Knit Knit Knit...

So I promised last week that I would put up a blog soon about knitting. Well, here it is! Firstly, I am hoping all of you guys have joined Ravelry, as it is an invaluable resource for knitters and crocheters, and I hope you have also visited IroIro, which I blogged about last week, to check out what she is up to. I think a lot of people pass knittingand crocheting off as something for old people, which it really doesn't have to be. The last blog entry on IroIro showed a knitted leotard, and there are many entries on Rav like this simple dress and this fantastic Fantastic Mr Fox jumper which show how much you can do with yarn. There are even patterns to make the characters from the iphone app "Angry Birds". So much can be added to sewing and to your home through knitting and crochet. Which brings me to the next part of this blog, my own hand-knitted stash of clothing;

This is me crocheting the beginnings of a granny square skirt...

I've chosen to make each square individually...

And then join them together by sewing with the black wool. There were a lot of simple techniques I used in this project, and stay tuned because as soon as I have photos of it, I'll blog a tutorial on how to make one and on my journey to crocheting...

These fingerless mitts were actually made for me by my mother, who taught me to knit. The yarn used here has silk in it, and it feels as soft and slippery- as metallic- as it looks in this picture. Although she sewed on a flower motif, to me these mitts are more reminisce of the ocean. The cool colour of the yarn, the turbulent, milky silver and blue in the center of the buttons, and the icy blue thread in the embroidery seem to me to be symbolic of a cruel but stunning winter ocean. I just love them.

These mitts were also knitted by my mother, and aren't as special as the ones above. But they are WARM and THICK! They are a little too big for my hands, but this actually allows me to wear tops or jumpers with longer sleeves, and to tuck the ends in under the mitts. They are comforting mitts.

Another mother-made piece of knitwear! These are my first pair of hand-knitted socks. I never used to let my mother knit me socks, because I have always been determined that you cannot wear socks that are in between ankle length and thigh length. I don't know why I was so against that middle ground, but I have been for years, until I found ankle boots. Now, I have four pairs of ankle boots, and these socks are a warm blessing underneath them. Hand-knitted socks are fantastic at night- I have bad circulation in my feet because of the tablets I have to take, so my feet were always freezing until my mum made me these socks.

Fingerless mitts are very easy to make! But I get bored- as I have with the project above and the project below. Both are pairs of fingerless mitts I have been making for months now. The ones above were meant to be a Christmas present.

I included this close-up shot to show anyone who doesn't know what ribbing looks like. These mitts are very simple to make- knit two, purl two for the rib, until you get the desired length you want from your wrist down your arm, then knit only until they measure to about your first row of knuckles on your fingers, and then either cast off or knit two purl two to create a small rib to tighten them around your fingers. You can also reduce the stitches before the rib if you want them to fit snugly around your fingers. So what you should have now is a rectangle big enough to wrap around your hand snugly, with a wider rib at the bottom and a thinner rib at the top. You need to measure where your thumb is, and sew the sides of the rectangle together up to that point, then start sewing again from the top of your thumb up to the top of the rectangle, and there you have it! Please tell me if this isn't enough information, I would be happy to put up a more in-depth tutorial.

I love the colours of this yarn. I am very much a colour girl over anything else.

Again, this is not something I have knitted. This is a scarf my best friend Janelle made me in my second last year of high school. She used a whole lot of yarns, bought from op-shops and left over from other projects to create the most random stripes. It is the brightest, happiest piece of clothing I own- and it always brings a smile to peoples faces which makes it one of the most treasured as well.

And it is long! I asked her to knit me a long one, but I really didn't expect it to be this big. I am about 5'9", and this is at least 125% of my height. I can wrap my torso and neck in it!

I have knitted two scarves from this wool, the other was for a friend's birthday. It is hard to tell in this photograph, but the black wool also has metallic bits woven into it in a rainbow of colours. It is a subtle effect, but it works really well because the scarf still goes with everything while being a little bit interesting.

This is my pom pom scarf! The yarn was actually bought for my Year 12 Vis Com folio, but my experimentation with it didn't work, (I didn't really expect it to but it filled out about three pages which was realllllllllllly helpful!) so I turned it into this enthusiastic scarf instead. A lot of people seem to shy away with knitting with this kind of bobbly wool, but there is really no need to. If you use a thick needle, and knit a loose gauge, you shouldn't have any trouble because the wool is quite strong and the pom poms will just pull through the stitches. You would need a tighter gauge for something like a kid's jumper, to make it warmer and to hide the stitches underneath the pom poms, but I really don't think it would be that hard with some previous knitting experience. I will try and get some more of this yarn and experiment with it for you in the future.

My first beanie! I actually knitted two of these because the first was too small for my head- even this one doesn't really fit properly, but with bobby pins I can kind of perch it on my head. I loved the colour of this yarn, it reminds me of watermelons because of that vivacious, summery pink. I went through a long stage of not liking pink, but now it makes me happy to look at. Again, I think knitters who are just beginning can be a bit scared to knit things like beanies, it is a bit daunting to start something shaped. But if you think about it, how many times have you dropped stitches without realising it? Or added them? My first scarf was definitely not rectangular- it was a ripple, from all the times my mum fixed it, only to have me drop five more stitches the next round. Basically all shaping is is making deliberate mistakes in the amount of stitches you need, and you already know how to do that so why not try it?

And lastly, I am planning to use this Cleckheaton Country Wide wool to make the skirt picctured on the front of this pattern book. I have wanted a knitted skirt for so long, and I think this one with the recurring diamond pattern is stunning. The red wool I chose off Ravelry for this project is a rich maroon kind of red, perfect to add a splash of colour to the traditional Melbourne winter style, (black on black on black on black). I'm really excited about this skirt!

 I am hoping to make Tuesday my knitting blog day, so if that pans out mt kneedles will see you next week for a Two Tutorial Tuesday!
helen xx