As many of you know, I've been a knitter, crocheter, tatter for many years and have in the past five years learned how to spin (still learning) and weave (very basic). I am motivated this year to develop my spinning and weaving skills to more than just the basics.
However, I have always had a fascination with quilting. I remember as a young girl watching the older ladies sitting around a large quilting frame in Mrs. Darden's house. Mrs. Darden was a woman that as a young girl came with her parents to Oklahoma for the land run. The quilting frame belonged to her mother. The ladies in the neighborhood would sit around this quilting frame talking, laughing and gossiping while lovingly hand stitching these beautiful works of art. I loved watching them hand stitch those quilts. When Mrs. Darden died, my mother inherited the lovely quilting frame and still has it to this day. With any luck, mom will remember that I want to inherit the quilting frame as well.
So this year, I decided that I wanted to make a small lap quilt. I found that Craftsy had a free Quilt Block of the Month class and immediately signed up for it.
http://blog.craftsy.com/2011/12/craftsy%E2%80%99s-block-of-the-month-with-amy-gibson/
Little did I know that quilting tools are a little expensive let alone how much the cost of cotton had gone up. Wow, I really haven't spent much quality time with my sewing machine in a very long time. But, being the typical, money conscious working housewife, I started coupon shopping for my tools. My local thrift shop has lovely cotton fabric in 1/2 yard bundles for as little as $1.99 and if I go on Thursday, I get 25% off with their discount coupon. Who would have thought that a thrift store could offer a discount coupon. Yep, I am cheap woman.
In addition, I was extremely excited to find that many of the local craft stores offer 50% off coupons for any single item in the store. First item, self-healing cutting matt. Thank you A.C. Moore for the 50% off-normally $22.95, mine for only $10.59 including sales tax. Savings $12.36. Even better, I got another 50% off coupon at the register for my "next visit".
So with a little patience, loads of coupon shopping and carefully monitoring my craft budget, I plan on finishing the quilt by the end of the year. Sure, I could probably go out and buy all the supplies at one time and pay full price; but, I really want to see how much money I can save. So happy New Year and Happy Crafting to all of you. Till next time.
P.S. Yes, I will send photos of progress.
P.S.S. Yes, I still plan on knitting my adorable hubby a pair of socks for each month of the year-can't give up the knitting addiction totally.
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
What Have I Done!
It's official, I've posted a request for test knitters for my dishcloth pattern on the Ravelry site Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Test Knitters/Crocheters.
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/completely-pointless-and-arbitrary-test-knitters-crocheters/1769181/1-25
I'm very hopeful that there will be some brave and daring soul that will be willing to invest their time and materials to make this dream of mine come true. (I currently have crossed my fingers, toes and eyes.)
I'll write more as details follow-wish me good luck.
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/completely-pointless-and-arbitrary-test-knitters-crocheters/1769181/1-25
I'm very hopeful that there will be some brave and daring soul that will be willing to invest their time and materials to make this dream of mine come true. (I currently have crossed my fingers, toes and eyes.)
I'll write more as details follow-wish me good luck.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wanna Be Designer
It's been awhile since I posted to my blog. I'm not sure whether it's because I don't have much to say or whether I feel that what I have to say is unimportant; however, I decided that if I could post at least once a month I might become more inclined to get into blogging. With that in mind, here goes.
After an extremely frustrating time at work, I decided to get off my duff and work on designing a few knitting patterns. In truth, owning a knitting shop, teaching people to knit and designing knitting patterns has been my dream job for a number of years. But as with most adults, sometimes the dream gets put on the back shelf - you raise a family, build a career; and in general, just go through your life one day at a time.
This week, I started working on my first knitting pattern. Yes, it's a no brainer-or I thought so. It's pretty evident that the creative side of my brain hasn't been used for a very long time. When I first started knitting, graphs were not something that most knitters used just pages and pages of written instructions all detailed row by row. Now, knitters are using more graphs to represent knitting patterns and since my brain evidently doesn't have a working visual perceptual cell in it, this has proven to be a challenge. Let me try to explain, when I was a kid in school and the standardized tests showed a flat "box" with the folding lines and you were to determine which shape it would be-my brain decided "all of them". That's the challenge.
