What Have I Been Up To?

It's been a little while since my last post, and man have I been busy! Recently, I decided I'd like to take another crack at knitting. I tried teaching myself once, but my heart was really set on crochet. (Don't worry, it still is.) However, I have finally managed to get the hang of knitting, and I must say that I love it, too. Here are a few things I have learned as of late:

• Kitchener Stitch: It appears to me that many people have been intimidated by the Kitchener Stitch, and I must assure you, it is unnecessary. I too, was pretty confused the first time I was reading about it, but it really does make for a very nice seam. I still have to refer to the directions each time I use it, but, like anything else in life, with practice, it is becoming very easy. Click on the link above, and it will direct you to About.com's pictorial directions of Kitchener Stitch. And believe me. If I can wrap my head around it, anyone can! :) Below is a picture of my second time using the Kitchener Stitch. I used it to seam the crotch of this skirty diaper cover/soaker closed.
  



• Knitting in the Round on Circular Needles: Knitting in the round on circular needles has been great for me because I despise using double pointed needles (DPN's). The first time I tried was horrific. Granted, I was trying to teach myself to knit for the first time on the same day I was trying to knit on DPN's. Call it what you will, but I would so much rather use circular needles. They are perfect for knitting something seamlessly. As a crocheter, I was used to working things in the round. I was convinced that knitting in the round could not possibly be simpler or even as simple as crocheting in the round. Guess what, though! It really was! If you click on this link above, it will again direct you to About.com's basic guide to knitting in the round on circular needles. The picture below shows my first ever project knit in the round. It is another skirty soaker, and I really love it!

• Magic Loop Method: Now this method, I am learning as I type here. It was just slightly confusing at the beginning, but this link will lead you to Knitting Daily website where you will find yet another pictorial guide. I am only doing my gauge swatch right now, but my next project is going to be Alice Cullen Fingerless mittens in a yarn I like to call Aqua Paradise.
  

I know it is hard to see, but here is a link to the free pattern on Ravelry. And below are a few

pictures of my gauge swatch in the Magical Loop Method.

And on a final note...All three yarns pictured here were hand dyed and hand painted by me! But that is an entirely separate post. :)

100 Posts and a Near Death Experience to Boot...Puh-Lease! That's only a little dramatic.

How exciting is it that I have stuck around long enough to post 100 blog postings? By now, if you are a regular follower of my blog, I am sure you realize I am a crazy, emotional, young, fun-loving, eager to learn, and ultimately loving woman. At least I hope those are adjectives you might think of when you think of me. You may also think, goof-ball, little sister, nut bag, naive, how-in-the-world-has-that-girl-not-driven-away-her-wonderful-quiet-handsome-fiance, and a few other choice adjectives. Honestly, it is all OK with me. I am glad you are at least thinking something.

These pictures are of my knew vast set of knitting needles, as well as an added bonus of about a handful of crochet afghan hooks. In the end, I decided to give $50 for all the knitting needles, and looking upon my collection, I believe this was rightly so. I have multiple straight and circular needles in every size from 0 to 15. I went from having one pair of knitting needles to having at least one pair of every size of knitting needles. I only have a few straight needles, but I have an abundance of circular needles as well as a handful of extra cables to interchange knitting needles on. As you can tell, there is a bag these items are neatly organized into, and I received this bag as part of my purchase. It has tons of pouches, so I went through the mess of needles I had and organized them from smallest to biggest. I can't wait to get more experienced and really get a chance to use these needles. The vast majority of the circular needles were not even taken out of their packages yet, though they smell overwhelmingly musty. It is obvious they are not "brand new," but they are at least from within the past 10 or so years.

I spent the day with my friend today for her birthday. We talked for hours, like we always do, about a thousand different things, like we always do. She is the one friend my age that I can cover so many antipodal subjects with. I really do enjoy her company.

We went to the guitar shop as well. We pretended for about half an hour that we could afford to throw down a few hundred dollars on a brand new beautiful guitar. We tested a few and harmonized together. We played around, and got to bask in the glory of our dream world.

The city was ridiculously flooded today. I also nearly recked our stupid truck. I thought that truck and I were finally done being at odds with each other. I thought we had bonded, and it was done hating me....I was wrong. I was driving along, leaving the community college after selling back my nearly unused books from the last semester. I am driving along and I spot an upcoming stop sign. I go to press the break, and because of all the water covering the roads, I started to fishtail. As the car is starting to turn out of control, I see a glimpse of a sign. The sign said, "Turning Traffic Does Not Stop."

Have you ever experienced your life flashing before your eyes? That is sort of what I felt. Knowing what little I know about losing control of a vehicle, I took my foot off the brake and took control of the wheel. I was completely panicked. I could only envision a turning car coming at me head on, not realizing I could not control the metal death trap I was currently sitting in.

