And so begin the line-up of Christmas gifts!

Now that Christmas is over and I have given out all the gifts that I made, I have things that I can post again!

I made my nephew a hat for Christmas, but I couldn't find a pattern that I really adored.  So, I combined two of them to try to get closer.  I started off with a P1K1 pattern.  The pattern calls for me to continue this for the entire hat.  There are a couple of things I dislike about that.  First, I think K1P1 is crazy annoying for an entire pattern.  I like to be a bit lazier than that!  Second, I am afraid that all of the stretch that that creates might actually become a problem as the hat gets worn and slightly older - stretching out TOO much.  So I plain knit every other round, which ended up twisting the p1k1 more than I had anticipated.  Not bad, just not expected.

This was the finished result!

If you look really closely there is a change in the texture.  That was definitely unexpected, but I think unless you are actually looking for it, or if you know what you are looking at, you wont notice it while it is on my nephew's head.

I also knit a hat for my niece.  It is definitely too big for her currently, though she didn't pull it off immediately, which is a good sign.

I thought the points that this forms at the top were just too cute for words!

I will be posting more soon!

I need to knit and crochet faster!

So I think I have finally figured out the chainless foundation half double crochet stitch!  I think this has been one of the harder skills that I have learned, mostly because even with the great videos that are out there it is hard to see exactly where the hook is going in those videos.  I am certainly no expert at it, but I think I have a good enough understanding of it.  And if not, by the time I am finished with the 47 stitches that I will need for the flower that I am working on I should have it down pat!

I have been working my way through Christmas presents and my yarn stash.  I am in the middle of two Christmas presents, I finished and gifted one super early, and I have finished a couple of toddler hats in the past two weeks.  It is hard to see a noticeable difference in the amount of yarn I have, but reason tells me that by making these items and giving them away that I am, in fact, working through it!

I need to get myself together enough to get some more pictures taken and up.  With the number of things I am working on or that I have completed recently I have no good excuse for not having pictures!

Lacey difficulties

So, this is the baby blanket that I have been working on, on-and-off, for quite a while now.

For my first project that has intentional holes it hasn't gone horribly.  However, I do struggle with keeping the proper number of stitches because it calls for 145, but the pattern V shapes look like their should be 12 in each, plus 6 on each end of the blanket.  So, I often get myself into trouble with that.  Exhibit A of that is here on the second row up, the really wonky section that looks nothing at all like a V shape!  This was pretty early on in the pattern and I still hadn't quite figured out what  I was doing.  I could have ripped it out, but chose not to.

Later, once I had the pattern in my head better, things went quite smoothly, though, as you can see below, there were still some hiccups.  On that row third from the top you can see the bottom of the V pattern is not done correctly.  Once I realized why I was messing up, the 145 stitches vs. 12 per pattern section, I quit from frustration.  I am sure I will get back to it here soon, but does anyone have any suggestions on how to make sense of this in my head?  http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/precious-baby-blanket is the pattern that I am using.  Am I just missing something that makes this more difficult than it should be?

Socks!

So, I have taken the plunge.

I haven't really seen a cause to knit my own socks.  I don't wear socks that often and I don't have a thing for cute socks, so I just never saw a need.  However, while shopping at the Loopy Ewe a couple of weeks ago, I had purchased enough this year to make the Loopy Groupy minimum and I got a free skein of sock yarn.  So I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up a cheap set of needles and while there they had some sock yarn 50% off, so I grabbed some.

All of that to say I have started my first pair of socks. And that I plan to do at least a couple of pairs of socks. I have settled on a very simple pattern of k3p1 just so I can get the hang of making heels, turning the work for the shift from leg to foot and doing toes.  I have some other much cuter patterns that I want to try, too, but I figured I would start simple so that if, and when, I do mess up those new pieces that I haven't ever tried before, the sock will still, hopefully, look ok.