So I set down at my computer, opened up a Excel sheet and started putting the vision in my head on a screen. Stepped away and voila-what appeared to be a pattern emerged. Next step, trying to determine if the graph would actually turn into a finished product. With yarn, hooks, needles (this is a knooking pattern-knitting with a crochet hook) in hand, I started working with the graph-can you say oops. Yes there were mistakes; yes, I had to go back to the drawing board several times; but, I have a working graph and a potential project.
The next big challenge is converting those little squares on my graph to written instructions for those knitters who prefer the line by line, stitch by stitch instructions. (I know that this is going to get ugly.)
After that, locating some poor willing soul to "test" knook/knit my pattern to see if it actually produces the same product.
I have to admit that the whole process has been wonderfully frustrating. By that I mean, that it has challenged me in a very unique way, made me feel a little bit better about my abilities to design a more complex pattern in the future and given me a sense of satisfaction that my normal every day job hasn't done in a very long time. Could it replace my current job? Who knows. I'm sure that one little small town woman currently living in a large city has a minuscule chance of being found-but what's that old saying--No Pain No Gain.
So if you are a knitter or knooker and are feeling the desire to take on a challenge of testing my new pattern, leave a comment. I promise I'll get back to you.
Now, back to the drawing board-just had another visual pop into my head and I need to get it down on paper before it disappears. Talk to you soon.
After an extremely frustrating time at work, I decided to get off my duff and work on designing a few knitting patterns. In truth, owning a knitting shop, teaching people to knit and designing knitting patterns has been my dream job for a number of years. But as with most adults, sometimes the dream gets put on the back shelf - you raise a family, build a career; and in general, just go through your life one day at a time.
This week, I started working on my first knitting pattern. Yes, it's a no brainer-or I thought so. It's pretty evident that the creative side of my brain hasn't been used for a very long time. When I first started knitting, graphs were not something that most knitters used just pages and pages of written instructions all detailed row by row. Now, knitters are using more graphs to represent knitting patterns and since my brain evidently doesn't have a working visual perceptual cell in it, this has proven to be a challenge. Let me try to explain, when I was a kid in school and the standardized tests showed a flat "box" with the folding lines and you were to determine which shape it would be-my brain decided "all of them". That's the challenge.
So I set down at my computer, opened up a Excel sheet and started putting the vision in my head on a screen. Stepped away and voila-what appeared to be a pattern emerged. Next step, trying to determine if the graph would actually turn into a finished product. With yarn, hooks, needles (this is a knooking pattern-knitting with a crochet hook) in hand, I started working with the graph-can you say oops. Yes there were mistakes; yes, I had to go back to the drawing board several times; but, I have a working graph and a potential project.
The next big challenge is converting those little squares on my graph to written instructions for those knitters who prefer the line by line, stitch by stitch instructions. (I know that this is going to get ugly.)
After that, locating some poor willing soul to "test" knook/knit my pattern to see if it actually produces the same product.
I have to admit that the whole process has been wonderfully frustrating. By that I mean, that it has challenged me in a very unique way, made me feel a little bit better about my abilities to design a more complex pattern in the future and given me a sense of satisfaction that my normal every day job hasn't done in a very long time. Could it replace my current job? Who knows. I'm sure that one little small town woman currently living in a large city has a minuscule chance of being found-but what's that old saying--No Pain No Gain.
So if you are a knitter or knooker and are feeling the desire to take on a challenge of testing my new pattern, leave a comment. I promise I'll get back to you.
Now, back to the drawing board-just had another visual pop into my head and I need to get it down on paper before it disappears. Talk to you soon.
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Knitting Lesson
Do you remember the first time you learned to knit? Do you remember your first teacher? Can you recall the frustration? Remember the pride of completing your first project?
