Tag: yarn crafts

On the Needles (or off)

Happy Super Tuesday!  If you live in the United States, I hope you have, or are planning to vote today. Regardless of who you vote for, I just hope you exercise your right to vote.

We voted two weeks ago – I love early voting!

I thought I’d share with you some of the recent yarn projects I’ve been working on.  It seems the more hectic life gets, the more I have retreated in my free time into my yarn crafts.  I think it is because it is simple, repetitive, tactile and relaxing. I don’t have to think. I don’t have to plan. I don’t have to react. I can just sit quietly and weave the yarn and watch something beautiful develop.  And right now, for me, that is very therapeutic.

I’ve finished this little item –

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But I can’t share more with you (yet) as it is a gift and I want to give it to my special someone first before doing any more of a reveal.

I also decided on Saturday that I wanted to finish my shawl – the one I had earmarked as my “church shawl” – that I would wear on Sundays in Church when they have the air conditioning on “freeze yer hiney off” and I am shivering.

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I’ve been working on it off and on for a month or two.  I ran out of yarn, had to order more, and then finally decided it was getting cold enough that I really needed to focus on finishing so I wouldn’t turn into a popsicle in church on Sunday.

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It’s a basic shawl – a big rectangle, really. I did it in a half-double crochet and then made a ruffle on the ends by doing four double crochets in each loop.  I think it turned out really pretty.

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The yarn is Lion Brand Homespun in Ocean.  Mom had given it to me a few years ago as part of a yarn package Christmas gift. The yarn is a pain to knit with but it wasn’t too bad to crochet with. I used a large needle (L, I think) and tried really hard to control my tension (in more ways than one!)

It was serendipitous that the colors actually match the colors on our volunteer “uniform” shirts for church. So, I look very coordinated, even though it was a total accident.

And, I used it on Sunday. It was so warm – like snuggling in a blanket!

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Although, I have to say, I think my model is even more beautiful than my shawl!  Don’t you?!?

Now, I’m vacillating between which project to do next.  Finish the shawl that seems to be turning into a lap blanket? Start a scarf and hat project that will be quick and easy?  Tackle some finer yarns that I’ve purchased because I love but am afraid to do something with for fear of messing it up?

Decisions, Decisions.

I’m sure I’ll figure something out.

I’ve got plenty of yarn to choose from. That’s for sure!

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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. 🙂