I know that socks are the staple item to knit for some knitters out there.  It isn't so much that I have had anything against making them, but I do insist on making items that I am going to wear.  I know some people who have made tens of shawls but they never wear shawls.  Though I understand the fun of making something like that, I just can't bring myself to make lots of something and spend hours of time making things that I or someone I know is not likely to ever use.  However, the new job has me on my feet for 10+ hours a day, and come winter time I understand that it can get rather cold in our building.  So, aside from the yarn being on sale or free for these, I also think that I might have cause to use them this coming winter.  The pair that I am starting with is a variegated super wash wool with some polyamid, hopefully meaning that I can wash these when they are finished without a problem.  I will take a picture as soon as I get a couple more rows done so that you can see the color.  I only have two rows finished at this point, so you can't really see much coloring yet.  I will get working on it!

Pulling out projects

Well, hello lovelies!  I hope all is going fabulously in your knitting and crocheting worlds.

I have been doing my best to get back to doing at least a little bit of knitting or crocheting on a daily basis though, of course, there are days that it just isn't going to happen.  Last night I ended up completely pulling out the first about 8 rows of a lace scarf that I had started on a while ago.  It just wasn't turning out nice and evenly.  I am not sure if I was doing something wrong or if the long breaks between rows and working on it were just creating inconsistency in my work, but in either case I couldn't handle it.    I find that sometimes I have to start a project, work on it for a bit until I understand what is actually happening in the pattern, then pull it all out so that I can start again.  That visualization helps me a lot even if it means I have to pull out most projects.  Time consuming but my OCD tendencies appreciate it long term.  Plus at the end I feel like I have a better and more professional looking product.

I was thinking last night that I might try to start working on some items to sell on etsy.  I bought some inexpensive yarn last year and my very first completed crochet project was an ear warmer/headband.  It is something that is super cute and I love wearing it.  I bought more of that same yarn and I might try to make the same pattern.  It is simple but cute and warm.  I wore it when I rode my bike to class during the winter.  Doesn't mess up my hair as much but kept me nice and warm.

Mostly I have been working on larger projects that I don't yet have pictures of.  I am about half way through the baby blanket that I started months ago.  I haven't touched it in probably a month because I just needed a change of pace.  Perhaps I will work on getting pictures of it taken today, including the parts that I really messed up on.  I wouldn't mind just being done with that.  I want to see how it washes up, too.

Oh, something I did do was buy a shelf that has 9 little cubby holes.  I have put most of my yarn (it doesn't all fit) into that so that I can easily see what I have.  Plus it is up off the floor and makes for a cleaner look to my apartment.  I am working on paring down my stash because I really don't need NEARLY the amount of yarn that I have.  I have been good about not going and looking at more yarn for quite a bit - I have probably only purchased about 4 skeins of yarn in the past 6 months or so.  So at least I have stopped increasing my stash, at least!  I will get a picture of that shelf to put up here, as well.  I just need to knit and crochet faster so that I can work through all of this at a more reasonable pace!

I hope all is well in your worlds. I will work on getting some pictures taken today of the various things happening in my needle-art world!

Mindless projects

I have been making even more wine bottle carriers, I have 3.5 left to do.  Then I think I am going to quit these for a while.  I haven't worked anymore on the baby blanket, though I think I will soon.  Same with my niece's fingerless gloves.  I just haven't been feeling like actually thinking about or focusing on counting.  So I have been doing the super easy no-counting-needed wine bottle carriers.

Do you have a favorite pattern that you turn to when you don't want to think?  When you just want to feel like you are accomplishing something but don't want to work on a new pattern, or count, or whatever the case may be?  If so, list it here!  I'm interested, and I am sure others are, too!

Hooray for completion!

So, I finally finished my little shrug!  I ended up having to frog an entire row because it was just too big.  I also attached the arms slightly differently because it was still too big around my arms.  I think if I were to do it again I would stop the increases at the end of the rows earlier.  I think that that would solve the problem, but I didn't want to rip out 5 or 6 rows and have to redo it all.

The other night I was also working on the baby blanket that I am knitting.  I did screw up pretty big time on that, but I don't know how, and don't want to, frog back to that to get it to work correctly.  Luckily it is just a repeating pattern so when I have finished this section I can get back on track without a problem.  It will just have to live with being rather imperfect.  It will annoy me forever, I am sure,  but I highly doubt that most people will even notice unless I point it out.   So, I won't point it out, except maybe on here! Perhaps someone can tell me if this mess up is fixable or not.

