I'm so sorry to give you all the runaround but I've given up on the two-posts a day even though they're the same posts... It's just getting to be too much work transferring and having to change all my links and pictures.
Anyway-- so, against my Professor's probable wishes, I've made my class-blog public.
You can find me at On Skeins and Needles. I really hope you'll all read me there!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
We The Living!
I first got introduced to the band We The Living in my sophomore year and I fell in love with their melodic sound and how nice the band members were. I also fell in love with their Merch but couldn't really afford a lot of stuff so I decided to make my own.
I'm friends with all the band members on Facebook so I wrote on their walls asking what colors would best describe their themes. I got the response of 'Royal colors' so I figured I could find some golds, purples and light blues (Somewhat like a picture they used for a while) and make a scarf from that.
I went to Ben Franklin in Oconomowoc with a specific color palate in mind, but quickly found the idea would be squelched due to the gold looking like mustard and... not golden. So I thought silver would be a great alternative. I found a skein of royal purple and heather-grey silver and a beautiful teal blue. I figured I could just start knitting and whenever I felt like changing colors, I would.
I made it in a K1P1 Rib stitch and made it ridiculously long because I wanted to use the whole skein of each color. I finished the scarf only a few hours before the show started and I got to show it off for the guys.
I love wearing this scarf- it's so long so I can do a European wrapping style on the scarf and it doesn't bunch around my neck due to the volume of the yarn. It's heavy enough to keep me warm but thin enough so I won't feel like I'm drowning in yarn.
Pictures will be posted once I get home... They're too big if I upload them from Photobucket so bear with me!
Pictures and make up courtesy of Maxwell John
I'm friends with all the band members on Facebook so I wrote on their walls asking what colors would best describe their themes. I got the response of 'Royal colors' so I figured I could find some golds, purples and light blues (Somewhat like a picture they used for a while) and make a scarf from that.
I went to Ben Franklin in Oconomowoc with a specific color palate in mind, but quickly found the idea would be squelched due to the gold looking like mustard and... not golden. So I thought silver would be a great alternative. I found a skein of royal purple and heather-grey silver and a beautiful teal blue. I figured I could just start knitting and whenever I felt like changing colors, I would.
I made it in a K1P1 Rib stitch and made it ridiculously long because I wanted to use the whole skein of each color. I finished the scarf only a few hours before the show started and I got to show it off for the guys.
I love wearing this scarf- it's so long so I can do a European wrapping style on the scarf and it doesn't bunch around my neck due to the volume of the yarn. It's heavy enough to keep me warm but thin enough so I won't feel like I'm drowning in yarn.
Pictures will be posted once I get home... They're too big if I upload them from Photobucket so bear with me!
Pictures and make up courtesy of Maxwell John
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Ravel it!
I'm now obsessed with Ravelry.com, a Web Site dedicated to showing off projects and getting ideas for projects of the knitting and crocheting nature. I find it mentioned a lot on other Web sites and blogs concerning knitting so I thought I'd check it out. I quickly made myself a profile and started updating my projects. While I don't have many on it, I put the three projects I'm currently working on: My slouchy shrug turned Scarf, the Garter Stitch scarf for Tim, The Morningside Neckwarmer by Brooklyn Tweed, and my fingerless gloves. I can't wait to continue updating and putting pictures of my projects up!
If you're an avid knitter, check out the site and you'll get a lot of different ideas that make your hands twitch with anticipation and your pocketbook yearn to be emptied for the use of great yarns!
If you're an avid knitter, check out the site and you'll get a lot of different ideas that make your hands twitch with anticipation and your pocketbook yearn to be emptied for the use of great yarns!
Monday, September 28, 2009
A-Z of Knitting
A is for Aftermath- Try not to hate it when you're done- resulting in frogging out the work and a frustrated you. Trust me when I say, your yarn won't appreciate it either.
Yarn is fickle. If you make the product without having to frog it out at all, it'll turn out beautifully. If you take it apart a few times before finally settling on a pattern, you might have a looser gauge and more fraying of the yarn. Be sure you love what you're planning on doing before you commit to taking it all apart, because once you do... there's no going back!
