Knitting Grammary Lessons

I believe that I have alluded to my planned knitting grammary lessons here before. Well, I do believe that it is now after Christmas, and I am ready to start thinking about them again. So, what exactly do I mean by "knitting grammary"? Well, I've known how to knit most of my life (I don't even remember learning, it was so long ago, though I do remember learning to purl). When you have known something for so long, you tend to fall into habits of doing things just one way. My knowledge of techniques is extremely limited, and I have really only begun to branch out from knitting and purling in this past year. Because I learned so early and didn't really pursue knitting as more than an occasional diversion until a year ago, I haven't done a lot of really basic things, even though I've known how to knit seemingly forever.

For the past year, my focus has been on new stitch patterns, because it's really exciting to learn new kinds of stitches and put them into projects after such a long knit-purl diet. Now, however, I think it is time to expand my view a little more, and to go back to the very basics and do some real studying. This is my ulterior motive for wanting The Knitter's Handbook, and a large part of the reason that I got Knitting in the Old Way a few months ago. In order to broaden my technical knowledge, I have devised my knitting grammary lessons. Basically, I want to go back and learn the grammar of knitting; all the little pieces that can be put together in different ways to create new projects. I am planning to start with casting on and binding off, perhaps try some different styles of knitting, play with pairs of increases and decreases, and generally just do a lot of swatches. Now, I am not a fan of swatching, but I am very interested to actually compare all of these different techniques for myself. You can read about them all in books, but it's just not the same as sitting down and knitting them and seeing what the differences are. I'm sure the swatching will make me crazy, so these lessons will probably take some time, but I'm hoping to find a lot of new favorite techniques in them, and solidify my understanding of how one goes about choosing the best techniques for a particular project. Grammar has never been my favorite subject, but being able to speak intelligently is worth the effort. I am hoping that a study of knitting grammar will similarly improve my knitting skills. Ready for an adventure in swatching?