For my thirtieth birthday, I decided to splurge and get myself a birthday present. And what did I pick out? Something practical? Something yarn-related? Something that I knew I’d use?
Of course not. Instead, I got myself a ukulele! A baritone ukulele, actually (which sounds like a guitar, but is small and easy to play, like a uke).
I’ve been slowly teaching myself how to play over the last year and a bit. I’ve learned a couple handfulls of chords, and I know a few songs (unfortunately, I’m a fairly terrible singer, so singing where anyone other than my dog can hear me is right out). When my dad visits, he brings his bass and we play together. And over the last couple months, I’ve been playing with a ukulele group in Seattle (It’s me and a bunch of old hippies/baby boomers. We meet in a park once a week and play old standards… it’s silly, but pretty fun).
I’m not going to be going professional with my ukulele playing, but I’m having a great time learning a new skill- I’ve never really played a stringed instrument before (I tried to learn guitar in high school… it went… poorly). And, I think it’ll make a good excuse to visit Hawaii again.
In celebration of my new hobby, let’s look at ukulele inspired knits!
I stole the strap from my old guitar to put on my ukulele, but I really like the idea of making a strap myself. I think it should be in a cute, tropical color!
Ukulele Strap by Lise Gray
You guys know I love tiny things, so of course I’d love a tiny ukulele (which are tiny to begin with, so a mini one must be super tiny)!
Melee Ukulele or Guitar by Mad Crochet Scientist
It gets a little chilly, playing in the park in the evenings, even in June. So maybe I should make myself a Hawaiian-themed blanket to keep me cozy when I’m playing with my uke group.
Hawaiian Flowers by Sarah London
Have you been learning any new skills lately? Do you play any instruments?
On the Needles 
I used to play guitar, but the neck broke years ago, rendering it unplayable (it was basically a plywood guitar, nothing fancy). I’d love to take it up again (maybe with a better quality instrument), but I also have ukulele on my list (my dream starter instrument is a concert size Cordoba, heard a lot of good reviews for it), as well as mandolin and violin. Don’t know if I’ll ever learn them all, though. I’d have to figure out how to sell my knits first.
A baritone uke, though? That’s pretty cool.
I’ve played clarinet for 20 years this September. I picked it up in elementary school and loved it; I even play with a local community band. Unfortunately, other instruments escape me. I hated piano, only borrowed an alto sax in college, and was horrific at guitar.
Ukulele chords used to be on music instead of guitar chords as is more usual today. I have some old books that have them. I play and teach guitar – it’s a tricky instrument!