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.

My Stash

Oops. This accidentally got deleted. Anyway.

This here is my stash, and I thought it might be nice to lay it all out for you people. As you can see, I am not running low in the yarn department. I attribute this to the yarn sale that was happening at hobby lobby recently, as well as from my neighbor, who just gave me all of her old yarn and needles. My grandma also contributed to some of it. This is kind of becoming an addiction.

Look what came in the mail!

It finally came! Woohoo! Maybe once I get a little more into it I can write a review.

My Knitting Story

To begin, I suppose I should say where, when, and how I learned to knit. Or something like that.

A few months ago, my friend Aubin and I saw some posters around school about knitting club. I made some off hand remark, and Aubin was like "wait, would you actually do it? I told my teacher I would, plus we get community service." Now keep in mind, neither of us knew how to knit, but we decided to give it a go. This turned out to be a really good decision.

We went to the club, and having no knitting anything, we got an idea of what to do. But I didn't learn how to knit there. I learned through watching countless YouTube videos, which I will soon make an addition to, and was off to the races. I even walked to a small little knitting shop one day by my house to get my very first set of knitting needles.

Now, every Friday, Aubin and I make our jolly way to knitting club and spend 45 minutes happily stitching and bitching. (Which is a book I just ordered, and am awaiting the arrival of.)

Anyway, knitting has become a bit of an obsession. Like really. So I am going to post about my knitting adventures here, and we can all get a good grin out of it!

Welcome to the Blog!

Why hello there, everyone! My name is Katie, and I'm assuming that since you're reading this, it has happened for one of three reasons:

1. You are my friend, and are reading this out of a courtesy.
2. You accidentally stumbled onto it, by searching through random blogs.
3. You happened to be interested in knitting! (Or cats!)

If the last one happens to apply to you, keep reading. If the first two apply, you can still keep reading, and I wouldn't hold it against you. And you might just learn a thing or two.

Anyway, this blog's focus is going to be about knitting, and since many people associate knitting with cats, there will certainly be some things in here surrounding my dear cat Hobbes. But the goal is to have some helpful knitting videos, some things that I'm knitting, patterns, some anecdotes, pictures, and maybe if I'm feeling funky, some product reviews. There isn't going to be specific days or times when I post, so just pop in whenever and see whats happening!

Here we are, just so you can put names to faces, if you're that kind of person.