So, of course, being myself, I proceed to wave my arm like a mad woman, hoping that the car that is coming toward me will realize they need to stop before hitting me, only to realize, the windshield wipers are crap. They have been crap for quite some time, and before it became "our" vehicle, I complained about them, only to be chided. The man coming toward me could not even pretend to see me waving my arm, but by some act of God Himself, the car just stopped. I only ended up a few feet from the stop sign, and when the windshield wipers finally cleared the windshield, I could see the man...at a stop sign...staring at me with a bewildered look. It was then that I realized the "turning traffic" was turning away from me, not toward me.

So dumb.

SCORE!!!

I just got an amazing deal on a huge lot of knitting supplies. I was reading in my Stitch N' Bitch Knitter's Handbook that I should try to find garage sales selling knitting supplies because people practically give them away. It's not quite garage sale season, though, so I checked my local thrift store. I didn't find anything, but they assured me that they do get stuff in, so I should keep checking back.

Well, today, a very wonderful friend of mine sent me an ad that someone had posted on their job's classifieds page. Here is what it read:

"Do you knit or know someone who does? My father-in-law brought all of my mother-in-law's knitting supplies to my house after she died in case I wanted to learn to knit. I don't. So, in my basement currently are many, many knitting needles of all sizes, tons of patterns and books, a knitting machine mounted to a metal desk, and well over 100 rolls of yarn, most brand new in all different colors and textures. Evidently when Kmart went out of business she bought out the yarn department. So, please take this stuff off of my hands! Any offers for these things will be accepted."

How fantastic is that? I sent the lady a text message, and someone had already made claim to the yarn. That was quite alright because my stash is overwhelming already. But she had 14 knitting magazines, a stack of patterns, 30 sets of mostly aluminum straight knitting needles in varying sizes, and a good amount of varied size circular knitting needles. The best part of all is the price.

I am only paying $30 for all of it!! How amazing is this? It is a huge blessing, and I hope that in my learning process, I can use this huge blessing to bless others with gifts I will be able to make from my new supply. I am absolutely thrilled! There will be pictures to come. :)

My Knitting/Crocheting (Mis) Advnetures ;-)

Recently, I have tried my hand at crocheting and knitting. In the past three months, I have been crocheting and knitting a lot of things. By knitting, though, I mean knitting with looms because knitting with needles drives me mad. I had learned to crochet about five or six years ago and had given it up when all my stress started coming out in my scarf. Yep, that's right, I had only tried one scarf before giving up. It was so tightly bound, and I couldn't keep the edges straight. I still have that scarf, too, in all it's unfinished glory. Anyway, back to the main event here. I realized that I have not posted many pictures to include you all in the process of my learning.I have been trying my hand at crocheted socks, which would be very nice if I would stick with it. After purchasing my knitting looms and having my sister teach me the right way to use them, I started making masses of hats, baby hats and big people hats, mostly. Even more recently, my grandma gave me this little metal set of square looms to make granny squares on. After a few fatal attempts, and again, my sister showing me how to use them the right way, I have learned that two heads are always better than one when learning a new skill, at least in my case. I have also learned, I cannot read directions to save my life, especially directions with pictures. Somehow, when the picture does not coincide with what I have imagined in my head, I don't admit that what I am envisioning is wrong. I just try it my own way, which is where I get into doing things incorrectly and being frustrated. Anyway, here is a sample of some of my most recent work.

This sock is on my two-year-old nieces foot. The lighting is bad, but the sock is adorable. I can't help but be proud of making an actual piece of clothing. :)This is one of the handful of baby hats I have made. I am using non-traditional colors because I think that is what I would want if someone made me a had to give to my baby. This is a picture of me in the hat I made for myself. It has a beautiful green baby soft yarn in it and a lilac eyelash yarn. It is very warm and fuzzy, and the best part is that my sister bought me those yarns for my birthday, with the help of my niece.This is where things start to get humorous. At least I can laugh at myself. This here is my first attempt at making granny squares. This is also the place it becomes obvious I am directionally challenged. ;-) When I showed this garbled mess to Big T, he had that silent, pondering look about him. He wasn't even sure what to say. What he did say was, "I think it looks good and will look even better with more practice." He's a good man. :)Now, this is what I am considering my real first granny square. After watching my sister make her first square last night, (she could read the directions right) I took note of how I should go about another square. Excuse me for boasting, but I think this square is so cute! Thanks, Grandma. ;-)

I hope you have all found some joy in my blog. Don't forget to try new things in life and laugh at yourself when your first attempt is pure garbage.