I remember my first knitting lesson. My mother was our Blue Bird leader and she decided to teach her little group how to knit slippers. I'm not sure how she did it. But by the end of the lesson, we could cast on, knit and purl - what an accomplishment.
The first knitting lesson my grandchildren was in August of 2005. If you remember, Katrina was hitting New Orleans full force and my family had come to stay with us in Tennessee. Well, needless to say, they were a very confused and stressed so grandma pulled out the "kid" size plastic needles, the inexpensive "Red Heart" yarn and started teaching the knitting stitch. We had the typical pitfalls of new knitters: more stitches that we started with; big holes where stitches were dropped and the occasional knitting needle falling out. By the time they returned to New Orleans a few days later, they were not exactly knitting but were definitely having fun.
This past week, I returned to New Orleans for a visit. It has been nearly 6 years since I have seen my grand kids. The first thing they wanted to do was knit. Of course the previous lessons had been forgotten. But grandma had yarn, knitting needles and 3 days for wooly fun.
Katie was the first to start. Katie is 14 and very tall and slender. Her hands are very delicate and can always be seen sitting quietly in her lap. She is soft spoken and kind. Since I have been trying to learn Portuguese style knitting, I cast on a few stitches and got her started on the purl stitch. Within a matter of minutes she was breezing along. After a few minutes, she had developed her own "variation" of Portuguese knitting was was engrossed in her project. By the time I left, she could cast on, knit, purl, cast off and sew a seam. You could see the pride in her face.
Lindsay is the baby. She is short, petite and has very tiny hands. So we got her started the same way as her sister; but, because her hands are so small she struggled. Then I had an "ah ha" moment. So we stuck the left needle between her knees and started worked with the right needle. Similar to the process used when knitting with a knitting sheath or pouch. She looked up and said "look grandma, I can do it to". So off she went to find her "comfy" space on the sofa dragging her ball of yarn on the floor. Lindsay was able to cast on, knit and purl and with the help of her big sister could cast off and sew a seam.
Finally there was Kody. Kody has a tendency to give up when things get hard and for him knitting was hard. Too many motions, too many steps, too much distraction. He expects perfection the first time - so much like his dad. So we went back to the "throwing" style of knitting. He immediately said, :grandma this is how I learned it in Tennessee, I remember this". He was still knitting in the typical Kody way. Knit for 2 minutes-go outside and throw the basketball. Play with the dog. Play his Game Boy. Pick up the knitting. It appears that his specialty is multi-tasking.
So there we sat, grandma, three kids in our own private knitting circle. For 3 glorious days, we laughed, knitted, cooked, joked around and had a great time. When I left to go home, I was the proud owner of 3 wrist warmers.
For me, the chance to pass along knitting to them was a privilege and an honor. The time spent was one of pure joy. I hope that someday they will fondly recall the time when they learned to knit as I do. Maybe they will even take it up again when they are older and tell their friends of how they learned to knit.
I remember my first knitting lesson. My mother was our Blue Bird leader and she decided to teach her little group how to knit slippers. I'm not sure how she did it. But by the end of the lesson, we could cast on, knit and purl - what an accomplishment.
The first knitting lesson my grandchildren was in August of 2005. If you remember, Katrina was hitting New Orleans full force and my family had come to stay with us in Tennessee. Well, needless to say, they were a very confused and stressed so grandma pulled out the "kid" size plastic needles, the inexpensive "Red Heart" yarn and started teaching the knitting stitch. We had the typical pitfalls of new knitters: more stitches that we started with; big holes where stitches were dropped and the occasional knitting needle falling out. By the time they returned to New Orleans a few days later, they were not exactly knitting but were definitely having fun.
This past week, I returned to New Orleans for a visit. It has been nearly 6 years since I have seen my grand kids. The first thing they wanted to do was knit. Of course the previous lessons had been forgotten. But grandma had yarn, knitting needles and 3 days for wooly fun.