I am also working on fingerless gloves for my older niece.  I promised them back at Christmas, and I am finally getting around to making them for her before she comes out for my sister's wedding.

A super cute basketweave-type pattern on the front.  And on the back just plain stockinette:

As you can see I am using DPNs to make them.  I am not a huge fan, and I might eventually try this in a magic loop.  The needles in this just seem to always be in the way, and I have sharps, so they often hurt my fingers after a bit.  It would be interesting to see if the magic loop makes this an easier pattern for me to complete and finish.  

Knit night!

So, I have to tell you about the knitting group that I have.  They are all fabulous, wonderful ladies and I haven't been able to see them since January because I had school on knitting night.  It should have been a crime!  Alas.  Tomorrow will be my first night back since that, yay!

When I run into snags I can always go to them and ask for help and someone is always willing to show me or help me.  I admit, I got super lucky with accidentally finding this group.  I was about to head down to my dads, an hour and a half away from me, and I stopped into this store one Thursday evening around 5.  A couple of ladies were knitting on a couch there, and there were other chairs.  I asked if I could sit down and I was told absolutely.  I pulled out some stuff that I had been working on - at this point I had only been knitting for 2 or 3 weeks.  I had read about some people who were yarn snobs and who had big problems with others using acrylic yarn.  So, though I am not usually a nervous person, I nervously asked if it was going to be a problem for me to use acrylic yarn.  I said that I had purchased it and my needles at the thrift store, but I didn't want to be shunned.  Rather than that the most fabulous woman got up and said oh here, have these and she gave me about 7 skeins of yarn - cotton, wool, some acrylics, etc.  She had apparently won them (correct me if I am wrong, my dear) and she very sweetly and graciously told me to use them well.

Since that point I became a regular at the shop on Thursday nights.  I have gotten lots of help on things that I wasn't sure how to do - knitting in the round, puff stitches, and the like.  I have to say that, aside from the fact that I was quickly obsessed with knitting and crocheting, these ladies have kept me interested and seeing their fun projects and their skill is really inspiring.  They told me how some of the things that I had done, even prior to joining, were well beyond what most beginners do.  Needless to say that was a nice ego boost.  I didn't know that some of the things I had done were hard because I had taught myself through online videos and so I didn't know what was supposed to be hard or not.

There are certainly still many, MANY things that I haven't tried or that I don't do well.  I am still scared of socks and the flap thingie or whatever.  I haven't yet tried any blouses or sweaters in large part because shifting from the main body of the piece to an arm worries me. Anything that has that type of shift from knitting in one direction to another scares me. I have only just begun to use decorative yarn overs for the baby blanket I am slowly working on.  So far they have turned out really well and the blanket is going to be super cute when I finish it.  Though I have a fingerless glove made I have not yet pulled out the knitted in waste yarn to start making the finger gusset.  I have also not mastered the skills of changing yarn colors or skeins with non-wool yarns, though I kind of make due.  There are other techniques I want to try that I just haven't found a pattern to use them on.  But, all of these things will come with time, I know.  I try to focus on one new skill at a time, become comfortable with it, and then move on to something else.  I am sure that by the end of this baby blanket I will be fine with knitting yarn overs and the particular decrease that this blanket calls for.

In each of the new skills that I learn there are plenty of mistakes.  But as soon as I realize what I was doing wrong I can generally figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.  I generally don't bother going and fixing it, for a number of reasons (in the baby blanket I am worried about the yarn overs getting lost and the decreases being too difficult to get back together) but I usually figure it out after only a few rows and then the rest of the piece is just fine.  My anal side really doesn't like the mistakes, but I am learning to accept them and, because I do learn and I don't make that same mistake again, I just accept that that is part of hand knitting.

So, even with my OCD tendencies I can accept the fact that I am a beginning knitter, that I will and do make mistakes because I then learn from those mistakes and I don't make them again.  And I really like that.  It keeps my brain functioning without having to read 3 entire books in a week, ha!

Best way to improve knitting?

I have been a bit all over the place today with knitting and crocheting.  I have done two more rows on the baby blanket which makes 12 total of something like 145, ha!  I have also been working on the shrug that I mentioned and posted about yesterday, and I have done a couple of rows on my next wine bottle carrier.  Needless to say, none of them are finished, but I have made progress on all of them.

