An Inspirational Pattern

A pattern or technique I aspire to, well there are lots of them actually! I'm still learning in this craft & like that there are lots of things on my to do list. A big one that I'm planning to learn this year is how to knit on dpns or double pointed needles. It seems so complicated & tricky but everyone I talk to says it's very easy once you get the hang of it. So far everything that I've tried has come fairly easy and I just have to stop thinking of how complicated it looks & just take one step at a time. I have a facination with fingerless gloves & most of them are knit on dpns. I have a pattern in my ravelry queue for Owlings Mitts that are so adorable, I also have another pattern for fingerless gloves in my queue that I'm anxious to knit. It's easy to keep adding things to my queue & there's just not enought time in the day to knit what I want!

I also want to learn how to do amigurumi toys. They are so cute & there are so many different patterns out there. You can make them big enough for a regular sized stuffed toy, can make a mobile for a baby's room, you can make toys for dogs & cats and donate them to shelters. There are so many uses for the toys and so many different patterns that get my creative juices flowing & I want to jump right in! I have a crocheted baby doll that my great grandmother made a long time ago. She made 2 of them, and I think both my grandmother & my mother have played with them. Now I have one & my sister has one. They are great heirlooms that we both have to continue to pass down to our kids & grandkids. I don't think there's anything better than that. I want to make heirlooms that my kids can continue to pass down. I didn't know my great grandmother very well but I think I have an idea as to what kind of mother, grandmother & great grandmother she was with these toys that I continue to hang onto.

A Tale of Two Yarns

I've come to learn quite a bit about different yarns in the last year & have only begun to scratch the surface of what there is to learn about these magnificent fibers! There are two that stick out among the rest that were definate learning experiences for me.

The first one is the LionsBrand Homespun, very beautiful yarn with tons of colors that caught my eye. My inexperience in knitting came through when I cast onto a scarf during a roadtrip. It was very hard to work with, didn't show much stitch definition and the yarn seemed to break quite a bit. I'm a tight knitter & still learning so that project was frogged before we got out of the car. I donated all the yarn I bought (an embarrasing amount) to various people who enjoyed it more than I did.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is my first knitpicks purchase, 4 balls of Comfy worsted yarn in a deep purple. This yarn is fabulous!!! It is luxuriously soft, easy to work with, shows excellent stitch definition & it's machine washable! What more could you ask for? I made a scarflet for a friend of mine & neither of us could stop rubbing the scarflet on our faces because it was so soft. I think this may be my go to yarn when I'm not sure what the heck I'm doing! I know that the money spent on comfy worsted will be well spent, I can always use the yarn for a scarf, hat, gloves, pretty much anything! It's fantastic yarn :)

Knitting Anniversary

Well it's been a year since I started knitting, I have to say I've come a long way in a year! My fingers aren't so clumsy with the yarn & knitting needles. I've learned a lot about knitting tools & different fibers & yarn, and I've come to know that I have a serious yarn addiction! I only allow myself to buy what will fit in my knitting cabinet so there's at least some limit set in place. I have knit with different types of needles and found that I like the wood needles over the acrylic/plastic types & the nickel ones. I have completed several projects & frogged a few too, all part of the learning process. I am very proud of how far I've come in the past year being a self taught knitter (with the help of a friend & knitting videos) and I'm very excited to see how far I'll come in the next year. I hope to complete more projects and also learn to knit in the round on circular needles & double pointed needles or dpns. I'm very active on ravelry.com and am participating in my first knitting swap! It is a great hobby that has given me confidence, something productive & relaxing to do, it is something I can do for myself or for others, and it's something I can talk with my mother & grandmother about (both active crocheters) Here are a few projects from my first year knitting :)

Hello Spring!

Thank goodness it's finally here!!!!!!! I think this has been the longest winter ever! I am so glad to see the sun shining & be able to open the windows and get some fresh air! I needed this weather. I got some lettuce planted & some other plants for my russian tortoise, Betty, to graze on. This spring is going to be so busy, I have a cousin getting married in June, I'm going to Colorado in July, I have 5 birthdays coming up, my bridal shower in June & my wedding in August. And I'm turning 30 in July! I don't think i've ever been this busy in my life but it will likely be the only time I'm ever this busy. I hope anyway. I have changed my schedule at work so I only work 4 days a week instead of 5. I'm hoping to get lots of knitting and relaxing done on that extra day off. I can't think of anything more relaxing than an afternoon nap in a hammock on a perfect summer afternoon. That will definately need to be a weekend ritual :)

I'm a snob

So the yarn shopping trip I mentioned in my previous post was accomplished today. I went to Michaels and found some cool yarn. It's soft, machine washable, cool colors.... I could've had a better price tag but oh well! I didn't find any yarn for the baby blanket, nothing was soft enough. I am usually drawn to all the color options in the acrylic yarn, but it's not soft enough for me. It's scratchy, I wouldn't want my baby wrapped up in a scratchy acrylic blanket! Or my dog's sweater made out of that! So I looked at other softer (and more expensive) yarn but wasn't happy with the colors. I did find some yarn for the fingerless gloves I want to make, found some soft yarn for the charity dog sweater project, and also got some sugar n cream brand for the gulf wash cloths. (Found out today that project deadline has been extended to the end of summer, yay!) So it was a very productive shopping trip. Also picked up some crochet hooks, we'll see where that goes. I think I will do some shopping online for the yarn I want for the baby blanket. I've got some time to look so I'm not worried yet. But I've come to the conclusion that I can't use the scratchy acrylic for just any project. I want something softer and better to knit with. Yes, I've become a yarn snob

Knitting on a road trip = Disaster!

So we went to the Houston area for vacation last week, a 9 hour drive from where we live. My first thought, I'll have tons of time to knit while in the car :D I was working on a pattern I got online so I didn't have it with me, it was only 4 different rows that repeat so surely I would remember? Well I did remember but somehow got backwords on my rows so the whole project had to be frogged. I was so dissapointed in myself! I should've printed out the pattern and brought my sheet from home that I marked my place down on. Then it wouldn't have gotten messed up. So I decided to put that project away for a while and work on a new one. The old one still upsets me! lol But the new one is going well, and yes I have the pattern and everything all right in front of me. It may be a while before I try to knit on the road again, maybe I'll stick to playing with the radio for now . . . .

Rainy Day

Well, I'd love to be playing warcraft but my computer will shut itself off after a few minutes of game play : ( No good! So I'm working more on some knitting projects. I am trying to find a way to organize my yarn stash and other items. I'm running out of bags to stash things in! I have picked up some more needles and am going to try do knit up some hats for charity with a friend. Which means learning to knit on dpns and learning to knit in the round. I want to order a set of dpns from knitpicks but think I should try it out first & make sure I can get it before I spend that much money. I also want to work on some kitty mats (like big pot holders) for our local humane society. I've found some cute patterns for some toys too. As I'm searching for patterns I'm finding a lot of crochet patterns I like so I just might pick that up again. I used to crochet when I was younger but quit when I got into high school and haven't picked it up again. But I think I just might? I was hoping to get some landscaping done this weekend, but I think the rain will keep me indoors knitting and blogging! After all the projects last weekend and a crazy work week, I need some relaxation.