Crafting 101

I’m sure that each of us knows someone who is going through cancer treatments right now or we know of a local hospital that treats cancer patients that need some sort of support. If you are a crocheter or knitter, take a weekend or a week to make a hat or two for your friend, family member or for your local hospital. You can check out the hat patterns here at headhuggers.org where the patterns are free and easy to follow. And if you don’t have someone to make one for, you can always donate them to HeadHuggers and they will make sure the hats get to someone who needs it. Thought I’d pass this along! TTFN!

No I haven’t started knitting me a new jacket, but I so want to! My friend Jennifer (who works on movies, she works with movie stars! It’s awesome!) put on a jacket the other night at TNK and one woman commented on it and Jennifer said she knitted it and it was all knit stitch. It was so pretty and felt good too. She said she got it from this book, The Knitting Experience Book I: The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville. She said I could borrow it, but I won’t see her until June since I can’t get to TNK until then!

So I told the DH that I will just have to get it to make myself a coat. I can never seem to find one I like and I was thinking of a nice brown coat with some pink speckled in there here and there would be nice. She made the Einstein coat which looked super easy. Amazon.com doesn’t have the book so I’m off to search for it! You might say, um, spring has sprung, summer will be here soon, so why knit a jacket? Well, for one, Virginia weather is so unpredictable so it might be hot one day, cold the next. But what I’m actually is betting on is it’ll take me until next winter to finish it!!

Right now, I currently have a scarf, pair of socks and a blanket on the needles. But those are my small projects to take places (well, not the blanket as I’m writing the pattern as I go) so the jacket will have to be an at home project and sometimes I need those. It gives me a reason to sit on the couch with my feet propped up not doing anything else! Toodles!

Welcome to my last post on knitting. I’m sad to stop writing about knitting, but next month is all about crochet which is another topic I love! So here goes!

You can’t have lessons on learning to knit without a quick lesson on knitting with two colors.  Now even I was like, knitting with two colors? I can’t do it! Well, it’s nothing to be afraid of! And if the information you see here is helpful and you want to learn even more about knitting with two colors, feel free to visit Knittinghelp.com for videos and more!

Let’s begin with learning to knit with two colors. The main thing to remember is to watch your yarns and not get them all twisted together. To begin, this will be something very easy. We’ll use two colors, but they will switch at the end of the row so you aren’t messing with several things of yarn. (When switching yarn in the middle of a project like this, you’ll have to cut your yarn and have several balls of yarn going at once.)

If you’d like to do this with me, cast on 20 stitches in one color and knit four rows. You’ll then want to drop the first color (let’s call it Color A) and pick up your second color (Color B) and knit your first stitch. You’ll continue to knit four rows with that color. Now you’ll want to pick up Color A. You want to bring that yarn to the back so that when you do pick up Color B again, they will blend together. I have only done twelve rows, but you can continue for sixteen more rows, switching colors every four rows. Bind off and you’ll have a cute striped coaster! Make three more and have a set for someone!

This is a photo of some Christmas gifts I made last year. The one on the right (the square one) is knitted with a pattern that I do all the time for quick gifts. (The one on the left is crocheted, a pattern I created myself in the car on the way to Texas!) But I wanted you to see the stripes that I put in it. Stripes always make things interesting I think! If you’d like the pattern, check it out here. Also, this is a great pattern for making blankets. Get a pair of huge needles, bulky yarn and go to town! That’s what I did with this blanket I made for a friend of mine having her fourth baby. I used size 17 needles and chunky yarn and it was done in an afternoon!

Don’t be afraid with knitting with two colors. There are many other methods, but this is a simple one. Like I said, you can make all sorts of easy projects and unique projects just by changing it up a bit with the colors. Have fun with it and if you’ve made a striped coaster or two, share your folders!

Have you ever heard people say “You’re knitting? That’s for old people!”? I know I have heard that loads of times. Well, knitting isn’t for old people anyone. It’s hip! It’s popping! It’s loads of fun!