I'm still trying to figure out good ways to get better at knitting, aside from just doing it all the time.  I am about to start trying to knit with some fingering yarn (really skinny yarn that is often used for socks), which I haven't ever done before.  I am not sure if it is more useful to knit with all sorts of things to get better or if it is better to stick with worsted and get good with that before moving on.  Either way, I am having a lot of fun, but I would be interested to hear opinions of those in the know!

I went for a mani/pedi today that a friend treated me to and now I don't wanna mess up my beautiful nails!  They look so fun when I am knitting and crocheting with them, though!  In any case it was super relaxing and just a good time hanging out with her and a couple of other friends.  A great way to finish off my last semester of school, probably ever!  Unless I get a wild hair again that makes me wanna go for a PhD.  Forget underwater basket weaving, though!  I wanna do knitting or crocheting!

So many projects, so little time!!  In other news, I still haven't heard back about the job, so I don't know yet if I can afford pretty yarn or not.  I will keep you updated!

I love making progress on projects!

I'm about half way through the last of the 5 wine-bottle carriers that I am making for my girlfriends.  This is a picture of one in progress, three completed but not felted, and then the one that I had completed earlier.

I hope to work on getting these felted tomorrow, though I am not sure that they will be dry enough to give away on Friday afternoon.  We'll have to see!  After this I have 4 more to make - one for me, one for each of my sisters, and one for the woman letting me use her washer all the time!  Haha.  I think I might take a break from them for a day or two before jumping back in.

I have been spending entirely too much time on Ravelry lately and I have about 500 patterns that I would like to make - yet another reason I need to knit faster!  I am starting to get my stash under control - almost everything I have now fits into a basket.  So I need to finish a baby blanket, and keep going on these wine bottle totes and I should be down to a reasonable level.

Once I have these totes done I am going to work on a new pattern for a little lovey.  It is an idea I have had for months now, but I just haven't had the time or the brainpower to put towards it.  When I figure out how I want it and whatnot I will post it on Rav and I will put the link here.

I interviewed for the job that I really want, I wont hear back until next Monday about it, though.  So I am anxiously awaiting word there.  If that happens, after some more basic necessities, I will be able to buy more yarn!  Which, of course, means knitting faster so that I can get to that yarn!

I have already begun brainstorming for Christmas presents, besides the girls.  I still haven't settled completely on which pattern each will receive, but I sure am having fun trying to decide!

Speaking of which, the clutch that I felted in the two tones of brown - I am not completely sure how to get even and straight cuts into each side for the handle.  And on the one that felted really small, can I just sew in a zipper and/or a lining for that?  I have seen some that have a lining but I am having difficulties finding good instructions for it.  Anyone here have a good suggestion on where I might find some of that information?

Can I just be an amazing knitter yet? So impatient!

So, I finished knitting a second version of my door stopper.  This is it prior to felting, about 54" long.  I paid a lot more attention to its size as it shrunk in felting.  I fully closed one side of the tube, and half closed the other side so that they would felt that way and I would have to do less seaming afterwards.

I don't have a picture of it yet because it is still drying before I put the beans in it to fill it up.  However, I shrunk it to 36" long, to match the width of my front door.  It is a little wider than I might prefer, but I am sure that it will be fine.

I am really interested in felting these days, though I have concerns when I am doing it.  I want to felt a couple of bags for Christmas gifts this year.  Perhaps after all of the practice I will have in felting these wine bottle holders for my friends will give me some more confidence and I will just have more experience in knowing what to look for.

I really want to be a faster knitter.  I have so, so many patterns that I am dying to try.  I just can't seem to get there fast enough!  I know I have only been knitting and crocheting for 9 months, but gosh darnitt I wanna be amazing already!  Chop chop!  Hahah.

I also really want to try a bunch of different dresses and skirts.  Part of the problem with those, of course, is the yarn itself.  I fully understand why natural yarn is expensive.  However, that doesn't make it any less frustrating for me!  So I am doing my best to make due, to check Craigslist and shop just the sales.  It does mean that I can't buy from the local shops for the time being, though.  I have two sweaters from the thrift store that I am pulling apart.  I am thinking of using some of the yarn to work on a skirt in the green and a dress in the purple.  I figure when I run out of the purple yarn I can create an accent in white cotton, which I already have, and make it look cute that way.  But, we'll see how it goes!

