Return to the Needles

So I've been wanting to try my hand a knitting again. My great-grandmother taught me back when I was in high school, but I found it frustrating and tedious, I also could never get past the garter knit stage and I could only make scarves. So I quit and was a devout crocheter. However I like a lot of designs for knitting so I'm getting started again. My friend Rachel is a knitter and hosted a stitch n' bitch party to teach us all how to knit. This dishcloth was the pattern she used. I felt more successful this time because now I can read patterns and I can branch out on my own. I'm going to start small and stick to dishcloths for a while, but eventually I want to move onto bigger and better things. Crochet will still be my primary fiber craft, but I just wanted to try something new. Have a good week.

Rising the Charts

This scarf is quickly becoming a favorite amongst friends and family. It took a little bit of time for me to decipher the pattern, but with the assistance of a friend I learned how to make this beautiful scarf. The scarf I made first was the pink one below for my sister. I've now also made an off-white scarf for a friend. This is a very fun pattern that takes no time. The biggest issue I had was that it only attaches in at 2 sides, so it gaps in the middle. For the first scarf I stitched buttons onto the scarf to keep the middle from gaping. For the second scarf I just picked up the space in the middle. I also put the buttons on them. Hope you like them. I used the Crochet Lace Pattern from Lion Brand Yarn

Purple and Brown Hat

Hello bloggers,
Well I finished the hat I made for my mom. I used the "Family of Beanies" pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website. This hate was a little difficult because the baby alpaca yarn I used was so light weight that I had to start over 3 times before I realized that I needed to double up the yarn. Then as I progressed it was so light it was difficult for the hat to hold any shape. I did LOVE the color combination that I picked up, it's really unfortunate that my camera doesn't do the colors justice. Another addition that I did was that I found an ear warmer for $1.00 at JoAnn's Fabrics so I quickly stitched that to the inside of the hat when it was complete. I did have to stretch the ear warmer to fit along the interior, but it was quick and simple and my mom really likes the added warmth. The yarn is from Alpaca with a Twist, Baby Alpaca that I purchased at Knitting Habitat Enjoy the pictures and don't hesitate to ask.

Too much of the apple

Well I bit off a little too much this last month. I've been taking classes for work, working on my masters, moving into my new house and working on tons of Christmas presents. So I haven't posted since I first created this blog. I made a number of Christmas presents this year and I'll get them posted as soon as I get pictures. Here is scarf I made for my brother. I really liked this pattern because instead of the typical horizontal stripes it has vertical stripes. Another blogger (my apologies for forgetting the name) not only used the vertical stripes, but also did the different colored stripes. I love the way this scarf turned out, it looks so sleek and sharp especially against his new pea black coat. In case you are wondering how I spaced the stripes I did 6 rows, 2 rows, 3 rows, 3 rows, 3 rows, 2 rows, 6 rows. Let me know if you have any questions.

Work in Progress

I learned to crochet when I was a sophomore in college. At that time I knew two stitches, I could make scarves and blankets. I had no talent beyond squares and rectangles. I wanted to learn more but had not resources until I started my second job and I now work with a team of fellow crochet nuts. I had never been taught how to read a pattern. However the more I learn the more risks I take and my goal is to start blogging about resources I use to figure out stitches, patterns, etc. I hope this helps other fellow novice crochettes out there to take the chance and try new and difficult patterns. Don't be afraid to look at more difficult patterns, as my teacher friend reminded me, once you can read the pattern you usually already know how to do everything else. I'll show pictures of my final projects when I complete them.
Happy stitching!

Megan