Wednesday 28 April 2010

One Great Knitter (knitcroblo3)

Here's the third of my knitcroblo blog posts. Mimi asks...

"Write about a knitter whose work (whether because of project choice, photography, styling, scale of projects, stash, etc) you enjoy. If they have an enjoyable blog, you might find it a good opportunity to send a smile their way."

Well, I'm with mooncalfmakes here, Eskimimi's projects always offer me some inspiration. I love colour, and despite an obsession with smooshiness it is more often a colour that initially draws me to a yarn. Eskimimi's projects always use colour fantastically and her photographs really make the most of the colours too. I particularly love her Regnbue scarf and her two hot water bottles (shepherd, fish).

Other bloggers I love include the Yarn Harlot (neat projects and fun to read), Salihan Crafts (nice photography and really cute crocheted fruit) and French Press Knits (I will knit those slippers one day).


Check out other bloggers posts tagged with knitcroblo3 via Google.

Tuesday 27 April 2010

An Inspirational Pattern (knitcroblo2)

Here's the second of my knitcroblo blog posts. Mimi asks...

"Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!"

Towards the end of last year I started thinking about techniques I'd like to learn/test in my knitting. A blog post was started but never published, but it essentially came down to: socks every which way, colourwork, felting, entrelac. Those things pretty much all still stand. I'm not sure I have one pattern I particularly aspire to, but here are some ideas:

  • A blanket/afghan, perhaps the Ten Stitch Twist (flickr/ravelry), the Hemlock Ring Blanket (flickr/ravelry) or The Great American Afghan (amazon/ravelry). This is one of those staying-power aspirations.
  • A felted bag, specifically the Calla Lily Bag (flickr/ravelry) from The Knitter's Book of Yarn.
  • Something crochet, perhaps the Penguin Bowling set (flickr/ravelry) or perhaps not - anything crochet would be a challenge really.
  • A garment or two - I'm hoping to start Melo (flickr/ravelry)one day soon, and eventually I'd love to knit a Sylvi (flickr/ravelry).
  • Some more socks: I'd like to try toe-up for my next pair I think.
  • Some more challenging lace.


Check out other bloggers posts tagged with knitcroblo2 via Google.

Monday 26 April 2010

Starting Out (knitcroblo1)

Here's the first of my knitcroblo blog posts. Mimi asks...

"How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?"


Knitting

I first started knitting in a variety of frustrated episodes as a child. Various relatives tried to teach me (as they do), but I couldn't ever remember what I was doing and, unusually for me, quickly lost patience. It was rare for me not to be able to learn something new so I undoubtedly proclaimed the whole thing to be stupid and rationalised that I didn't need/want to know how to knit anyway.

I first started being able to knit in January 2008 when, like Mimi, I picked up a book called 'I Love Knitting' in a discount book shop. The book wasn't terribly informative but it was motivation and between its confusing instructions and some people around me who actually knew how to knit I finally figured out the basics of garter stitch and started my way on an acrylic scarf for my boyfriend who's allergic to wool anyway. The project progressed slowly and it took a long time for me to decide I actually kind of enjoyed this knitting thing. In August, once the scarf was done (and what perfect weather for it...), I played around with other projects, many of which were never finished but each taught me something new.

That first scarf - as modeled by the cat, not the boyfriend :)

I first started to be able to knit with confidence whilst out in the US last year. Three months in Pittsburgh for my PhD may or may not have helped my studies, but it did wonders for my knitting. In the first few days of my stay I was feeling lonely and rather bored, particularly of an evening. On some bizarre whim I put "knitting" into a Google map of Pittsburgh and discovered Natural Stitches. I drew myself a map, plotted the bus times and decided I would head out there the following night - it rained torrentially and I decided that maybe the next night would do instead :) Over my three months in Pittsburgh, the lovely folks at Natural Stitches taught me an incredibly large amount about knitting in a sort-of gentle, absorption way and I suspect without them:

1) I would never know the things I know now

2) I would still (and probably always) be somewhat afraid of my knitting

3) I'd have a much smaller stash!

So there we are, my knitting adventure so far.


Crochet

I'm still at the beginning of my crochet journey. I played around with crochet a bit on my own after learning to knit in 2008, but never had any idea if I was doing the right thing. Out in the US I took a couple of crochet classes at Natural Stitches and I'm now able to form a few stitches and even follow a pattern if there's someone there to hold my hand :) One day I'll commit to really trying to master pattern reading on my own.


Check out other bloggers posts tagged with knitcroblo1 via Google.

Thursday 22 April 2010

Knitcroblo

(image from this post at eskimimi knits)

Look out blogging world - starting Monday knitters and crocheters worldwide will be blogging about yarn, projects and all things fibre-related. The lovely Mimi is running the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - during which bloggers will post on a given topic each day. Full details can be found on her blog: here. I'm looking to use it as a good excuse to get blogging again :)

Sunday 4 April 2010

FO: Nanny Mittens

Intended for this Christmas but started a little late, now to be kept for next Christmas...

Pattern: Snow Chain Mittens by Jessica Fielder 

Yarn: Stylecraft Brushstrokes in Rose Blush (a truly horrible yarn to knit with, it really irritated my skin).

Mods: None as such, but did follow the suggestion to invert the cables on the second mitten.

Project: Online at Ravelry

Friday 2 April 2010

FO: Happy Socks!!

It took a long, long, long time, but the Happy Socks are done! Here they are modeled on his lovely feet:

Pattern: Rudy Got Sole (pdf via Ravelry) by Amy Klimt

Yarn: Wendy Happy in Virgo from p2tog.com

Mods: 80st cuff but dropped to 64 stitches for leg and foot (4 x 4 basket weave instead of 5 x 4)

Project: Now visible via a shared Ravelry Link

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