I think I have kept up with pictures on here of my projects, but in case I have missed some I also have them on Rav under my profile 'hopesndreams' if you want to check them out over there.  As I think I have mentioned before, too, I have my first pattern up there as well for a bedside rug.  Bedside Rug  Right there in fact!

Pictures and fun things!

So, I finally got a bunch of pictures taken today!  Here they are.

 These are the twin bags.  They did come out differently, the knit one is much stretchier and wider than the crochet. But my guess is that it will shrink more, too, because there is more open space.  It is fun to experiment, though!  I apologize for not having anything in this photo for scale, but each is 10" tall.

This I just couldn't help but make.  It was super simple, but I think babies should all have a Yoda hat!  It is pretty awesome.  I added the ties because I know that some babies (read: my niece) like to pull their hats off.  Foiled!

This is that same pattern that my niece is wearing in green and white with a red flower.  This one is, obviously, a lot more pink.  I haven't yet added a flower to it, I can't decide what color to go with.  I thought about purple, but I am afraid that that will just take it over the top.  So, until I decide, this is it!  I really do love this pattern!

After I made my sister her washcloths for Christmas I had just enough cotton from that skein left over to make this washcloth.  It is an easy pattern, but the pattern gives it enough design in the knit to still be interesting.

These were just some super quick facial cleansing pads that I whipped up, also made from absorbent cotton.  I only have the two at the moment, I want to try them out and see if I like them before I bother to make lots.  I just like the idea of having reusable items for things like this.

This is the bottom edge of the baby blanket I am making.  The green rings are stitch markers so that I don't have to count to 145 every time I go across to make sure that I am making the right stitches in the right place.  This is being made from a ball of yarn that I got from the thrift store.  I decided to use it because it isn't so typically PINK, though I do love my pink!  A nice peach color I thought was relatively neutral, and even if it isn't, it will be something that most people aren't giving to a baby.  

This is all on one long circular needle - part of an interchangeable set that I got as my Christmas present this year.  I love the needles!  They are all super nice to use.  They are Hiya-Hiya brand and although the cable tends to curl up, the needle tips are absolutely amazing.  Good choice to ask for them and a fabulous gift!  I use them a TON.

This is the pre- and post- felted version of my door stopper.  The colors did change some, though the lighting exacerbates the change.  This gives a sense of just how much a felted item shrinks - that is a quarter sitting on both of them.  The bottom one is filled with beans now, too, so that distorts the shape some, but in any case, it shrank dramatically. I apologize, it looks like I took the pictures in opposite directions.  If you look at the large purple section on the top photo that is on the left-hand side you can see that same section on the right-hand side in the second photograph.  Either way, it shrank A LOT.  Which is kind of the point.

This is the necklace that I mentioned earlier today.  As you can see it is not attached to a chain or other necklace, but this is the crochet portion.  I use crochet thread or floss and a very small sized hook to crochet around plastic rings.  I then just sew each of the rings together in whatever pattern I like, use a small bead to hide the thread from the front, and voila!  I am excited to play with this with a lot of different colors and different combinations of the rings.  They are relatively quick and easy, and once I figure out how I want to attach a necklace to it, I should be able to make them for both myself and for friends.  

 

Well, this very wide variety of items that have been recently started and completed hopefully show some of the range of items that I like to do.  I am far from an expert.  I notice a lot of mistakes in my work and imperfections.  But, over all, I don't think I do half bad considering that I have been doing this only about 9 months, give or take.  I enjoy finding new projects to make and then playing with them until they really become my own.  I like the exploration that is possible with all of these types of projects.  It is a freaking blast!

My amazing model

This was my very first knit hat.  It stretches quite a bit, so its really nice for babies who grow so stinking fast!

These were my little girl's Easter gifts!  Clearly she makes them look better than they were made, but she can't be blamed for that!  This first one is a shell stitch crochet hat with a super simple flower that I made for the contrast.  I think it turned out pretty well.

