Tag: Needlework

How cute is this?

I am giggling with glee – I finished my very first knitting project.

I am giggling because … well, when you see what it is you will understand.

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I mean, seriously, can you look at that and NOT giggle?

Yes, it really is a Polly Pocket blanket.  You thought I was kidding in my earlier posts when I said that I was making one. Nope. Not kidding.

But…

to redeem myself, it is the first thing I have finished; it is the first thing I’ve ever done the Purl stitch on; and I did it ALL start to finish on my own. From casting on to binding off.

So, even though it is a whopping six by six inches square (thereabouts) I am very proud of it.

And more importantly, the Little Princess will be thrilled when she sees it tomorrow morning.

Hee Hee… I knit Polly Pocket blankets. (and I’m sure I’ll be knitting more before very long, if the Little Princess has anything to say about it)

I want to make these

Now that I have been bitten by the knitting bug, I have been snooping around on the web trying to find videos of stitches, patterns, etc. 

I also made a quick trip to the store today because the Big Girl has decided she must also do yarn/needle crafts if Momma is doing them. She picked out the biggest, chunkiest thread I’d seen. It is a deep teal, very pretty, but it looks so huge compared to the yarns I’m used to. We got her a size 13 needle (I think) to crochet with and the stitches are ginormous, but they are cute and very fitting of something a pre-teen would do. She has decided she is making bookmarks and maybe a “Friendship Bracelet” with her yarn.  I guess I am going to have to hook her up with Ms. Pam and get some real crochet lessons for her. 🙂

My little Polly Pocket blanket has morphed into the beginnings of a scarf, which Big Girl has already laid claim to. I am learning, though, and enjoying what I am doing. I have learned that this is very calming for me. When I am stressed, I’m grabbing the needles.  Which, after a day like I had today, was a LOT!  I am also noticing that I knit much better when I am not trying to referee the kids, answer ten-bajillion questions, and rock someone in the rocking chair. (Little Bit is sick with strep)  I have been finding mysterious extra stitches on my rows whenever I do that. Ah well, it is my first attempt, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.

RodeoBut, as I was saying earlier, I have been rummaging around the web and I stumbled across some of the absolute cutest little knitted animals.

I mean, is he not just stinkin’ cute?

I am going to have to figure out how to make one. Big Girl and Little Bit have already put in their requests.  The only rub is that it calls for circular needles.  Hm…  I may be hitting up my friendly neighborhood knitting teacher for some advice on Thursday night.

I didn’t get any scrapbooking done today, in spite of my best intentions. After a trip to the pediatrician, the pharmacy, WalMart and Michael’s, I had to bring Little Bit home for some rest.  And that wasn’t as restful as planned because she absolutely, positively, did not want to take her medicine. Much hysteria and drama ensued and then she finally gave in.  After all of that I was mentally and physically (and emotionally) exhausted.  I just sat in my rocking chair and knitted and tried to relax for about an hour.

Thank goodness SuperMan came home shortly afterwards and took Big Girl to ballet so I didn’t have to get Little Bit back out in the craziness.  I love that man. He takes good care of us.

So, if you are hoping to see the latest weekly challenge, or any new templates, you may have to wait a couple more days. First I have to get the little princess healthy again. Then, I must figure out where I left my sanity.  THEN, I will try to do some scrapbooking!  Oh, and find out if I’m too much of a beginner to do this cute little hamsterveil.

Isn’t he just adorable?

It’s official

I am a knitter!

I had such fun last night with the ladies at the knitting circle. It reminded me a lot of what crops are like, minus lugging the paper, trimmers, pictures and other paraphernalia I take when I go to a crop.  I traveled lightly. I took a little tote bag with two different skeins of yarn and my knitting needles. I also took my knitting board and a scarf I had made using it because I wanted to show them that I had at least done something before showing up last night.blogpost

You might remember this little scarf I made over the Thanksgiving break. I used the knitting board for that. It was part of what got me so interested in learning to knit.

A little back story here. 

There is a really sweet lady at church that I have met through our mutual volunteer responsibilities. She has also been so kind to my girls and they look forward to seeing her every Sunday morning and loving on her between services.  I mean, they just crawl all over her (literally) and tell her all about their week and what is going on. She is so patient and kind with them. It’s really touching.

She also happens to crochet. Beautifully.  And I have seen some of her finished pieces.  One Sunday I made a comment about how I would love to be able to learn to crochet like she does. We chatted a bit more and I confided that what I really wanted to do was learn to knit.  She reached around and pointed to a lady sitting about three rows in front of us. “You need to talk to her,” she said.

So, you know what I did?

I just got right up (it was before the service started, don’t worry) and marched up there and introduced myself.  I told her I had heard that she was an awesome knitter and that I had always wanted to knit. I asked her if she knew of anywhere I could go to learn to knit. She said she would teach me.  She mentioned a knitting circle that she had started and that they met on Thursday nights at the local Starbuck’s.  She invited me to join them (hooray!) the next time they met.

So, Thursday night I met with them for the first time.

I was so excited and a little intimidated as these ladies had obviously been knitting for a long time. They had all these patterns and elaborate projects (beautiful, elaborate projects with the most gorgeous yarn I’d ever seen) they were working on.

Finally, Jane sat me down and showed me how to get started. I was scared to death to take the needles from her and get started. I was afraid I’d mess up what she had done.  But, you can’t learn if you don’t do. So, I took them and got going.  Before I knew it, I was knitting! I was actually knitting.  So cool.

By the end of the night I had knitted a very nice little bedspread for a Polly Pocket.

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Ha!

It was not really supposed to be that, but it was about that big.  Little Bit decided that she really, really needed it for her Polly Pocket so it may actually end up being a bedspread after all.  Which would be ok, I guess, because I want to learn how to cast on/off stitches myself and that would give me the excuse to do so.

One thing I realized last night, as I was driving home from my knitting night out, was that this could quickly become a new hobby of mine. The knitting circle is a lot like the crop – the social aspect anyway – minus all the extra luggage.  I enjoyed the time I spent relaxing, chatting with and getting to know these ladies. And the tactile part of knitting was very soothing to me.  Which is something I’m missing now that so much of my scrapbooking is digital.

It will be interesting to see how this develops.  But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll keep you posted. 🙂