Ahh Slacking...

Not that anybody reads this, but I would like to apologize for the unintentional hiatus. I have been so overwhelmed with school and all of a sudden boys are into me?!?! What?!? Anyway, I finished the hat for Jack sans the beard because the pattern was wonky and icky. I'm making progress on e baby blanket, more than half way done. And I've made the decision to frog the progress on my never ending sweater so I can knit it in the round. My next two projects will be the my favorite things scarf, and some yoga socks. In other news, I got a knitting book for my birthday today, The Knitters Life List. Just an update, more when school is out!

Dabbling in Stranded Knitting

Well, it was time to learn something knew and practice for my next big project. So, I decided to knit up some practice swatches. I think they turned out nicely, actually. The only problem is that I am struggling to find a way to hold the yarn, although I may have remedied that situation.

New Stitch a Day

Hey y'all, I joined another knitting site. What do you know. This one is called "New Stitch a Day" and although I don't really know how to use the site, I got turned onto it from this guy's awesome knitting tutorials on youtube. This is my referral link or something like that:

http://newstitchaday.com/vip/?u=1&ref=14510

Finished! Cantaloop scarf

Finally finished this thing, and only because I ran out of yarn. Haha. I stitched it together because I have a major thing for infinity scarves. Oy vey. Anyway, now I can finish that damn hat of jacks and that blanket. Now I have motivation for this hat because the next pattern I want needs those needles....

The Struggle is Real

I don't understand the stereotype of crazy cat ladies knitting. Because it is a STRUGGLE to knit with a cat. Honest to god.

Next Project?

I saw this online and I want to try it once I make up a few swatches of color knitting as practice. The only question is what. And also I have no money, so I would need some yarn. That too. I was thinking maybe a knitting tote? And perhaps I could try felting it, which would also be a new experience?

Knitting for MEN

I am of the firm belief that men should knit, and that it should be socially acceptable. After all, there was a time when men were master knitters, and women couldn't even participate!! There are some guys in knitting club, and I love them to death. Also, watch this:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=5xkDK4IIArs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5xkDK4IIArs

I mean, really. How wonderful would it be to sit and knit and talk with your boyfriend? I guess really I'm saying that I want a boyfriend who can knit.

Movin on up in the World

Hey, I graduated to the next Stitch n Bitch book, which I found as a bargain at a local bookstore today. Party harty.

This Knitter for Hire

So, it's spring break, and I had my two little projects to work on. I was content with that. Perfectly fine. But somehow, when I was knitting down here, my aunt asked me to work on a baby blanket that she was stuck on. And I said yes.

Well, initially, this pattern was just a bitch. It was all knit in front and back, purl two together, knit two together nonsense and it would have taken 20 years to finish. It didn't help that my aunt, who isn't well versed in knitting, cast on 180 stitches as opposed to 80 stitches. Um. Yeah. So that didn't last very long. After only 2 rows of this bitch ass pattern, I frogged the blanket and just made one up, which I will post upon completion.

Also, I made a huge mistake earlier today with the knitting, and had to create a lifeline and rip out several rows. Not fun. But, I learned how to do that, so good stuff. Here is my progress so far:

On My Needles: "Cantaloop" and a Beard Hat

Hey kiddos. I have two small projects going, in addition to my never ending impossible sweater that just sits in the corner and MOCKS me. Um. Sorry, got carried away. Anyway, the first is a lovely pattern on ravelry called Cantaloop. It's my first experience with a lace pattern, and with big ol needles it's knitting pretty quick. Pattern here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cantaloop

I have been wanting one like this in grey, so that's what I did. This is bernat softee chunky yarn that i got at the thrift store. But I really dig the fun colors so I might knit another one for a summery thing. Moving on.

My dear twin brother requested a knit beard hat, and I'm finally getting around to it. I'm kinda winging it pattern wise. It is loosely based on a simple pattern found in my "knitters handy book of patterns". I'm using some Vanna's choice.

Finished! Morning Walk Headband

Finished it! Finally. This should have taken me a few hours, not several days. But whatever. I've been busy with school.

Knitting Humor...