If you have your needles, some yarn and your pattern, you can create all sorts of things. I have made bags, leg warmers, socks, hats, blankets, loads of dishcloths, cell phone cozy, and more.  I have two dishcloths and a bag on the needles right now. I use bright, vibrant colors. I use different types of yarn. I change out my needles for larger or smaller sizes. Changing these things are what makes it all fun!

There are lots of places to find patterns of projects that are fun and hip! Do a search online for knitting patterns. You’ll find all sorts of things for free. Visit a local bookstore to find magazines. They have several patterns in there.

These are places online that I go to all the time for things.
Ravelry
HGTV
Michael’s
Parents.com
AllCrafts.com
Knitting Pattern Central

Making things for charity is fun too. There are many preemie babies born all the time and they need little hats or blankets to keep them warm. I go to DailyKnitter.com whenever I want to donate things to various charities and I find out what people need.

Remember that finishing items are just as fun as making the item itself. The satisfaction of binding off a project, weaving in those ends and snapping a picture is totally worth all the work put into it. Especially if you’re able to see the recipient wearing or using the item is a wonderful feeling too!

If you finish a project and want to share your photo, LMK and I’ll write about it! TTFN!

Hello world! I hope that your week is going well.

Today is Day Three of our Week in Review. The fourth week of May you were given your very first Knit-Along to complete. The concept of a KAL is to be given seven to ten rows each day over a span of a week or so, with no clues or pictures so by the end of the pattern, you’re surprised by what you made. It’s a neat thing to do and some groups use it to keep your skills up while some others do them to teach you new things.

This KAL when completed became a dishcloth with a checkmark in the middle. It’s a pattern that I wrote myself just for Crafting 101! It’s my first time to write a pattern for a dishcloth that’s knitted and I think it turned out well! What do you think?

This KAL was for you to simply learn to read a pattern and to learn to switch between the purling and knitting stitches. It also gave you a chance to learn about adding borders. You probably don’t realize it, but you did work with garter and stockinette stitches. The border was done in a garter stitch (knitting each row) and the border on the inside that is around the checkmark is done in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl the next). See how they can be incorporated into a pattern?

I hope that you enjoyed the KAL. I had fun writing the pattern and I had fun teaching you how to knit. We’ll have some surprises over the next two days, then I’ll post the schedule for June. Can you believe that a month has gone by? TTFN!

Good day to you all! Today is Day Two of our Week in Review. Let’s begin!

The third week of May, we learned seven new stitches and by using the stitches created a creative looking dishcloth. The point of teaching you the stitches was not to torture you or confuse you, but to show you have changing up the number of times you knit or purl can totally change the look of your project.

We learned the following stitches: Garter Stitch, Stockinette Stitch, Seed Stitch, Moss Stitch, Rice Stitch, Box Stitch, and Ribbing. Each used the basic knitting and purling stitches in a different pattern to create a different look. Learning the names of the stitches and how to execute them is helpful when reading patterns. The patterns will say to knit so many rows in this stitch and it’s helpful to have already done them so you know what to do. 

This is the picture of the five stitches done on one cloth. I ran out of yellow and had to finish with another variegated yarn.  The good thing with practicing is you can use these at home where it doesn’t matter if you goofed or not! It’s good to be creative too. And with each of these stitches, you can make five different dishcloths by using each stitch to make one cloth!

Tomorrow we’ll discuss the KAL. I haven’t seen anyone else’s work so I’m hoping that if you’ve been able to try it, you can send me a picture, even if it’s only halfway done. I’d love to see what others are doing! See you tomorrow!

I hope that you are having a great Memorial Day! For those that are inside enjoying the A/C instead of the hot sun, here’s the beginning of our week in review!