Yarn is fickle. If you make the product without having to frog it out at all, it'll turn out beautifully. If you take it apart a few times before finally settling on a pattern, you might have a looser gauge and more fraying of the yarn. Be sure you love what you're planning on doing before you commit to taking it all apart, because once you do... there's no going back!
Friday, September 25, 2009
What do you mean??
I hate reading patterns… like really hate reading them. They’re always different and they never usually help you out when it comes to deciphering them unless you go to the front of the book to find them, then flip back- which can be detrimental to the knitting flow.
I’m not much of a pattern user because I like to experiment, but on the occasional time I use one, I try to remember what I’m doing without looking at the pattern otherwise I’ll get lost or get frustrated.
So here’s a basic of what the abbreviations to a pattern look like:
DPN-Double Pointed Needles
Knit- K
Purl- P
dec-Decrease
k 2 tog- Knit two stitches together. This is used when Decreasing!
CO- Cast On
p-wise- Purl Wise- as in Purl
tog- Together
WS- Wrong Side
YB or YTB- Yarn to back of work (to knit the next stitch)
yo- Yarn over
I’m sure there are many more, but I’ll update whenever I come across them.
Just remember: There is no universal set of abbreviations for a knitting pattern- anywhere. If you’re working on a pattern in one book and go to another book, you could very easily have a problem deciphering. Just keep an eye on the key and you won’t be able to go wrong.
I’m not much of a pattern user because I like to experiment, but on the occasional time I use one, I try to remember what I’m doing without looking at the pattern otherwise I’ll get lost or get frustrated.
So here’s a basic of what the abbreviations to a pattern look like:
DPN-Double Pointed Needles
Knit- K
Purl- P
dec-Decrease
k 2 tog- Knit two stitches together. This is used when Decreasing!
CO- Cast On
p-wise- Purl Wise- as in Purl
tog- Together
WS- Wrong Side
YB or YTB- Yarn to back of work (to knit the next stitch)
yo- Yarn over
I’m sure there are many more, but I’ll update whenever I come across them.
Just remember: There is no universal set of abbreviations for a knitting pattern- anywhere. If you’re working on a pattern in one book and go to another book, you could very easily have a problem deciphering. Just keep an eye on the key and you won’t be able to go wrong.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Baby it's cold outside- Keep your wrists warm
My friend turned me on to this idea for making wrist-warmers without the fingers!
Since I'm still what I like to think of as a novice-knitter, I haven't really branched out of items other than scarves and hats. I also don't usually make anything with needles smaller than size 10* so I figured this would be a quick and semi-painless endeavor. This would also be a great way to learn how to use Double Pointed Needles.
Double Pointed Needles come in all the same sizes as your common straight and circular needles but are for smaller items, such as socks and mittens. Each package of needles consist of 4 to 5 needles, with a point on both sides, so it's easy to knit in the round with them. On a straight needle, you're stuck with just going back and forth.
I did a google search on how to use double pointed needles and found a great page on About.com on how to use them. The concept is simple enough and I caught on pretty quickly. After figuring out how many stitches I would probably need to make the item fit part-way up my arm, I got started. Even though the -many- needles got in my way sometimes, I found the endeavor quite fun.
I quickly discovered that I hated what I was working on and frogged it. I then pulled out an old skein of silver from a scarf I had made and decided to cast-on to that. I really haven't gotten much father than casting-on because I quickly became engrossed in another project (which happens a lot...). I'll return to it one of these days.
*Size 10 needles: In Europe, the size of the needle is directly proportional to the millimeters around the needle is. In America, it means nothing. Yes... Nothing.
Since I'm still what I like to think of as a novice-knitter, I haven't really branched out of items other than scarves and hats. I also don't usually make anything with needles smaller than size 10* so I figured this would be a quick and semi-painless endeavor. This would also be a great way to learn how to use Double Pointed Needles.
Double Pointed Needles come in all the same sizes as your common straight and circular needles but are for smaller items, such as socks and mittens. Each package of needles consist of 4 to 5 needles, with a point on both sides, so it's easy to knit in the round with them. On a straight needle, you're stuck with just going back and forth.