On My Needles: Morning Walk Earwarmer/Headband

Howdy. My latest project, although I told myself not to start anything until sweater progress was made, is this patterns found on ravelry. I started it an hour or so ago, and it is knitting up nicely. The pattern was initially confusing but I got over myself and realized it was actually fairly simple. Here it is:

http://tmatthewsfineart.blogspot.com/2011/11/free-knitting-pattern-headband-ear.html

I'm using an extra skein of loops & threads cozy wool that I never use from my infinity scarf, in color thunder.

The Failynn Fox Cowl

I finally finished the fox cowl! Woohoo! it turned out pretty well, although it could have been better. I just think its impossible to look as adorable as the girl in the pattern. Anyway. The pattern was not free, but I adore it so here is the link to purchase one:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/118097522/knitting-pattern-the-failynn-fox-cowl?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=failynn+fox+cowl&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_ref=auto1&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=failynn+fox+cowl

I used lion brand wool ease thick n quick in spice, and charisma yarn for the contrasting brown.

Pattern: Last Minute Cowl

This cowl is a gift for my mom, wince its her birthday today. While she is out celebrating, I quickly whipped this up using four 50g skeins doubled up. You may recognize it as some of my Christmas yarn that I used to make my potato chip scarf. Anyway, this is a great last minute gift. It only took me 3-4 hours to knit. It's very straight forward:

Materials:
-4 50g balls of yarn, medium weight. You will be knitting with two together, so two balls of a super bulky would work well.
-Size 13 29" needles
-Stitch marker
-Darning needle/crochet hook to work in ends
-Scissors

Skills:
-Cast on/cast off
-Knit
-Changing balls, if needed

Cast on 65 stitches. I use grandmothers easy cast on method, which can be found on YouTube. Use whatever you prefer.

**MAKE SURE THE STITCHES ARE NOT TWISTED**

Row 1: knit all the way around
Repeat row one until desired thickness.

Cast off.

This pattern will have the rolled edge, and if you don't like that, this isn't for you. This could be easily modified to include ribbing, cabling, stripes, or other fun stitch patterns. I like the simplicity of stockinette stitch. Happy knitting!

One Cable Mitts

Finally finished these mitts, and they turned out pretty nice! These would make great last minute gifts, and are pretty cute. The link is on ravelry, and can be found in a previous post.

Some New Stuff

The thrift store truly never fails me! My mom mentioned she saw a little grab bag full of knitting supplies, so I went to investigate. I did find the bad, in addition to anther bag of circulars and some more yarn. It was full of everything you need: stitch holders, needle protectors, markers, counters, bobbins, cable needles, some very handy knitting reference cards, and a darning needle. The bag full of circular needles was an equally wonderful find. Most are 29 inches, but two are 16 inches for hat making. There are tons of different sizes, including the size I need for my next project. The yarn was a good find too. Overall, I'm quite pleased with my find!

Padawan Learner

I don't know if I spelled that Right, but who cares. Tonight my best friend came over to learn how to knit. I'm so proud of my little grasshopper.

On My Needles: One Cable Mitts and Big Sack Sweater

Hey kiddos! I figured it was high time I elaborated on my last blog post, where I briefly mentioned that I had started the Big Sack Sweater from Stitch n Bitch. Since that last post, I have made little progress on it, because I started a secondary project that was smaller and portable. Those would be these delightful fingerless mitts, called the one cable mitts on ravelry. The pattern, which is not mine, is here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/one-cable-mitts

So far, the knitting is pretty quick and I would probably be done with the first one except for the fact that I made a HUGE mistake that was not salvageable, so I was forced to frog it. Anyway, pretty fun problem that only needs one skein of worsted weight. I had been looking for a pattern like this for quite some time, so it was a nice find.

I will post some pictures when both the mitts and the sweater is complete. In other news, my best friend says she wants to learn how to knit. Pumped! :D

New Ravelry Account

Hey y'all, just thought I'd let you know (not that anyone reads this) that I got a ravelry account yesterday! I was pretty bummed that every time I saw a cute pattern online, nine times outta ten it would be on somebody's ravelry account, and I didn't have one! So I broke down and got one, and I'm psyched! Its awesome so far, and I'll actually try and keep it updated. We'll see how long that lasts. But it might make this  humble little blog a bit more popular, since I linked the accounts. If you would like to take a look see, here is the link to my account:

http://www.ravelry.com/people/kfletchers

I would totally recommend that you all get an account, its a delightful little website.