Katie was the first to start. Katie is 14 and very tall and slender. Her hands are very delicate and can always be seen sitting quietly in her lap. She is soft spoken and kind. Since I have been trying to learn Portuguese style knitting, I cast on a few stitches and got her started on the purl stitch. Within a matter of minutes she was breezing along. After a few minutes, she had developed her own "variation" of Portuguese knitting was was engrossed in her project. By the time I left, she could cast on, knit, purl, cast off and sew a seam. You could see the pride in her face.
Lindsay is the baby. She is short, petite and has very tiny hands. So we got her started the same way as her sister; but, because her hands are so small she struggled. Then I had an "ah ha" moment. So we stuck the left needle between her knees and started worked with the right needle. Similar to the process used when knitting with a knitting sheath or pouch. She looked up and said "look grandma, I can do it to". So off she went to find her "comfy" space on the sofa dragging her ball of yarn on the floor. Lindsay was able to cast on, knit and purl and with the help of her big sister could cast off and sew a seam.
Finally there was Kody. Kody has a tendency to give up when things get hard and for him knitting was hard. Too many motions, too many steps, too much distraction. He expects perfection the first time - so much like his dad. So we went back to the "throwing" style of knitting. He immediately said, :grandma this is how I learned it in Tennessee, I remember this". He was still knitting in the typical Kody way. Knit for 2 minutes-go outside and throw the basketball. Play with the dog. Play his Game Boy. Pick up the knitting. It appears that his specialty is multi-tasking.
So there we sat, grandma, three kids in our own private knitting circle. For 3 glorious days, we laughed, knitted, cooked, joked around and had a great time. When I left to go home, I was the proud owner of 3 wrist warmers.
For me, the chance to pass along knitting to them was a privilege and an honor. The time spent was one of pure joy. I hope that someday they will fondly recall the time when they learned to knit as I do. Maybe they will even take it up again when they are older and tell their friends of how they learned to knit.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Coming Unraveled
Every once in a while, I have to unravel my knitting. I'm sure that others have had that "experience" as well. This week, I experienced unraveling on a different level.
While my husband and I were out to dinner, we were approached by an elderly gentlemen. He was neatly dressed, clean shaven, caring a walking stick. He had a pleasant smile and a very pleasant manner. He sat down at our table and asked very simply. "I need a to get home." Needless to say, this threw both of us for a curve. First of all, we didn't know this gentlemen. And since we live in a large city with a reputation of being one of the top 10 most dangerous places in the U.S., we were leary of him.
As I watched him and listened to his conversations, it became apparent that he was lost on many levels other than physically. He spoke of leaving the house that morning to take a walk (it was now 930 pm) and how he had taken a wrong turn. He knew his address; however, we were not familiar with where it might be located. As he continued to ask for help, he became a little bit more agitated. Exactly like when I start to unravel a knitting project and my frustration begins to rise to the surface.
Our first response was to contact the management of the restaurant and ask that they contact someone to assist him (like the police). Unfortunately, they didn't get the subtle message of him being confused and disoriented; and just continued to ask him silly questions like did he know his address.
So, just like with unraveling a knitting project we began to untie the knots and untangle the mess. We asked several individuals in the restaurant if they knew where this street might be. A lovely young woman came up to say she knew where his address was and that she would take him home. The lovely gentlemen was very excited and rose to leave with her. A few minutes later, he came back in the restaurant to shake our hand and thank us. In that short moment of time, he again was lost...couldn't remember which young lady in the restaurant was going to give him a ride and started approaching individuals who had just come through the door asking where their car was so that they could take him home. Again for him life was unraveling.
On this day, I saw a life unravel a little bit, the threads of sanity become tangled, the knots of fear start to rise; but I also saw the strength of kindness and caring of a young mother who took the time to untangle this little life that was unraveling just like I'm sure she does in her daily life.
While my husband and I were out to dinner, we were approached by an elderly gentlemen. He was neatly dressed, clean shaven, caring a walking stick. He had a pleasant smile and a very pleasant manner. He sat down at our table and asked very simply. "I need a to get home." Needless to say, this threw both of us for a curve. First of all, we didn't know this gentlemen. And since we live in a large city with a reputation of being one of the top 10 most dangerous places in the U.S., we were leary of him.
