Wednesday, December 30, 2009

2009: A Look Back in Time - A Beginner's Adventure in Knitting


I thought it would be a great time to look back on my knitting adventure. What I’ve learned, attempted, tackled, and accomplished. Yes, I was once classified as a beginning knitter earlier this year. As most of you know, I started knitting garments back in February of this year. I spent months before, contemplating what should be my first knitted garment. I needed to challenge myself and step away from scarves and wristlets I felt comfortable with. I looked through many magazines, books, and patterns on the Internet. I was looking for a “beginner” or “first project” patterns. Nothing appealed to me. I went on a personal field trip to a few local yarn shops (LYS) to see what I could find. That’s when the whole knitting euphoria started and my real love of yarn began.

I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, when I was approached about a job at a yarn shop. I was quite taken back, but took it as a complement to be given such an offer. Little did I know that a few weeks later, I would be laid off from my full-time job of almost 10 years. I graciously accepted the LYS offer (thanks to Jill and her great judge of character) and I had no idea of where this new adventure would take me.

I’ve spent many hours knitting this past year and I have many finished projects to show. Sometimes I would start at 4 or 5 am in the morning and knit for two hours or so. That would be the quota for the day. If I didn’t get a chance to knit in the morning, I would get the chance in the afternoon for an hour or two. Since I worked at my LYS, I may or may not have had the chance to knit. My knitting time might be for an hour or two after I completed my yarn shop duties (e.g. assisting customers, fixing mistakes, straightening yarn displays, setting up POs, ringing up customers, etc).

I’m not a fast knitter since I knit the English way. You know...the swing method. :) I would definitely classify myself as a consistent knitter as I always get the appropriate gauge. I’m also consistent in the area of TNT (tried and true) patterns. If I really, really, really like a pattern and get wonderful end results, I would be knitting another version (or two or three or more). Yeah, I did go crazy over the Shrug This! pattern this year.

This will seem weird, but I’ve actually kept track of all my knitted projects for 2009. Thanks to Ravelry, I have a journal/diary of all my knitting adventures. From completed projects to projects that are sitting in limbo. I’ve also kept track of the yarn yardage and mileage on a spreadsheet. Amazing...close to 8 miles of yarn was knitted. As a number, it doesn’t seem like much, but if you laid out 8 miles of yarn and started to knit and walk...that’s a lot of yarn!


What have I accomplished in 2009?

- I learned to knit the pieces for a sweater and cardigan
- Seams - did a lot of seaming actually enjoyed the process
- Tackled lace patterns
- Tackled difficult patterns (e.g. Intermediate)
- Joining and Knitting in the round
- Consistent stitches that resulted in getting correct gauge majority of the time
- Sweaters, cardigans, socks, hats/berets, purses,
- Fixed many knitting problems (for myself and others)
- Taught classes
- Developed extensive yarn knowledge
- Met some wonderful knitters
- Enjoyed my knitting adventures
- Completed 19 garments and 14 accessories


So now, here I am...10 months later as an intermediate knitter. I have a lot to show for this year and quite a bit wiser in the knitting arena. I have no problems or fear with fixing other people’s knitting mistakes, even mine. I look at it as a challenge. I know so much more about yarns than I could ever imagine.

A month ago, I’ve had to leave my fun yarn shop job and pursue a full-time position. A new career. As much fun as I’ve had, it was time to move on. I have had a lot of wonderful knitting experiences under my belt. Still, I have much more to learn.

What will 2010 bring me? I’m not sure. I do not want to start a “to do list” of projects and be bound to it like I did in 2009. I need to do something different. I need to be a different knitter. I need to be an exploratory knitter. Here is my basic plan and what I would like to accomplish:

- More difficult knitting projects. In order for me to keep knitting and learning new techniques, I need to pursue more challenging projects.
- More quality projects. I need to choose my patterns/projects wisely. Since I now have a full-time job, my knitting time has been drastically reduced. My time must be spent on learning new techniques and future projects need to be wearable.
- To continue knitting daily. If I can squeeze in 30 minutes of knitting time, I’d be really happy.
- Learn to knit with two or more colored yarns.
- Take more field trips and visit many more yarn shops in my area and in my travels.
- Start knitting my Christmas gifts earlier. No more 30 days of marathon knitting.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I Should Be Knitting...


Instead, I'm sitting in front of my Mac looking through the Interweave Knits CD collections from 2007, 2006, and 2005. I think I've hit a jackpot! I bought this collection back in November when Interweave was having a sale. I got a bargain. As most of you know, I started to knit in 2008 and I started collecting the Knits magazine this year. I have no back issues prior to this year. This is why the CD collection is a bargain to me.

I have way more patterns (garments to accessories) than I can handle at the moment and storage is a problem for me. Magazines are stacked in piles as well as books. I know, I need to get a bookcase dedicated to knitting. I won't even talk about my yarn stash storage problem. Right now, having the older Knits magazine archived on CD is the way to go.

