Knitting Fun

I've been up to lots of knitting, but barely any blogging, so I have lots to post today! I recently went on a girl's trip with my three best buds from high school. Three of us drove up to St. Louis to visit the fourth of our high school gang. Just to give you an idea of how long ago that was, we graduated from Lassiter High School in Marietta, GA in 1991. Time flies! Here is a picture of us, all grown up :) That's me, Merf, all the way to the left, the one blinding you with her shiny chin.










As a souvenier of our 2009 girl's trip, which was a big deal to me because I have been married for 11 years (Aug 8!) and NEVER been on a girl's only trip, to the horror of my friends, I knit cell phone cozies for each of us. None of my friends knit, so they probably don't appreciate them as much as I do, but I think these cozies are pretty cool. I have made a couple for my new blackberry, which I also love so much I've given it a gender and a name. Her name is Pippy. (I'm half joking, ok? I'm not crazy :))


So I'm about to post pictures of all the things I've been knitting over the past few months, for all of you wondering if I ever get off Twitter long enough to do anything else, and you will probably wonder how I manage to raise three kids, manage a knitting charity as well as knit a lot of items for the charity, and still manage to knit all these things for an upcoming craft fair. The answer is, I have no idea. I always wish there was more time in a day so I can do more, and knit more, but when I dragged out all the items I've finished to take pictures, I realized I HAVE knit quite a bit! I should open up an Etsy shop. I am seriously thinking of it. What do you think? Someone wants to profile me on their blog, so I thought maybe I should have a shop in place when that is published. Hhhmm.. food for thought.




Meet Mr. Bean! My son loved him so much he sleeps with him, which is the ultimate compliment to a crafter, of course. I am currently working on another Mr. Bean for my other son, who insists on having one. I think I'll make one ear blue on this second rendition so we can tell the two apart, although that probably is not necessary since I made one small boo boo and there is a tiny hole in this one. As I've mentioned before, I'm still a novice so I don't know how to fix mistakes in knitting! I just try not to make them. Mr. Bean comes from a pattern by the great Amy Gaines. Here is her shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=38931



I have a craft fair coming up in November. It is at the kids' school and I love to participate in it every year. I have knit about 15 scarves, mostly long, fluffy ones, for it so far. By November I will have about 20 to display. The pic of the scarves really does not do the scarves justice at all... they are much prettier in person :) I need one of those dress forms or something so I can display them better. Where can I get one?





I have knit many purses, small coinpurses, and cell phone sock/cozies as well. Some of these are knit with wool that I obtained from frogging sweaters from Goodwill, which I LOVE to do and can't wait till the sweaters come back this Fall so I can frog to my heart's content. I also used jute for one of the purses. Can you guess which one? It is the orange/brown one on the bottom. I used jute and beautiful orange wool to knit that particular purse. It appears reddish in the pic, but it is actually more orange in person.





Also, I have knit some hats, some of which have a matching scarf.












Thanks for visiting my blog and reading about the knitting I've been up to! Comments/questions/suggestions/etc. welcomed!
**Please note that all donations for Knits For Needs are used for the charity only. I use my personal yarn for everything non-charity related**

Spreadin the Knittin Love

I began knitting because of my grandmother, who is now 92 and has been knitting for about 50 years. This is a picture of me with her today... we're holding up an afghan she just finished after spending months on it. It is made up of 20 squares, each a different pattern. She is quite proud of it! Over what she guesses is the last 50 years, she has knitted sweaters, tons of afghans, lap robes, socks, slippers, dish clothes, and doll clothes for my mom's dolls when she was little. My grandmother, who has 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren, says she taught herself to both knit and crochet by using a book. She says she's just like me... she just can't sit and do nothing!


One day about 5 years ago, I was saddened by the thought of, when she passes away, her knowledge and love of knitting will not be passed on because my mother never learned to knit. I mentioned in passing that I might want to learn to knit and ended up getting a "Learn to Knit" book for Christmas. So shortly after that I sat down and, although it seemed pretty overwhelming, I gave it a go and right away knit a long, skinny, and pretty plain looking scarf (that my son still wears!).




Here is that first scarf I attempted. Not bad for a first try, right ?



For years, about 5, I knit and knit and knit scarf after scarf after scarf, because I quickly learned that knitting is addicting and yarn is like delicious candy. Since I first learned, I've always made time to knit. I started doing a craft fair at my kids' school every November and I usually sell about 13 scarves, out of about 30 that I usually have on display. I give the others as Christmas gifts to the kids' teachers and coaches.


In January of this year, 2009, I found a super easy pattern for a hat (just knit a rectangle, cinch up the top, and sew down one side) and then began making tons of hats. I've probably made over 80 since January. All but about 3 of those have gone to charity.

I love to knit easy, quick things because I lack the patience for anything that takes too long or requires thinking :) I see patterns all the time that I wish I could make, but I just say to myself "maybe later" or "I can't knit that. No way!". I'm hoping one day soon I'll bite the bullet and sit down, read a bunch more about more advanced knitting techniques, and practice with needles and yarn until I can knit anything I want! I'd LOVE to knit stuffed animals - imagine how happy that would make kids in a hospital or a homeless shelter! Until I do bite the bullet, though, I am perfectly content with what I'm doing now. I absolutely LOVE to knit, whatever it may be, and especially if it is for someone else.


I am pretty much always knitting when I'm sitting at my daughter's swim practice. She swims every night because she's on a swim team. Sometimes I drop her off because I have two younger boys that have a hard time sitting for an hour and a half every day :). But, about 3 days a week, we sit and watch her and I knit. People watch me all the time and seem to be in awe that I can actually make something. They find it fascinating. One day a little girl watched me make a hat in utter disbelief and, when I was done, I stuck it on her head and said, "Here ya go!" Her smile went on for miles :) And here's the exciting part: I've actually caused two people to learn to knit!! One has made several hats for Knits For Needs, and one lady came in yesterday with needles and yarn and was excited to see me, saying, "I taught myself to knit!". I helped her with her cast on because, apparently, she was doing it incorrectly.


I have also taught my 11-yr-old daughter to knit, and, every now and then we go hang out with Grandma and knit with her. My daughter has been working on the same scarf for over a year.. hey, she's busy with school and swimming, ok? I plan to teach her my easy hats and maybe she'll like to make some for herself, her friends, and others. We'll see.


Passing on the art of knitting is something that I feel good about doing and I hope others take the time to do it. Being "caught" in public, doctor's offices, ERs (yes, I knit for two hours the other night in the ER when my son was getting stitches. Don't worry, I put it down to hold his hand as the stitches were actually happening), swimming, libraries, coffee shops, book stores, the car (when parked!), and all the other places you find yourself in, really reminds people that knitting is making a comeback and that knitting is NOT just for old farts (sorry Grandma)! Take the time to learn or teach someone knitting today!


I just found this Pledge Bank where you can promise you'll teach someone to knit: http://www.pledgebank.com/teachknitting


Here are some tips on teaching someone to knit:
http://knitting.about.com/od/knittingcommunity/qt/teaching_knit.htm