As I watched him and listened to his conversations, it became apparent that he was lost on many levels other than physically. He spoke of leaving the house that morning to take a walk (it was now 930 pm) and how he had taken a wrong turn. He knew his address; however, we were not familiar with where it might be located. As he continued to ask for help, he became a little bit more agitated. Exactly like when I start to unravel a knitting project and my frustration begins to rise to the surface.
Our first response was to contact the management of the restaurant and ask that they contact someone to assist him (like the police). Unfortunately, they didn't get the subtle message of him being confused and disoriented; and just continued to ask him silly questions like did he know his address.
So, just like with unraveling a knitting project we began to untie the knots and untangle the mess. We asked several individuals in the restaurant if they knew where this street might be. A lovely young woman came up to say she knew where his address was and that she would take him home. The lovely gentlemen was very excited and rose to leave with her. A few minutes later, he came back in the restaurant to shake our hand and thank us. In that short moment of time, he again was lost...couldn't remember which young lady in the restaurant was going to give him a ride and started approaching individuals who had just come through the door asking where their car was so that they could take him home. Again for him life was unraveling.
On this day, I saw a life unravel a little bit, the threads of sanity become tangled, the knots of fear start to rise; but I also saw the strength of kindness and caring of a young mother who took the time to untangle this little life that was unraveling just like I'm sure she does in her daily life.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Junk Mail Junky
Am I the only person in the universe that looks forward to junk mail? Not just any junk mail of course, but any catalog or brochure that is related to wooly bits. I love to look at the patterns, colors of the yarn, the titles of new books. I lust after the floor weaving looms. (Even though the place I currently live couldn't hold one.) I drool over spinning wheels, drop spindles, niddy noddies, and skein winders. I consider how long it will take me to save for the one ounce of Qiviut, Buffalo, or Yak. Maybe it's the possibilities that I find so intriguing.
My love of junk mail and the possibilities has me wanting to order more catalogs. But I can justify this. I'm keeping my local mail carrier employed. Okay, sure, I'm killing a few more trees--unless of course the paper is being recycled. But those possibilities are so hard to ignore.
Has my problem become serious; is it impacting my family, career; do I need a twelve-step program or an intervention; do I care? No not really. Got to go, hubby just brought in the latest Knit Picks catalog....must check out the newest possibilities and plan the upcoming and future WIP.
My love of junk mail and the possibilities has me wanting to order more catalogs. But I can justify this. I'm keeping my local mail carrier employed. Okay, sure, I'm killing a few more trees--unless of course the paper is being recycled. But those possibilities are so hard to ignore.
Has my problem become serious; is it impacting my family, career; do I need a twelve-step program or an intervention; do I care? No not really. Got to go, hubby just brought in the latest Knit Picks catalog....must check out the newest possibilities and plan the upcoming and future WIP.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Fresh Starts - New Year
Well, it's that time of year again. Time to make New Year's Resolutions that I probably won't keep and a few that I will definitely decide to accomplish.
To accomplish a goal, you have to set a deadline, design the steps to get there and break it down in to parts that can easily be accomplished. I get that. But I've also learned that the goals that I should accomplish (lose weight) are not the ones that I'm motivated to achieve. So this year, I've decided that I'm going to set goals that will be fun for me.
First goal, knit my husband a pair of socks for every day of the week. After all, he really does like my hand knit socks and he deserves a little fiber love for all the time he spends listening to my endless conversations about wool, patterns, etc.
Second, spin enough of my new white wool roving to make 3 skeins of lovely yarn for my first dyeing project. I love the look of hand-dyed yarn and envy all of those talented individuals that make the lovely fiber that I lust after each time I cruise the web.
Clear out my yarn stash. I like many fiberholics I can't resist a soft, fluffy, squishy bundle of yarn. How will I clear out my stash, well Christmas 2011 is coming.
Finally, weave a scarf on my Spencer rigid heddle loom. For those weaving experts out there, I realize that my little loom is classified as a toy; but, I've figured out a way to get a nice tight weave that will make a lovely scarf.