I have the ability to read articles, peruse patterns and instructions and print them out. Not bad.

Looking forward to seeing the Interweave Knits 2008 on CD in the near future.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Still Here and Still Knitting


This month has gone by quickly for me. First off, I need to mention that I started a new job this month. That's why I haven't been posting like a mad woman. I've been busy working full-time in the corporate world. Yes, I've been going through bouts of knitting withdrawals...big time! Yes, I do miss working at my LYS. I miss squeezing the yarns and I miss my knitting friends.

I still find some time to knit. Mostly in the evenings during the week and then a few hours on the weekends.

My knitted Christmas gifts (felted bowls, shopping bag, and cozy socks) were a big hit and a big surprise this year. I'm sure the recipients are expecting something hand made for 2010...no pressure! lol!!!

My poor CPH is on hold. I was in the process of knitting the first sleeve. I have to modify the sleeve instructions to accommodate my shorter arm length. I haven't had a block of time to devote to this project. I'm hoping to have a whole weekend in January to get back on track and finish this project.

In the meantime, I've casted on for my "Not So-Swing Jacket" using Lion Brand Thick & Quick yarn in Barley. Before I started my new job, I came across this Plymouth pattern at one of my LYS. Since I have very little time to knit, I knew this would be a quick knit with Bulky yarn and knitting from the top down. There is a lot of ease in this jacket. The size small has a finished bust of 42 inches. I decided not to do the increases in the body and will knit this jacket shorter than the 20 inches the instruction calls for. I also plan on using black LB T&Q yarn around the neckline, bottom of sleeves and bottom of the jacket.

Right now, the sleeves are on waste yarns and I'm working on the body. This tweedy yarn is beautiful and a nice surprise from Lion Brand. Here's what the jacket looks like so far:




I hope to finish this before the end of this week. A nice way to end 2009.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Lace Shopping Bag - Completed


To continue with my latest knitting craze of knitting in the round, I decided to knit a shopping bag for a Christmas gift. I used the Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn from my stash. I was planning on using the yarn to knit up a few wash cloths and decided the yarn would be well used for a bag. I love it when I'm right.



Name of Pattern:
Lace Shopping Bag

Designed by:
Cecily Glowik MacDonald for Creative Knitting, May 2009 and Fall 2009 (mags)

Pattern/Garment Description:
Hold the plastic and save a tree: take this to the market instead.

Size(s):
One Size

Yarns Used:
Lily Sugar ‘n Cream in pastel multicolor and naturale color. Used 2-1/2 balls of the multicolor. Used 3/4 ball of the naturale. In total, used about 400 yards of yarn.




Gauge:
18 sts /4 ins in lace pattern

Knitting Tools Used:
Circular needles: 16 inch size 5
Circular needles: 16 inch size 7 (decreases)
Circular needles: 24 inch size 7 (for body and start of decreases)
DPNs: size 7 (decreases and knitting the handle)
Stitch markers
Bent tip tapestry needle to weave in the ends and sew the strap to the top edge of the bag

Techniques I used:
Join and knit in the round
Ribbing (K1, P1)
YO
K2tog
SSK
SK2togP
Garter stitch in the round

Changes I Made to the Pattern:
No changes were made

What I Like About this Pattern:
Great looking lace pattern





What I Dislike About this Pattern:
It took awhile to knit and finish this bag

My Pattern Rating (Beginner, Easy, Intermediate, Hard):
Easy

Conclusion/Additional Comments:
I knitted this bag as a gift for a family member.

The bag is knitted in the round from the top edge to the bottom. The strap length is about 25 inches long.

The bag ended up measuring 15 inches long (excluding the strap) and about 13 inches wide. It’s a bit stretchy because of the lace pattern, but the Sugar ‘n Cream yarn is quite sturdy.

This project seemed to go on and on. I carried this project with me and knitted whenever I had a spare moment. In total, I think I spent about 7-9 hours on this bag. The repeat lace pattern is a multiple of 9 stitches. Every now and then I had to tink a few stitches because I added an extra stitch or was missing one. There were 8 rows that made up one repeat pattern. A bit time consuming.




This is a great shopping bag with a lovely lace pattern. The bottom of the bag came out beautifully.





Friday, December 4, 2009

A Time of Reflection...Will You Join Me?



I've been busy writing an upcoming post for this blog. I'm not sure what I'm going to call it, but it will be a reflection of my 2009 knitting adventure.

So, why don't you join me in writing one for yourself and post it on your own blog before the end of this month. Let us know what you've learned, the good and the bad, new experiences, old experiences and what you plan on doing for 2010. Come back and post a comment on my blog to let me know. I would enjoy reading about your knitting adventures. I'm sure others will too. :)

Happy Knitting!