I did a google search on how to use double pointed needles and found a great page on About.com on how to use them. The concept is simple enough and I caught on pretty quickly. After figuring out how many stitches I would probably need to make the item fit part-way up my arm, I got started. Even though the -many- needles got in my way sometimes, I found the endeavor quite fun.
I quickly discovered that I hated what I was working on and frogged it. I then pulled out an old skein of silver from a scarf I had made and decided to cast-on to that. I really haven't gotten much father than casting-on because I quickly became engrossed in another project (which happens a lot...). I'll return to it one of these days.
*Size 10 needles: In Europe, the size of the needle is directly proportional to the millimeters around the needle is. In America, it means nothing. Yes... Nothing.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Knitting Philosophy
I’m taking 18 credits this semester equaling 6 classes (one of which was what spurred the publication of this Blog). I hope I’ll have enough time to post every day and have the ability to find the inspiration to write about knitting all the time.
I’m not usually interested in going into a philosophical question concerning life and how knitting fits into it.
But I’m going to ask anyway: How does or can knitting affect someone mentally and physically?
Since I started knitting I have this mysterious muscle on my arms that is very pronounced when doing the repeated pattern of knit on, yarn over, purl one, yarn over etc. etc... It's weird how much difference such a small movement can make when made hundreds and hundreds of times.
It’s been said that knitting helps increase hand-eye coordination and requires complex math to complete the -what are actually- knots. Like in a child learning to knit, they’re more likely to learn languages or do better in sports which require hand-eye coordination. They may also do better in Math. It’s pretty interesting when you think about it. Something so simple as knit 1 purl 1 could be construed as helping one get further in life.
I’m taking 18 credits this semester equaling 6 classes (one of which was what spurred the publication of this Blog). I hope I’ll have enough time to post every day and have the ability to find the inspiration to write about knitting all the time.
I’m not usually interested in going into a philosophical question concerning life and how knitting fits into it.
But I’m going to ask anyway: How does or can knitting affect someone mentally and physically?
Since I started knitting I have this mysterious muscle on my arms that is very pronounced when doing the repeated pattern of knit on, yarn over, purl one, yarn over etc. etc... It's weird how much difference such a small movement can make when made hundreds and hundreds of times.
It’s been said that knitting helps increase hand-eye coordination and requires complex math to complete the -what are actually- knots. Like in a child learning to knit, they’re more likely to learn languages or do better in sports which require hand-eye coordination. They may also do better in Math. It’s pretty interesting when you think about it. Something so simple as knit 1 purl 1 could be construed as helping one get further in life.
Just a thought…
I’m not usually interested in going into a philosophical question concerning life and how knitting fits into it.
But I’m going to ask anyway: How does or can knitting affect someone mentally and physically?
Since I started knitting I have this mysterious muscle on my arms that is very pronounced when doing the repeated pattern of knit on, yarn over, purl one, yarn over etc. etc... It's weird how much difference such a small movement can make when made hundreds and hundreds of times.
It’s been said that knitting helps increase hand-eye coordination and requires complex math to complete the -what are actually- knots. Like in a child learning to knit, they’re more likely to learn languages or do better in sports which require hand-eye coordination. They may also do better in Math. It’s pretty interesting when you think about it. Something so simple as knit 1 purl 1 could be construed as helping one get further in life.
I’m taking 18 credits this semester equaling 6 classes (one of which was what spurred the publication of this Blog). I hope I’ll have enough time to post every day and have the ability to find the inspiration to write about knitting all the time.
I’m not usually interested in going into a philosophical question concerning life and how knitting fits into it.
But I’m going to ask anyway: How does or can knitting affect someone mentally and physically?
Since I started knitting I have this mysterious muscle on my arms that is very pronounced when doing the repeated pattern of knit on, yarn over, purl one, yarn over etc. etc... It's weird how much difference such a small movement can make when made hundreds and hundreds of times.
It’s been said that knitting helps increase hand-eye coordination and requires complex math to complete the -what are actually- knots. Like in a child learning to knit, they’re more likely to learn languages or do better in sports which require hand-eye coordination. They may also do better in Math. It’s pretty interesting when you think about it. Something so simple as knit 1 purl 1 could be construed as helping one get further in life.
Just a thought…
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