In other news, I might become president of the knitting club, I just ordered a new pattern that I'm pumped to try out, and I have taken the plunge: I'm knitting up my first sweater!! I'll write about that one in a separate post, but this is kind of my update post. In the next few weeks, be looking out for:

-Product/book reviews
-Videos (this is dependent entirely on my school schedule, but I'm working on it)
-New projects I'm starting
-Pictures of cats

Does that sound good to you? Cause it sounds good to me. Are we good? Good.

Pattern: Leg Warmers

Howdy! Well I finished my weekend project of leg Warmers (I had a long weekend). They turned out pretty well all things considered, however, they are kinda slouchy. Which is fine, but maybe a little tighter would be good. Anyway, here is the pattern:

Materials:

Set of four or five size 11 DPNs
1 skein oh homespun yarn (or yarn of your choice)

Skills:

Cast on for DPNs
Knit stitch, no purls
Cast off
Weaving in yarn ends
Looking sassy in leg Warmers!

Directions:

Cast on 30 stitches evenly onto your needles. I have fairly muscular calves, so you might need to adjust the stitches you cast on.

Join in the round.

Knit every ditch until desired length. (About 10 to 12 inches for my taste)

Cast off.

After knitting this pattern I would recommend doing a knit two Purl two ribbing on the top and bottom so that it doesn't slouch so much. But that this is up to personal reference.

Happy knitting!

On My Needles: Leg Warmers

Hey everyone! With the arrival of my new DPNs, I decided to embark on some knitting in the round. Leg Warmers were the obvious choice, as they are simple and very functional in our chilly climate. I am using some thrift store homespun yarn. So far, I really like the yarn. The color changes, which is interesting, and it's very soft. I will post the pattern once I finish.

Oh Yeah, Second Circle Scarf

By the way, I made my second infinity scarf in this gorgeous blue. It's loops n threads, and I thought it was pretty decent yarn. Anyway, I accidentally made this a möbius scarf (it has a twist) but I think it kinda adds to the effect, no? Not as many errors this time around, and I think I am going to knit one as a gift for my best friend.

Knitting Needle Case?

Well, you all saw my lovely new knitting needle case! (And on that note, I fixed the ribbons, they tie now!!) But apparently, that is not its intended use, according to Hobbes. And Britta.

In other news, I bought two sets of needles online, straight sets and a set of DPNs! They should arrive in the next few days, so I will share when I get them!

DIY Needle Case

Hey y'all, today I was feelin' crafty! I decided to use the pattern in Stitch n' Bitch to make a roll up needle case. I found some pretty upholstery fabric that I liked, and set to work. It took me about two hours or so, and the only problem I had is that I didn't make the ribbons long enough :P. But otherwise, it turned out really well! I will make anger with the left over fabric to make one for my circulars.

Knitting Club and Knitting for a Cause

Well everyone, tomorrow is my favorite day of the week, Friday! For many reasons: leads right into the weekend, I can procrastinate all my homework, and KNITTING CLUB! Yes, this is the knitting club that started it all, Fridays at lunch.

I figured I should tell all of the people who read this (so 0) what we do. Yes, we knit and talk and eat, but what we are really doing is knitting for a cause. We are knitting 8x8 squares for two things: one, a senior living home. And the other is to send to an organization who knits them into blankets and sends them to children in Africa with AIDS! I don't have the link to the site, but it's very easy to find. Hopefully if someone actually reads this, you will consider making 8x8 squares too! It's a great way to practice your skills. I used this for my first stockinette swatch, and as you can see, I'm working on stripes now! It's great, and you can use scrap yarn and experiment with new stitches!

Knitting Buddies

Aww, look who decided to cuddle with me while I do some knitting!

Stress and Knitting

One of the reasons I love knitting is because it is a great way to de-stress. I am in several AP classes, and most of my other classes are honors. I have a lot of homework, and not to mention your usual high school drama! Personal life mixed in with school often creates a ton of stress, and during the school year I find myself often becoming overwhelmed with stress.

During the softball season, when I would get home late, leave class early, and just become overall frustrated with the season, I would often come home and completely break down. I mean full on, tears and punching pillows. And that was before I even had a chance to start my homework, which would usually result in another ten minutes of stress-breathing.