So, she is admittedly not in to hats right now and enjoys taking them off at the first chance she gets.  The fact that her mom got a picture in three of her hats is really quite impressive!  I love this pattern and I am currently in the middle of making a second version of this hat.  It is simple, easy to work up, and keeps sun out of baby's eyes and off the tender head.  It also provides just a touch of shade for small shoulders when necessary.

Baby hats

Well, because I am temporarily taking a break from making baby hats until I finish a project or two for myself, I thought I would go ahead and show you the three that I have made so far.

Nothing too fancy, but they are nice and cute and simple.  They have a fair amount of stretch to them so that they will fit a wide variety of babies and will hopefully last a couple of months.  I have not gotten my consistency down completely, but it is mostly in size that that is happening, and I know it is happening because I am just not paying very close attention.  I don't think it's a huge deal at this point that the tails on top or the height of the beanie are exactly the same from one hat to the next.  These are all made from different brands and types of yarn, but I haven't decided if I have a favorite yet or not.

What I love about this pattern is how I have been able to work on it during class.  I figure even if I don't work on it the rest of the week, if I work on them during my 3 hour class I can almost get a complete one done a week.  I don't finish the hat off or get it onto DPNs (double point needles) until after class since that takes a tiny bit of thought.  But once I have the body done during class it doesn't take long at all to finish the hat off.  So, I will probably keep working that way, it is going well so far!

Easter baby presents!

I decided that my niece needed some cute stuff for Easter a few weeks ago.  So rather than working on my thesis like I needed to, I made her a couple of hats and a new blanket!  Her mom is going to try to get her to wear the hats long enough for a picture in them, but currently she takes things off her head the second you put them on.  So, in the meantime, here is her summer sun hat and a cute blanket for her to play on.  The hat was too small for the mannequin head that I have, as it should be, given that it is for a little cute baby!

This blanket used some of the yarn called Bunny Tail.  Obviously I ran out of the yarn at the end - I was using a needle 1 size up from what the pattern called for, which is probably why I ran out.  In any case, I still like the blanket - it is super soft and cuddly for a super soft and cuddly niece!

I also made her a shell stitch hat with a flower on it, but I seem to have forgotten to get a picture of that before I took it down for her.  So, hopefully her momma can help us out and get her to stay put long enough for a picture.  Silly little girl!

How on earth did I get so obsessed?

Welcome to all my new acquaintances from around the world!  I just figured out the community "stuff" and I have subscribed to a number of knitting and crocheting forums.  Lots of really nice and very creative people out there.  I am looking forward to future conversations with a large variety of new people.

Apparently I cannot knit up as much of a storm as I had hoped - we only got a dusting of snow here in Northern Colorado.  I'm not a huge fan of the snow, but I would rather have snow now than another High Park fire like last year!  Our fire season here has already started, I would like to keep putting that off as long as possible.

In more knitting/crocheting news I finished up yet another project yesterday and I have finished one of a pair of slippers that I am making for my sister.  When I have some time I will try to get those up here for your viewing pleasure!

Knitting and crocheting are often skills, as I pointed out in an earlier post, that is considered very old fashioned and grandmotherly.  I certainly had that idea in my mind.  Even when I started knitting I thought it would never be for things to wear myself other than perhaps a scarf.  Little did I know how many amazing patterns and options there are out there!  It has the tradition of being handed down from mother or grandmother to daughter or granddaughter.  I had no such luck.  My mother died when I was 21.  I only recently realized that my mother could crochet, and very well I might add, when it dawned on me that a blanket she had re-done years and years ago was fully crocheted.  I saw it down at my dad's the other day and it really is well done.  My grandmother lived across the country from me, and though I assume she knew how to knit and crochet, I am honestly not sure.  Even if she did, the distance would have been prohibitive in a lot of ways.  So, I decided to teach myself.

I started out by going to Michael's (a craft store) on one of my breaks from work.  I was wandering around and noticed that they had some free patterns hanging around the yarn section.  I grabbed a few of those, and one of the baby bootie patterns was what I began my knitting with.  I asked some poor stranger what kind of needles I should get, and honestly I haven't used the size 10 since.  I find that, currently anyway, I prefer a size 6 or 7 needle.