So, now that I've written down those goals/resolutions. I guess I'd better get down to organizing the steps to get them done. Yes, I'll suffer periods of time where the goals will be ignored or I'll wonder why I set myself up for failure. But, can a fiberholic among us really say that these resolutions aren't worth the price? Let the suffering begin :)
To accomplish a goal, you have to set a deadline, design the steps to get there and break it down in to parts that can easily be accomplished. I get that. But I've also learned that the goals that I should accomplish (lose weight) are not the ones that I'm motivated to achieve. So this year, I've decided that I'm going to set goals that will be fun for me.
First goal, knit my husband a pair of socks for every day of the week. After all, he really does like my hand knit socks and he deserves a little fiber love for all the time he spends listening to my endless conversations about wool, patterns, etc.
Second, spin enough of my new white wool roving to make 3 skeins of lovely yarn for my first dyeing project. I love the look of hand-dyed yarn and envy all of those talented individuals that make the lovely fiber that I lust after each time I cruise the web.
Clear out my yarn stash. I like many fiberholics I can't resist a soft, fluffy, squishy bundle of yarn. How will I clear out my stash, well Christmas 2011 is coming.
Finally, weave a scarf on my Spencer rigid heddle loom. For those weaving experts out there, I realize that my little loom is classified as a toy; but, I've figured out a way to get a nice tight weave that will make a lovely scarf.
So, now that I've written down those goals/resolutions. I guess I'd better get down to organizing the steps to get them done. Yes, I'll suffer periods of time where the goals will be ignored or I'll wonder why I set myself up for failure. But, can a fiberholic among us really say that these resolutions aren't worth the price? Let the suffering begin :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sister Secrets
When my sister and I were very young mothers we shared secrets. Like all secrets, ours required that we be quick-witted, stealthy, and have above-average smarts.
My sister's secret was hiding the pages of the phone bill before the hubby noticed all of the collect calls. You see, the collect calls were from her sister who was in crisis at the time and no matter what the time of day or night, she accepted those phone calls. As a result, many pages of the phone bill magically disappeared. To this day, I can visualize her dashing home to meet the mailman before her hubby arrived to snatch the bill out of the mail box. I'm sure that eventually we were found out.
Our other secret was our secret crocheting pattern addiction. We had a favorite store that sent out catalogs each month with the cute new patterns. We would save up our money, split the cost, mail in our order (yes this was prior to the internet) and wait for the goodies to arrive. Once that cherished bundle arrived in the mail it was off to the photocopier, the yarn store and then a little quality time with those patterns, the yarn and my sister.
This memory came to me the other day when I stumbled upon one of those bundles of photocopied patterns from long ago. It brought back so many fond memories and the simple pleasure of having a sister to share secrets.
Psst....don't tell.
My sister's secret was hiding the pages of the phone bill before the hubby noticed all of the collect calls. You see, the collect calls were from her sister who was in crisis at the time and no matter what the time of day or night, she accepted those phone calls. As a result, many pages of the phone bill magically disappeared. To this day, I can visualize her dashing home to meet the mailman before her hubby arrived to snatch the bill out of the mail box. I'm sure that eventually we were found out.
Our other secret was our secret crocheting pattern addiction. We had a favorite store that sent out catalogs each month with the cute new patterns. We would save up our money, split the cost, mail in our order (yes this was prior to the internet) and wait for the goodies to arrive. Once that cherished bundle arrived in the mail it was off to the photocopier, the yarn store and then a little quality time with those patterns, the yarn and my sister.
This memory came to me the other day when I stumbled upon one of those bundles of photocopied patterns from long ago. It brought back so many fond memories and the simple pleasure of having a sister to share secrets.
Psst....don't tell.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Thanks to Mom
I have to thank my mom for my addiction to knitting. Little did she know during that Campfire Girl meeting when she had that small group of girls with sharp pointy sticks and yarn, that she would plant the seed of obsession in me.
