February 2012
41 posts
2 tags
Go tigers!
Day 24: Have you ever made your own pattern or dyed your own yarn? How did it turn out?
I have made my own pattern before, specifically for the recently completed Clemson Tigers hat for my sister. It’s been a real learning process as I figure out how to flip patterns based on knitting from the top or bottom. I’m also a fan of altering patterns that I find. I almost never leave something...
3 tags
Maybe someday...
23: If you had the supplies (and patience) for it, what project would you start today?
I really like everything I have planned, especially if this current experiment works then I will continue to make Greenbay colored koozie mittens and perhaps a hat. Right now I enjoy smaller projects that are portable instead of larger, more ambitious projects like sweaters.
2 tags
I hope so?
22: have you ever stricken someone off your to-knit-for list because they didn’t appreciate/take care of your last knitted gift to them?
No, everyone has always appreciated my gifts, at least they have to my face.
2 tags
Thrifty
Day 21: Do you knit gifts for friends and family for the holidays or birthdays?
YES! I most certainly do. Sometimes I knit things for specific people then save the item for a holiday or birthday so it doesn’t seem as weird. I like learning different things and frankly I don’t have a need for hundreds of knit hats so I tend to give things away even if I didn’t make it for a specific person. More...
3 tags
But sometimes I do wear my glasses
Day 20: Do you knit in public? Was anyone offended/ incredibly happy /curious that you were doing so?
I do knit in public but not necessarily all the time or in any place. Example: I was at Montreat’s College Conference this past week and I knit during Keynote, Small group, and Worship. I’m pretty sure there were some people who were not ok with me knitting during worship but what they don’t...
3 tags
Progress reports
I think I’m reaching the halfway point on my leaves hat and it’s coming along nicely. I’m also starting a book tonight as a distraction. As soon as I’m done I’ll add a review of Nicole Luiken’s Violet Eyes, a Young Adult Sci-Fi novel that is entirely too underrated.
4 tags
The only thing I love more than crafting...
Day 19: Do you watch movies and/or listen to music or podcasts while knitting? What are your favorite things to knit to? I watch an excessive amount of TV and movies. I really prefer watching something when knitting, especially if I’m doing something relatively simple like cabling or ribbing. If I’m watching football at home or in my apartment I generally knit through the games.
If I’m starting...
3 tags
How to make Lettered Jerseys (pt 2)
Now that you have a bunch of small letters all over the place it’s time to start assembling them. If you have double sided interfacing on the top, patterned fabric you can just place the top letter where it’s supposed to go and iron it. Yay! Simple.
However, I didn’t have a lot of that interfacing left so a lot of my letters don’t have interfacing. Instead I used...
3 tags
I do not like mice
Day 17: Have you ever had a project that you love become ruined: What’s the story behind it? This has never happened to something I really cherished but I did lose a hat I made for my mom. I had already finished the scarf and was determined to complete the matching hat before this winter so I took the yarn to summer camp. I finished her hat and left it in a box with a lot of my other craft stuff...
4 tags
Happy Birthday to me
Yesterday was my birthday and so I took the afternoon off from doing things I should’ve been doing (cleaning my room, exercising, writing essays, etc) and finished a creative project I’ve had in process for a while. I was originally inspired by something I saw on pintrest and wanted to try: an open back shirt connected with bows. I changed the connection point but I like the result and...
2 tags
2 tags
I'm an American
Do you knit English or Continental? Continental. Mostly because I taught myself and this was the kind I understood.
4 tags
How to make Lettered Jerseys (pt 1)
The first thing to do when making any kind of applique is is to have a pattern. I model my letters off of the official jerseys I have from Kappa and the measurements I took from them. Those original letters occupy a 4 1/2 x 5 inch space. I grabbed some graph paper, a pencil, and a ruler and began drawing the letters out.
Once I had the larger backing letter drawn, I minimized it by a 1/4...
3 tags
Sister knit
Day 16: Have you ever had a knitting related injury? No, but I have had a cut on my thumb (kitchen related) that seriously impaired my knitting abilities for a few days. My sister has a fear of knitting in the car because she is terrified of getting skewered by a needle in the event of a wreck. She’s weird like that.
2 tags
It just kept going around and around
Day 15: What was your least favorite pattern and why? I tried a circle scarf and it didn’t turn out too well. It was just a waste of my yarn and I’m not happy with it. I actually unraveled it just the other day. I’m going to try another circle scarf at some point and do something other than straight stockinette. I’ll probably use a chunkier yarn too.
3 tags
insert better title here.
Day 14: What’s the worst yarn/fiber you’ve worked with and why? Red Heart color changing yarn. It’s itchy, stiff, doesn’t wash well, and the fading blues should’ve looked pretty but they faded too quickly to have a real pattern or effect once knit.
