knitting

I’ve mentioned that I taught myself to crochet a couple of weekends ago. Today I was working on a scarf for my daughter while a couple of the neighbor girls were over playing with E. They saw what I was doing and wanted to learn how to crochet also.

Ok. No big deal. Except I’m left-handed and it was hard teaching them right-handed. (I tried to learn right-handed but it wasn’t happening. It didn’t feel natural so I went with my left-hand. I can do some things right-handed but this wasn’t one of them. Incidentally, I can teach someone to knit even though I’m left-handed because I learned how to knit right-handed. Not that any of this has much to do with my story.)

Alright, I’m trying to teach my 10 year old niece (yes, she counts as a neighbor kid because she is one) and her 6 year old neighbor (one of E’s bff) to crochet. I have no idea how to do this and am basically telling them to wrap the yarn, hook it, and pull it through.

I started off teaching them a chain stitch and told them to keep at it. Niece made a chain stitch necklace and chain stitch belt. Other Neighbor Girl made chain stitches for a while then went to play outside with E. Every once in a while Other Neighbor Girl would come back and chain some more but she’s six and wants to do everything that everyone else is doing.

E wanted to crochet at one point so I got her a hook and yarn but she’s 3 so she didn’t do it very well. Niece did most of it for her because by that point all I wanted to do was work on the scarf I was crocheting for E. I was so close to finishing that I didn’t really want to be teaching anyone to crochet.

I do have to admit that it was nice sitting in a circle working with my yarn and listening to the conversation from Niece and Other Neighbor Girl. (You can learn a lot by being in a relaxing place and keeping your ears open.) Anyway, at one point I glanced up and saw a yarn group. I have always wanted to be part of yarn group. I imagined the participants to be closer to my age and not 10 and 6 but I guess I can’t be picky now can I.

Niece is wanting to come back over tomorrow so she can finish the single stitch bracelet she’s making (she learned another stitch besides the chain stitch). I’m not sure if her desire to crochet will last or not but I do know that she’s been wanting to learn to crochet for quite some time.

I wish she would learn to knit. Knitting is my passion and it is the easier of the two for me to do. I can also teach someone to knit easier than I can to crochet. Although it’s not really up to me, it’s up to Niece.

I’m just happy the girls were here and we were able to crochet together.

Last year I taught myself to knit and this year I decided to teach myself to crochet.

Since I love the two Stitch N Bitch books I have I decided to get Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker so I could learn to crochet. These books are excellent resources. I keep going back to the Stitch N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook because I have forgotten how to do a certain stitch or need help with my cables. In Stitch N Nation I have learned how to figure math to make a yarn work for a pattern that calls for a different yarn.

Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker has not failed me. It is just as great as the other two I own. I am in love. I have been enjoying my new found hobby and so far my favorite thing to make is these skull caps. They are quick and easy and I can whip one up in a couple of hours.

I’m on a knitting kick right now so I’m showing you the patterns I would like to knit at some time.

Muse Hat - This is my favorite of the two hats listed here. I love the way it looks and was what I was looking for when I started looking at hat patterns.

Lace Beanie - This hat still has the open, airiness to it but in a more practical way.

Airy Waves Shawl - I’ve always wanted to knit a shawl and liked this pattern. I probably won’t do the stripes but I like the simpleness of it and how it can double as a scarf.

Garter Ridge Baby Cardigan - This is what I am knitting for my future niece. I don’t really knit for others but had to knit something for my new niece. This cardigan was the perfect pattern for the yarn I wanted to use.

Ok, so I posted earlier about knitting fingerless gloves and was somewhat pleased with results. I used a different yarn than the pattern called for and that was part of the problem, they were too stretchy and loose. I made another pair and was much happier with them.

The next pattern I tried was from Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation and I absolutely LOVE this pair of gloves. Not only do I love them but my husband likes them and asked me to make him a pair (his office at work his having heat problems).

This has turned out to be my favorite pattern and the one I will use from now on. The gloves are fairly simple to make and if I am able to sit and knit then I can whip out a pair in a few days. However, life isn’t about sitting and knitting so it took me a little longer than that. You can’t see the lovely cable-type pattern very well because my yarn is so busy. Wait. You can’t see the cable-type pattern at all. (Note: When I made hubby’s gloves I didn’t use the cable-type pattern.)

A little bit of useless trivia: the yarn used for these gloves was the first yarn I bought to use when I was learning how to knit. I was originally going to knit a scarf and ripped it out because I didn’t want a scarf. Then I was going to knit socks and ripped it out because I didn’t want socks. I love this yarn and couldn’t find anything I wanted to knit with it until now.

This is my lovely model E showing how the gloves can stretch to fit my hands yet retain their shape while on her delicate self.

Again, my lovely model E showing off the gloves. I am blessed to have lovely talent living in my home.

She wanted to take a picture of me. As you can see she didn’t get her lovely talent from me. Don’t you just love my bed head.

Because my daughter sees me knitting all the time she has wanted to knit. Usually I let her pick out some needles and yarn to play with but today she actually wanted to make something so I got out my knitting looms.

She wasn’t able to wrap the yarn herself so I did that but she did the rest. I showed her how to hook the yarn and move it over the peg. It was so cute listening to her say “Hook and over” over and over again.

This is what I am doing for the next couple of days. Knitting. Knitting. And more knitting.

I haven’t had the desire to knit for quite some time and now it’s all I want to do. I am experimenting with a few projects and am not sure how they will turn out or what to do with them once I’m done. For now I am satisfying the urge and feeling accomplished. If I don’t see you before next week then have a great weekend.

Photo Credit: Todd Huffman

I used this pattern. I used a different yarn than the pattern called for but I don’t think they turned out too bad. The point of them is to keep my hands warm and they have been doing their job well.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it’s not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you’ve started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you’ve never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people’s patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.http://marniemaclean.com

The title of this post pretty much sums it up. I could be cleaning or fixing dinner for my family but instead I am looking at knitting blogs and taking knitting quizzes. Yay! Sounds like so much fun.

Honestly, my mind is blank and there is so much I would like to do…knit for instance. I am knitting a sweater for the two older kiddos since they are just about the same size and the same sex I can get away with knitting one and they can share it. So far the sleeve looks great and if I can actually knit this evening I may finish the left sleeve and tackle the rest of the sweater!

I finally finished the hat I’ve been working on for hubby. It’s amazing how well something turns out when you follow the directions and use the type of yarn the pattern calls for. Imagine that.

Anyway, I am happy with this hat and hope it keeps his head warm which is the whole point of making a hat.