I remember being so uncoordinated that I held the right needle between my knees and used the left needle to make the stitches. And casting on wasn't a skill I learned until many years later when I took the art back up. It was only one project (house shoes I believe) but it planted a seed that has lasted a lifetime.
It's funny, I don't ever remember seeing my mother knit again. It could have been that the stress of dealing with that many young ladies was too much. Or maybe I just didn't see her knitting. I do remember her crocheting and I seem to recall that one time she told me that knitting made her too tense.
So, thanks mom for giving me a lifetime of enjoyment. Mom, I realize that you probably don't even know what an influence this knitting lesson had on my life. You probably don't know that knitting was my stress reliever when life was knocking me around a bit; you didn't now that knitting allowed me the joy of giving a simple gift to those I loved; knitting got me through the some of the worst days of my life. Knitting is my therapy and I owe my sanity to my little knitting lesson from my mom.
I remember being so uncoordinated that I held the right needle between my knees and used the left needle to make the stitches. And casting on wasn't a skill I learned until many years later when I took the art back up. It was only one project (house shoes I believe) but it planted a seed that has lasted a lifetime.
It's funny, I don't ever remember seeing my mother knit again. It could have been that the stress of dealing with that many young ladies was too much. Or maybe I just didn't see her knitting. I do remember her crocheting and I seem to recall that one time she told me that knitting made her too tense.
So, thanks mom for giving me a lifetime of enjoyment. Mom, I realize that you probably don't even know what an influence this knitting lesson had on my life. You probably don't know that knitting was my stress reliever when life was knocking me around a bit; you didn't now that knitting allowed me the joy of giving a simple gift to those I loved; knitting got me through the some of the worst days of my life. Knitting is my therapy and I owe my sanity to my little knitting lesson from my mom.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Holiday Knitting and the Simple Scarf
Scarves have been very popular over the years. I like many other knitters have knit my share of scarves...long ones, thin ones, lace and more.
Like many knitters these days, I'm spending much less on fiber, yarn, and needles; but, I still want to give my friends and family a gift that shows how much I appreciate them.
What could I make with only one skein of yarn. Yes, the yarn is unique. Yes, the amounts are usually small. Yes, this would be a challenge. Wait, I've got it...a scarf.
The scarf pattern would have to be beautiful, not too short, maybe a little lacy. So here it is. I'm not sure that it is an original pattern but after many years reading knitting pattern books, knitting many patterns and adapting ideas that I have seen from others....do any of us really have an "original" pattern. So here it is, does it have a name....yep, let's call it the No Name Scarf.
No Name Scarf
Required Materials:
Difficulty level - beginner
1 skein of yarn - any weight, any fiber
Knitting needles - any size to achieve the effect you would like - larger needles result in a more open lace pattern
Cast on an odd number of stitches (remember the more stitches, the shorter the scarf)
Row 1: Knit 1st stitch, *yarn over,knit 2 together*, *repeat through end of row, turn
Repeat row 1 until you have achieved the length of scarf that you want.
Bind off.
Below is the most recent scarf on the needles.
Happy Holidays and Happy Knitting
Like many knitters these days, I'm spending much less on fiber, yarn, and needles; but, I still want to give my friends and family a gift that shows how much I appreciate them.
What could I make with only one skein of yarn. Yes, the yarn is unique. Yes, the amounts are usually small. Yes, this would be a challenge. Wait, I've got it...a scarf.
The scarf pattern would have to be beautiful, not too short, maybe a little lacy. So here it is. I'm not sure that it is an original pattern but after many years reading knitting pattern books, knitting many patterns and adapting ideas that I have seen from others....do any of us really have an "original" pattern. So here it is, does it have a name....yep, let's call it the No Name Scarf.
No Name Scarf
Required Materials:
Difficulty level - beginner
1 skein of yarn - any weight, any fiber
Knitting needles - any size to achieve the effect you would like - larger needles result in a more open lace pattern
Cast on an odd number of stitches (remember the more stitches, the shorter the scarf)
Row 1: Knit 1st stitch, *yarn over,knit 2 together*, *repeat through end of row, turn
Repeat row 1 until you have achieved the length of scarf that you want.
