. When i went there the 3rd time, 1 of the teacher (NOT teaching me) said something in Shanghainese and everyone laughed!!! I knew it was not a compliment. In my anger, i left. I joined another knitting class (becoz the teachers work every other day). The teachers at the new class were very nice & patient with me! She estimated 1 yarn-3 days (perhaps at my speed)...so it's 12 days to completion! Gosh! I wont be in time when Elvis comes home!

A few days later, i regretted getting started on knitting...but many people said that i'll feel VERY HAPPY when it's completed...n of course, it'll be VERY WARM ("wen nuan pai")...n i remembered THE QUOTE again! I WILL ENDURE! As i got more "skillful", i finished all 4 yarns in 10 days! BUT, the scarf was too short! I bought the 5th yarn...and it was still a little short. (That's when i took the photo above.) Then, we decided to use another colour at 1 end to match Elvis' individuality! Haha... I chose a brown. By this time, i was already quite frustrated coz the scarf is way too expensive! I can easily buy 10rmb/S$2 "lamb wool" scarves anywhere! But i remembered THE QUOTE! When i was almost done, Elvis took a loooong look at the scarf & said a "Hmmmmm..."
He thought the combination wasnt that nice! I could just strangle him with my UGLY scarf!!!

But i remembered THE QUOTE, and agreed to remove the brown bits & redo another colour. Elvis had to leave again for Bangkok. Before he left, we went to the knitting shop to choose a multicoloured yarn...but it was the day that the bad teachers were there & i didnt want to ask them for help. I went back the next day only to realise that i CANNOT join the 2 yarns coz there's a SLIGHT DIFFERENCE in the thickness!!! By this time, i was going crazy!!!

So i waited & waited...it was already the 3rd week now. When Elvis finally had a little time, we went to the knitting shop during his lunch break...and he decided that THE BROWN was the best colour! I'm sure the teacher was equally happy to help me to finish the ends.
And there was THE SCARF!

This is a photo of Elvis wearing it at work (NOW on a Saturday). He says it's his "wen nuan pai".

I dont mean to deter any budding knitting fans. Knitting dont always have to be so much work. Here's something i knitted "in the midst of being stuck". It is a '"thick-thin-thick-thin" yarn...& the teachers said that it can be completed in a day + only needed 1 yarn! So, I bought it w/o a thought! Hmm...the finished work is not quite what i envisioned of a scarf...but it only took 3 hours of very slow work! So, i cant complain much after all the headache & heartache i went through.


Knitting is really very hard work for me...and i wonder about THE DAMNED QUOTE again.

BUT i'm starting on my 3rd scarf next week...only to realise i lost my needle (when i completed Elvis' scarf). DAMN IT!!! This is really going to be my LAST scarf! I definitely love the TV more!

This might be your inspiration to get started on knitting! Haha! http://www.lionbrand.com/

P.S. The green scarf's knit is called "yuan bao zhen" or the "golden ingot" stitch. We both felt that it was a bit too thick around the neck.