But anyway, as I was perusing some articles about busting stress, I came across this one here (which is actually pretty helpful): http://www.ivillage.com/30-days-30-ways-less-stress/4-b-329862#329906

This page is actually about knitting, and it has some pretty neat facts about how good knitting or stuff like that is good for you. Apparently with just 20 minutes of knitting, you're put into a light meditative state which dials down stress hormones by 45%. That is pretty astounding, if you ask me. There really is something about knitting, for me anyway, that is so relaxing. The methodical, rhythmic repetition is something that my busy, fidgeting hands crave, and my frayed nerves have come to love. Now ever since I picked up a pair of needles, I have known about how great knitting is for stress relief. But this little article kind of jogged some writing juices and I felt like I should share it for everyone who feels the same way.

So, with school starting again in two days, I'll try and keep this in mind. Even if I have tons of work to do, I think I could find the time for 20 minutes of knitting to help calm me down. When I have a project going, I try and knit a few rows every night before bed, to help me get relaxed for bed. So now that I'm armed with my needles and my yarn, I'll be ready to kick off second semester with a bang, and a defense against stress.

Pattern: Circle/Infinity Scarf

I did not anticipate knitting this all last night, but it was very quick. Here is the pattern:

Materials:
-One skein lion brand wool ease thick n quick
-Size 13 circular needles, 29"
-Stitch markers

Cast on 120 stitches. I use multiple stitch markers here to break up the stitches. In this case, I used 3 to mark off every forty stitches so I didn't have to count out 120.

Knit 2 purl 2 all the way around. You should end with 2 purl. Continue until desired thickness, cast off.

It was super quick, although I did make some errors. I will knit another one in another color and hopefully that one will have less errors. Still, even with all of that, it turned out quite nicely and would make a great, super quick gift.

On My Needles: Infinity/Circle scarf

Hey everyone. I told myself I would not start another knitting project until I got some writing accomplished, but that was just a lie I told myself. Here is my latest project, and infinity/circle scarf with lion brand wool-ease thick and quick yarn. It's simple ribbing on circular needles. I will post the pattern when I finish it, which should be soon, it's knitting up super quick.

Thrift Store Score!

Check it out. Now that I've started knitting, I'm always on the hunt for cheap yarn and needles. Today, I lucked out and found some DPNs, two pairs of circulars, and yes, a nice skein oh homespun yarn!

I was also fortunate enough to find an old 35mm camera, which has been a long lived quest of mine.

Pattern: Potato Chip Scarf

Hey everyone! Looking for a fast, fun, and most of all EASY pattern to try? I found this pattern and thought that it would be a little challenging, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is super easy. They call this the potato chip scarf, because apparently, you can't knit just one. And to me, it looks ruffled like a potato chip. This was my first "pattern" project, even though I did modify it for bigger needles. I found that it is a very forgiving pattern, so if you make a small mistake or miss a row, it won't ruin your work. Here's what you need (for my version):

Materials:

• Size 11 needles
• About 4 50g balls (I used some Christmas yarn: Gala yarns, Mixed fiber yarn) 
• Crochet hook/darning needles for working in ends 
• Scissors

Skills:

• Cast on 
• Cast off
• Knit stitch (No purls!)
• Slipping stitches 
• Changing yarn balls 

Gauge: Not important. I changed my needle size to be larger, because that is what I prefer. Do what you like.

Finished size: 4.5 inches wide, about 66 inches long

Pattern: 

• Cast on 14 Stitches 
• Row 1: k across
• Row 2: K 6, Sl 1, yf, turn work 
• Row 3: Sl 1, k to end 
• Row 4: K 4, Sl 1, yf, turn work 
• Row 5: Sl 1, k to end 
• Row 6: K 2, Sl 1, yf, turn work 
• Row 7: Sl 1, k to end 
• Repeat rows 1-7 until almost out of yarn (or desired length), cast off all stitches 

Original pattern here (the only real difference here is needle size. I modified it for size 11, it was really size 9): http://www.to-knit-knitting-stitches.com/potato-chip-scarf.html

Here is the final project. I think that if you made this in a solid color with lighter yarn, it would look amazing and pair really well with almost anything. Obviously with the stripes and color scheme here, it might be hard, but it looks nice with the jean jacket. And this is not Hobbes modeling here, its Miguel, our old sour puss.