Bind off.
Below is the most recent scarf on the needles.
Happy Holidays and Happy Knitting
Sunday, October 31, 2010
What's Your Ideal Vacation
So, this week I'm on vacation. I got to thinking about what an ideal vacation would be like. Several years ago, my DH and myself went to Scotland. It was an intense 9 days filled with airline flights, layovers, missed connections, arriving at our destination; and, then like so many others, spending the next few days cramming in as much as we possible could in a short amount of time. I'm sure everyone of us has come back from a vacation like this thinking that we needed a vacation from our vacation.
So, this year, I decided to do what my perception of a vacation should be. I have no agenda. I plan on doing only what I want to do each day. Yes, we are planning on going into the woods for some hiking and camping (since it's November I'm sure that the area we are going to won't be crowded with the typical weekend traffic). But that is the only plan. I'm packing up some wool fiber, my drop spindle, a few knitting projects that need to be completed. I intend to hike a little... just enough to reduce the stress from my work schedule...but mostly I plan on sitting and relaxing and spending some time with my DH.
Yep, no electronic gadgets...no cell phones....laptops....iPods.....none of the trappings (note the word trap) of everyday life. Just me, him, nature and the sounds of woods.
What do I hope to gain? When I return, I want to feel like that for an entire week, I lived in the moment. I took in the sights and sounds of the day. Experienced the simple life. Got back a little bit of my sanity.
What will I give back? Well, holiday presents will be complete (yep the alpha person in me won't let me completely sit on my back side doing nothing). Hopefully, I return to my regular work life with a better perspective and attitude (cause right now my attitude stinks) and be able to bring a little more fun to the work place.
With that in mind....the packing is done, I've found the knitting projects and they are packed next to my seat in the car (yes, I do knit in traffic jams and we are off in the morning.
Talk to you next week.
So, this year, I decided to do what my perception of a vacation should be. I have no agenda. I plan on doing only what I want to do each day. Yes, we are planning on going into the woods for some hiking and camping (since it's November I'm sure that the area we are going to won't be crowded with the typical weekend traffic). But that is the only plan. I'm packing up some wool fiber, my drop spindle, a few knitting projects that need to be completed. I intend to hike a little... just enough to reduce the stress from my work schedule...but mostly I plan on sitting and relaxing and spending some time with my DH.
Yep, no electronic gadgets...no cell phones....laptops....iPods.....none of the trappings (note the word trap) of everyday life. Just me, him, nature and the sounds of woods.
What do I hope to gain? When I return, I want to feel like that for an entire week, I lived in the moment. I took in the sights and sounds of the day. Experienced the simple life. Got back a little bit of my sanity.
What will I give back? Well, holiday presents will be complete (yep the alpha person in me won't let me completely sit on my back side doing nothing). Hopefully, I return to my regular work life with a better perspective and attitude (cause right now my attitude stinks) and be able to bring a little more fun to the work place.
With that in mind....the packing is done, I've found the knitting projects and they are packed next to my seat in the car (yes, I do knit in traffic jams and we are off in the morning.
Talk to you next week.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A Stitch A Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Fiber addicts, I mean those of us who have a stash of wool, yarn, etc hidden in the closet, attic and basement, really understand how fiber can keep us healthy.
There is absolutely nothing that can ground you more than a few minutes spent knitting, crocheting, spinning or tatting......you immediately become centered on the project....all outside thoughts seem to disappear and for that short period of time you are only working with the fiber. The tactile sensation of the fiber through your fingers, the smell of the wool all work to bring you back to you true self.
Yep, a stitch a day keeps the doctor away.
There is absolutely nothing that can ground you more than a few minutes spent knitting, crocheting, spinning or tatting......you immediately become centered on the project....all outside thoughts seem to disappear and for that short period of time you are only working with the fiber. The tactile sensation of the fiber through your fingers, the smell of the wool all work to bring you back to you true self.
Yep, a stitch a day keeps the doctor away.
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