3 tags
Rainbow road
Day 13: Do you have a yarn you love but can’t find a project for? I have a really cool rainbow accent yarn that I would love to use and I’ve tried to. Unfortunately it has to be knit in with something else and it sheds the multicolored fibers. I really like it but I haven’t found something that works with it yet.
Any ideas for me?
1 tag
Lost and Found
I’m making headway on the leaves beanie but I lost my DPN a week ago so I’ve been using random things to carry stitches. For example, I am currently holding stitches on a hoop earring that someone found in the computer lab at my job. I realize this might be a low point but it’s getting done. All I really want is to locate that DPN though…
3 tags
Hoarding for beginners
Day 12: Where do you keep your stash? Post pictures!
I keep the majority of my yarn, books, and not in use needles in a giant plastic box, under my bed at school. I also store fabric for sewing projects in that box. At some point I may post pictures. I need to inventory it actually.
3 tags
On this topic...
Day 11’s question is oddly relevant to something I’ve been thinking about lately. It asks if I have a “knitter hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good to look up to. I don’t really have a knitting or crafting hero, mostly because I’ve always loved that crafting is about creation and simply by doing something you add a bit of yourself to it. I also think that when you are...
2 tags
This is starting to get inTENse
Day 10: Do you have a favorite pattern or designer?
Nope. I do a lot of my own patterning. It’s generally not too complicated and nothing special. When I do want a pattern I tend to alter it in some way. Having said that, I really like the current pattern I’m working on because it’s just so pretty!!!!
3 tags
AKA crafting on a college budget
Day 9: What fiber or yarn do you love working with?
I really like Lion Brand and Vanna’s Choice. However, as I have increased my knitting projects and need more colors I’ve turned to I love this Yarn in solids. It’s softer than Red Heart and you get a good deal of regular weight. I also knit a fair amount in Lion Brand’s Homespun collection.
2 tags
Knit one, purl two
Day 8: What’s your most challenging project?
A self designed and knit Fair Isle print. It ended up being rather large and bucket like (a hat) but it looked mostly the way I intended it. I’d never done that style before and it was a lot of trial by error.
OR
The self designed Clemson Tiger hat I made for my sister. It took a while (and three attempts) for me to get it the way I wanted. I...
2 tags
Hat of leaves
I just switched out my projects on my size 6 needles. I really love the Packers but the koozie glove wasn’t holding my attention. I’m really interested in the color and the design of this hat so it just took priority for me. I enjoy picking patterns that challenge me to learn new things because it motivates me more than investigating new techniques on my own. Specifically I’ve...
2 tags
It's hard to pick one
Day 7: Your least favorite?
A blue scarf I made out of color changing Red Heart yarn. It curled weird, it’s not soft, and it’s tacky looking. I unraveled it a few weeks ago so I can use the yarn for something else.
3 tags
Showing off
Day 6: What is your favorite piece that you’ve knit?
The hat I finished for Chelsea. It’s the most professional looking thing I’ve ever knit.
3 tags
5 tags
YAY!
Today I went craft shopping and among other things, I bought new yarn and lots of fabric. The yarn is for a new beanie project I’m going to start fairly soon because my packers koozie just isn’t as interesting as I want it to be. I will finish it before football season starts next year but I found this amazing pattern that I can’t wait to try.
The fabric is to begin the first...
2 tags
2 tags
I get really driven...
Day 5: How long did it take from the time you learned how to knit, to finish your first project?
A few weeks. I taught myself and then I had something to work on during recruitment. I was knitting hard all through those two weeks.
3 tags
Four reals
Day 4: How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself over winter break my sophomore year. It was a struggle to make a 5 inch square based off of internet instructions. I barely finished it by the end of Sophie’s Choice.
3 tags
2 tags
5 tags
Multitasking
Day 3: Do you have any other WIP?
I do but all my other crafts are sewing or painting related. Everyone just got littles so I’m going to be making a lot of lettered shirts soon.
3 tags
5 tags
Two for tea
Day 2: What’s currently on your needles?
My second attempt at a koozie mitten. I’ve altered the pattern a bit and this one is Packers themed with green and yellow yarn. What’s on yours?
3 tags
30 Days of Knitting
Day 1: What was your first completed project?
The first thing I ever made was a scarf. I used bumpy purple yarn and started on (American) size 9 needles. I was about 8 inches in before I realized how thick the result was and switched to size 11 without any transition. The scarf is still really thick and wider than it needed to be and awkwardly short. I gave it to my sister who loved the color but...
4 tags
I want to live in her world
What I love most about Moriarty’s writing is her ability to capture real problems that high school (and college) kids face without weighing down the entire novel in seriousness (or preachy lectures). She deals with dysfunctional family situations of all kinds, teenage sex, stereotypes, deviant behavior, mourning, abuse, friendships, popularity, and multiple coping mechanisms for all of these...
