I have been a member of
Ravelry.com for awhile now, and I have seen people's knitting blogs and have wanted to start one of my own. This is just a place for me to keep a record of different projects and items I have been working on. I have some past projects I may talk about too, but I haven't always remembered to photograph them.
Here's a bit of my history: I was with my family in Pennsylvania one summer. We visited the Amish Country. There was a shop that we went to that probably sold lots of things, but what I remember was the wooden toys. My brothers and I got to pick out something, and I got a pair of knitting needles. I'm not sure why I picked them, but home with me they went. After than, I started learning from both of my grandmothers, and a little from my mom too, about knitting. I basically learned the knit stitch, and therefore the garter stitch. I knitted a lot of garter stitch rectangles in my youth, but never tried really realized how much more there was to it.
Later on, maybe college, I had some friends from church who were really into knitting, and it rekindled my interest. I went online and watched videos to learn how to do the purl stitch, and oh-so-slightly expanded my knitting knowledge again. I knitted on and off for the next several years, but never really produced anything.
In the fall of 2009, I think, the host of the morning radio show I listened to (
Mornings With Brant) made a call to his listeners for hand-knitted blankets, hats, and other baby items that he could take to Kabul, Afghanistan with him. He called the project "Knit. Pray. Love." Not only were mothers and babies going to receive items they so desperately needed, but the knitters were going to be praying for the mothers and babies who would receive their hand-knitted items. Amazing idea. So, I pulled out the needles and got to work.
I've been knitting pretty consistently since then. Unfortunately the Knit. Pray. Love. project left me with a nasty case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. After a few flare-ups, I conveniently saw something in the yarn aisle of
Hobby Lobby. It was called "
The Ultimate Sweater Machine". I was instantly intrigued by the claims of knitting afghans, sweaters, scarves, etc. in just a few evenings each. I went home and did some research over the next week or two and decided this would be worth a try. Knitting things faster would be great for:
- Getting several baby blankets done in just a few months, as I now had several pregnant friends.
- Still being able to knit and be creative without causing more CTS flare-ups (It's painful!)
- Learn a new craft! I love learning new things!
I have since made four
USM Baby Blankets, and sampled some other techniques (no finished objects though).
I just moved and my USM has to temporarily stay in storage (sad face), but in the meantime, I figure it would be good to work on some new hand-knitting projects. There are some techniques I have wanted to try, such as cables and using DPNs. I went to good ol' Hobby Lobby (I could live there and be happy) in search of inspiration. In the section where the knitting books are I found a few interesting books with
amigurumi dolls. I flipped through the patterns and found them very doable. I narrowed it down to two choices:
The Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger, or
Little Knitted Creatures by Amy Gaines. I went for the Amy Gaines book, and I love it! I'll probably ask for the monsters book for Christmas.
I have finished one project and am in progress on another. My finished project is
Amy Angelfish. She's is so cute and was so easy to make. It took very little time too. I think I made it in 3 evenings. I like a fast turn around time. I've gotten used to it with the USM. I loved it so much that I hopped right into
Oliver Who. Oliver is a bit tougher, but he's super cool and worth it. I've just got a little bit left to go before I'm done, and I will share him on here when he is completed.
That's enough of my history for now. I look forward to sharing my projects, pictures, struggles, and victories on here!