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Our first week of knitting, we learned all about how to knit . This included figuring out which method would be best for you to use, Continental or English; how to create a slip knot and cast on to your needle and how to knit your first row! When then knitted a cute little coaster/scrubbie and learned how to bind off and weave in the ends so you could be done with your project.During our second week, I introduced you to purling. There are two basic stitches in knitting: knitting and purling. While using the basics learned in the first week, I showed you how to make a purl stitch and by the end of the week, we had a cute little dishcloth to show off to our friends.If you are still having trouble or would like to go over those lessons again, please feel free to do so. Knitting is here and purling is here. The links will take you to the first day of each week so you can read through those lessons easily.

Tomorrow and the next day I’ll go over what we learned in the last two weeks and then day four and five is something special. This weekend I will also post some information regarding the month of June which is Crochet Craziness! TTFN!

Checkmark Dishcloth Pattern
© 2008 by Pamela Foreman

Materials:
Size 7 or 8 needles
one ball of cotton yarn any color

Directions:
Cast On 46 stitches
Rows 1 -4: Knit across
Row 5: K4, P38, K4
Row 6: Knit across
Row 7: K4, P38, K4
Row 8: Knit across
Row 9: K4, P38, K4
Row 10: Knit across
Row 11: K4, P38, K4
Row 12: Knit across
Row 13: K4, P14, K2, P22, K4
Row 14: K25, P4, K17
Row 15: K4, P12, K6, P20, K4
Row 16: K24, P7, K15
Row 17: K4, P10, K3, P3, K3, P19, K4
Row 18: K22, P3, K5, P3, K13
Row 19: K4, P8, K3, P7, K3, P17, K4
Row 20: K20, P3, K9, P2, K12
Row 21: K4, P20, K3, P15, K4
Row 22: K18, P3, K25
Row 23: K4, P22, K3, P13, K4
Row 24: K16, P3, K27
Row 25: K4, P24, K3, P11, K4
Row 26: K14, P3, K29
Row 27: K4, P26, K3, P9, K4
Row 28: K12, P3, K31
Row 29: K4, P38, K4
Row 30: Knit across
Row 31: K4, P38, K4
Row 32: Knit across
Row 33: K4, P38, K4
Row 34: Knit across
Row 35: K4, P38, K4
Rows 36 - 39: Knit across
Bind off, weave in ends

This pattern is of my own design. Any questions or comments need to be addressed to Pamela Foreman of Crafting 101 and Random Thoughts by Pam. No posting of this pattern on other websites or in publications is permitted. Linking to this specific pattern is allowed. Copies of this pattern may be printed for personal use only, no selling of this pattern is permitted. 

Good afternoon and welcome to day five of the KAL! It’s the last day, we’ll finish the last few rows and I have a picture at the end of the post so you can see what it looks like. Tomorrow I will post the entire pattern in full so you’re able to get it all together in case you couldn’t join us for the entire KAL. I hope that you like it!

Row 34: Knit across
Row 35: K4, P38, K4
Rows 36 - 39: Knit across
Bind off

You’re done!! It’s a checkmark for a job well done!

I hope that it looks like this, if it does, great job! If not, well, feel free to start again. If you have questions about where you might have messed up, please leave me a comment and I’ll help you out. Thanks!

Woo hoo, you have made it this far with the KAL!! I’m so excited and I hope that you are enjoying this KAL. Today the dishcloth will really begin to take shape and I hope you’ll start having some sort of idea of what we’re making. So, without further to do, let’s begin!

Row 27: K4, P26, K3, P9, K4
Row 28: K12, P3, K31
Row 29: K4, P38, K4
Row 30: Knit across
Row 31: K4, P38, K4
Row 32: Knit across
Row 33: K4, P38, K4

Okay, that’s the lines for today. Tomorrow you just have six more lines and the bind off and then you’ll be done. I will post a photo tomorrow as well so you can see the finished product. If you are working on this, please send me a photo! I’d love to see what others are doing! TTFN!