For the uninitiated in needle sizes the smaller the number the smaller the diameter of the needles.  In Europe, the UK, and Australia they all use millimeter indications, but the US likes to be weird and insist on numbers.  Apparently we can't handle the metric system, even in our knitting needles.  Crochet hooks work similarly; in the rest of the world they have a mm designation and in the US they are given a letter.  The smallest letter I have actually seen is an E.  Smaller than that, I believe, and they go to numbers.  The numbered ones are generally made of steel because they need the extra durability because of their small size.

The thickness of a yarn determines, generally, what size hook or needles you will use.  (Crochet uses a single hook.  Knitting uses two straight or a circular needle that are used together)  The thicker the yarn, the bigger the needle or hook.  I have made two afghans that used 4 balls of yarn at a time and size 50mm needles.  They are enormous.  The bigger the needles or hook, the bigger the stitch which often makes a project go faster because you are covering more area with each stitch.  I'm not sure I am explaining that really well, if not let me know and I will try to clarify!

Anyway, back to the story.  So, I got some free patterns and a free pamphlet on how to knit.  The pamphlet didn't help much - I needed someone to show me.  So I got online and went to knittinghelp.com.  As I have mentioned before, that website is brilliant and very good for beginners.  She shows each stitch clearly and slowly so that it is easy to follow along.  The first night I tried knitting it went all wonky.  I was talking to a friend and drinking, though.  So that might have had something to do with it.  The next day I picked up my needles and it just worked.  I understood what I was doing, though I was by no means quick, and I knew then that this would be something I would seriously enjoy.  And now, it takes up most of my free time!  Ha!

Knitting up a storm...literally

Well,  my knitting frenzy continues.  I think the incoming storm to Colorado might be a result of negative pressure from all of the knitting I have been catching up on!

I have finished at least three projects this weekend - one of which I started before Christmas.  It is fabulous to not feel terribly guilty for enjoying some free time, it is awesome!  I have started another baby hat for charity and I am going to continue trying to finish up older projects.

I have had some people ask me how I "taught myself" how to both knit and crochet in a week.  I found a couple of sources of info that were extremely helpful.  www.knittinghelp.com was awesome and has really close-up and detailed videos for learning how to knit and how to do a variety of different types of knitting.  I decided to go with continental knitting - she offers video's for both.  It just seemed easier to me than English knitting for my hands.

For crochet and some nice crochet patterns I watched videos on youtube from bobwilson123.  The lady there is very detailed and specific and she has a cute Australian accent, too!  The cow hat and the baby newsboy cap are both her patterns.  I do not do them justice, but I think I get better with every project I do. I find what works for me and begin to apply those new skills.  You can find her on Facebook if you wanna keep up with the various patterns she creates and then shares for free.  Really awesome!

So far I have written one pattern, and I have put it up on Ravelry.  It is called Bedside Rug - it is pretty simple but it is quite nice and fluffy.  I have a couple of other ideas that I want to finish working in my head and then I am going to try them out before setting them up on Rav.  I can't tell you what they are yet, but when I get it all worked out I will let you know!

I am also thinking about getting an Etsy shop set up for myself.  At the moment I do not have enough items that I want to sell, but I have a couple of patterns that I think might make for good things to sell come next fall/winter.  So, perhaps by that time I will be able to start something out on there, as well.  It wouldn't ever become my sole job, but I really do enjoy making these things and I think it would be fun to try and sell some of what I make.  At least, at the moment it sounds fun and interesting.  Any thoughts on what might sell well over there, or that you might like to see in an Etsy shop?  I'd love to hear from you!

Some more projects

Well, I wanted to add some more of my projects on here.  If anyone is interested in working on the same project, I am happy to link you to the place that I got the pattern.  Because they are not my own I wont share them on here, but I will be happy to send you directly to where I got them from.

Without further ado, these were my next few projects.  I quickly decided that, in part because of the fact that I have been broke for 2 years+ (I'm a graduate student) I would make items for everyone for Christmas.

I have a friend who is obsessed with everything cow related.  I found this pattern online and I knew it would be perfect for him.  I did change the eyes from the original pattern - these have more of an eyeball than the others did, and I liked them better.

