Gifts

I forgot to mention that I’ve been working on a few presents. Right now I’m using the black Rowan Lurex Shimmer yarn that’s in the picture below. It seems strange to work with such thin yarn and tiny needles, but it’s looking pretty good so far.

Last Thursday I bought some Old Navy flip-flops to make the “Fuzzy Flip Flops” that someone on KnitList wrote about—all I have to do now is buy some interesting yarn. I've already promised a pair to my sister and I'll see how they turn out. If I like them I might make myself and/or my sister-in-law a pair.

Blanket

Our friends got married over the weekend, and the wedding was about 5 hours away. I brought my knitting bag along with me (for the first time) and worked on my blanket every time we got stuck in traffic--I got quite a bit accomplished!

I've gotten a couple of requests for the blanket pattern. Using size 9 needles, I made individual squares and then sewed them together. I'm new at this but will give directions a shot.

For each square:

Cast on 25 stitches.
Row 1: K5 P5 K5 P5 K5
Row 2: P5 K5 P5 K5 P5
Row 3: K5 P5 K5 P5 K5
Row 4: P5 K5 P5 K5 P5
Row 5: K5 P5 K5 P5 K5

At this point, you should have 5 distinct squares going across your needles, alternating between a stockinette look and a garter look. Each little square should be 5 stitches across and 5 rows up.

To create the checkerboard pattern, you have to switch up the designs so the pattern alternates going up and down as well as across.

Row 6: K5 P5 K5 P5 K5
Row 7: P5 K5 P5 K5 P5
Row 8: K5 P5 K5 P5 K5
Row 9: P5 K5 P5 K5 P5
Row 10: K5 P5 K5 P5 K5

After this you will have two rows of distinct squares. Repeat directions for Rows 1-10 two more times, giving you 6 rows of boxes going up, and of course 5 columns going across. (Finished square = about 7”x 7”)

Cast off.

To attach to other squares:

Backstitch seams together using a yarn needle. Thread yarn needle using loose pieces from squares, and connect squares so the pattern continues all the way across and up the blanket.

[Please let me know if this doesn't make sense, especially if you have suggestions for how to fix it. I'm a new knitter and have never written a pattern before...]

Already thinking about the next 3 projects

I finished the drawstring pouch at lunch and promptly headed to the yarn store (after work) to buy yarn for my next projects. I have so many ideas it was hard to choose what to do next, but I managed. :) Check it out:


Yarn from Garden City Stitches

Drawstring Pouch--done!!

So I got a little tired of knitting for months without finishing a project. I decided to work on a drawstring pouch; it's made on circular needles and forced me to learn quite a few new skills. ;)


My first finished project!!!


From a few days ago...making the main body of the pouch.

Update: This pattern came from the book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I substituted "Cotton Classic" yarn for the one mentioned in the book and it worked out very nicely.

Red & White Blanket

Okay, so Sonny at work is teaching me to knit. Back in January I made a ridicuous-looking thing that was supposed to be a scarf but ended up being a practice swatch. ;) My first real project is the Red & White blanket I've been working on since mid-February. As of 4/1, it looked like this:




I'm still working on it, but it's a long process so I'm doing little projects along with it to keep me from getting discouraged. So far I have 53 individual squares made (at about 1 hr/square), and Sonny recently showed me how to do two on one needle. I've taught myself how to add on to those 2 so I can do a big string of 20--it's still time-consuming, but there are a few less steps.

Young Knitters

March 30, 2005 - The New York Times

The Knitting Guild Association has seen an influx of younger members over the last three years, according to its executive director, Mark Bennett. A fall 2004 survey by the Craft Yarn Council found that women ages 25 to 34 account for 33 percent of the 53 million American women who know how to knit or crochet. Additionally, the number of women ages 25 to 34 who knit or crochet increased more than 150 percent since 2002, when the yarn council last conducted the survey.

More quotes from various NYT articles: "The most noticeable trend, yarn retailers and knitting experts say, is the growing appeal of knitting to young professionals." ... "Four million people, mostly women in their 20s and 30s, began knitting last year alone." ... "It's not the little old lady sitting in her rocking chair anymore. It's a stress reducer, it's portable, and it's in fashion again." ... "Knitting clubs are even appearing on college campuses."

Additional info: Knitting has been scientifically proven to be a stress reducer....Making things with your hands, like you do with knitting, gives you a satisfaction you don't necessarily get from your job...Some feminists are saying women should "take back the knit" and re-examine the skill required for certain tasks that used to be labeled "women's work" and looked down upon...Urban Outfitters is selling knitting kits and books...Knitting can become an obsession and people have traded in their high-powered jobs (corporate litigator, medical publishing) to open shops.

A blog of my very own...

As you can tell by the title, I've taken up knitting and gone so far as to create a knitting blog. I learned this lovely new hobby back in January and now I can't get enough--I'm a bit obsessed! It's very relaxing and rewarding, and I enjoy seeing immediate results. Anyway, I plan on using this space to post updates on my knitting projects (mostly so my mom can see what I'm doing). I'm almost done with my first small project. I can't wait!

About the name: I got this weblog's name from my husband, who has taken to saying, "You're such a knitter!" He's so great to put up with me and my three obsessions: yoga, photography, and now knitting. My knitting stuff is cheap compared to all that photo equiptment! :)