I joined TGKA way back in 2011 and ordered the Master Hand Knitting Program in 2012 but other than gather references, print out the instructions and then reorder the updates each year, I never really started. I have too many goals and two of them are big ones, this MHK and my CEN (certification in Emergency Nursing).  I finally ordered specific yarn for may swatches; Wool of the Andes, bare from Knitpicks, and some Lionbrand fisherman’s wool as back up.  I am not sure why I didn’t choose cascade 220 like most of the people working on this project are using. Hopefully the exact yarn we use doesn’t matter. Last night I started knitting the first swatch and am already noticing every imperfection in my knitting. I have occasional loose stitches in the field and sort of irregular selvedges.  I think I will just keep knitting the first few swatches and block them before I pass too much judgement on them. I keep going to the Ravelry page and reading about what everyone else is struggling with and how they handle it. I find I waste a lot of good knitting time reading when I should be knitting.

Here is the start of my first swatch. Baby steps.