My niece, who is now 10 months old, was the reason that I started to knit and crochet.  So many, many of the items that I have made have been for her.  This is a super simple but very cute hat.  This is crochet, like the cow above, and it worked up in probably less than an hour.

This is the eggplant/grape/other purple veggie/fruit hat.  I think it is cute for little ones!  I learned intarsia with this, a very simple version of it, but it wasn't hard and I am sure I could do more intricate patterns now that I know how to go about it.  This is also the pattern that I am using for the baby hats that I am going to send with my sister for Doctors Without Borders.  I am not going to use the two colors, mostly because those types of things that we think are cute often don't translate across continents.  So I am just doing nice, bright, little hats in the same pattern, but a single solid color.  It is something super simple that I can do without looking, until the top portion of the hat, but it keeps little baby heads warm!

This hat is a little newsboy cap that I made for a very good friend of mine for his 2 year old son.  Super duper cute little newsboy cap.  I was very happy with how it turned out.  The one I made for my brother wasn't quite as fabulous, I am not sure what I did wrong with that.  But this one was just super sweet.

I'm not positive if you can see this one clearly or not.  This is a washcloth with a Harry Potter Sorting Hat on it.  It is made by using purl stitches to make the hat stand out against all of the knit stitches.  It wasn't perfect, but I learned a LOT - from reading charts, to how to work stockinette stitch on a flat item, to seed stitch, and a variety of other things.  I made three other washclothes, with different objects on them, and the rest after this turned out much better because I had learned from my earlier mistakes.

This hat I made for the 5 year old brother of the 2 year old of my good friend.  I spent a really long time on this.  You can't tell from this picture, but the face of Thomas comes out from the hat itself by about 1/2 an inch.  This little boy absolutely adores Thomas the Tank Engine, and when I found this pattern I knew it would be perfect.  He was so, so happy with it.  He wants to wear it to school, but isn't allowed to because his dad is afraid he'll lose it.  But, little guy loves to wear it.

I have a 15 year old nephew who I began teaching how to crochet while we were out of state for a family member's wedding.  He asked if I could make him something and he asked for a tie in colors similar to this.  I said I could see what I could do.  This was actually really difficult because of the color changes.  Each time I changed color I had to get that end to be hidden away, which is difficult on a tie that doesn't have an actual front or back side to it.  In the end I got more than enough length for the front side of the tie in these three colors, then finished off the rest of it in just black.  So around the collar and the skinny part of the tie are all black, but it gives it a cool look to see a pure black knot on top of this multi-colored tie.  My nephew was really happy with it, and that is all I need.

This was still a work in progress when I took this picture.  This went to the momma of my new niece.  It is an infinity scarf that has no beginning or end and kind of curls around on itself.  I really liked the colors in this yarn, very bright and fun.  This is only about half, or less, of the finished width, but it is a very very simple pattern.  I plan to make more of these types of scarves at some point.

And finally for today, I decided that my niece needed some little Santa booties.  I made her a Santa hat, too, that didn't turn out how I wanted it to.  But these booties and the hat, both, would be cute for any little one.  Fairly quick and fun!

I will stop there for today.  If you haven't noticed I tend to have more items that are crocheted than knitted.  Crochet allows for more versatility in the items that I have been interested in making so far.  I am sure that as I become a better and faster knitter that I will use that more often.  But when making appliques (such as the Thomas face and the cow features) it is infinitely easier to crochet those than to try to knit them.  That is why most, not all, but most knitters have at least some basic crochet ability, too.  If you want a flower to put on an item it is much less time consuming to crochet one than it would be to knit one.  It also tends to be more forgiving than knitting.

That being said, I really want to be an amazing knitter.  I will continue to work on crochet, but I will also work on my knitting as well.  I don't have a favorite, though I do find crochet easier in a lot of cases.  I want to be really good at both, and so I continue to make things in both.  Plus, by having both skills when people ask me for an item I have a better chance of being able to say yes, I can make that.  It has been a lot of fun learning these skills - even if my family does make fun of me for being a 95 year old grandma.  They say that until they want me to make then something!  Ha!