Welcome to all my new acquaintances from around the world! I just figured out the community "stuff" and I have subscribed to a number of knitting and crocheting forums. Lots of really nice and very creative people out there. I am looking forward to future conversations with a large variety of new people.
Apparently I cannot knit up as much of a storm as I had hoped - we only got a dusting of snow here in Northern Colorado. I'm not a huge fan of the snow, but I would rather have snow now than another High Park fire like last year! Our fire season here has already started, I would like to keep putting that off as long as possible.
In more knitting/crocheting news I finished up yet another project yesterday and I have finished one of a pair of slippers that I am making for my sister. When I have some time I will try to get those up here for your viewing pleasure!
Knitting and crocheting are often skills, as I pointed out in an earlier post, that is considered very old fashioned and grandmotherly. I certainly had that idea in my mind. Even when I started knitting I thought it would never be for things to wear myself other than perhaps a scarf. Little did I know how many amazing patterns and options there are out there! It has the tradition of being handed down from mother or grandmother to daughter or granddaughter. I had no such luck. My mother died when I was 21. I only recently realized that my mother could crochet, and very well I might add, when it dawned on me that a blanket she had re-done years and years ago was fully crocheted. I saw it down at my dad's the other day and it really is well done. My grandmother lived across the country from me, and though I assume she knew how to knit and crochet, I am honestly not sure. Even if she did, the distance would have been prohibitive in a lot of ways. So, I decided to teach myself.
I started out by going to Michael's (a craft store) on one of my breaks from work. I was wandering around and noticed that they had some free patterns hanging around the yarn section. I grabbed a few of those, and one of the baby bootie patterns was what I began my knitting with. I asked some poor stranger what kind of needles I should get, and honestly I haven't used the size 10 since. I find that, currently anyway, I prefer a size 6 or 7 needle.
For the uninitiated in needle sizes the smaller the number the smaller the diameter of the needles. In Europe, the UK, and Australia they all use millimeter indications, but the US likes to be weird and insist on numbers. Apparently we can't handle the metric system, even in our knitting needles. Crochet hooks work similarly; in the rest of the world they have a mm designation and in the US they are given a letter. The smallest letter I have actually seen is an E. Smaller than that, I believe, and they go to numbers. The numbered ones are generally made of steel because they need the extra durability because of their small size.
The thickness of a yarn determines, generally, what size hook or needles you will use. (Crochet uses a single hook. Knitting uses two straight or a circular needle that are used together) The thicker the yarn, the bigger the needle or hook. I have made two afghans that used 4 balls of yarn at a time and size 50mm needles. They are enormous. The bigger the needles or hook, the bigger the stitch which often makes a project go faster because you are covering more area with each stitch. I'm not sure I am explaining that really well, if not let me know and I will try to clarify!
Anyway, back to the story. So, I got some free patterns and a free pamphlet on how to knit. The pamphlet didn't help much - I needed someone to show me. So I got online and went to knittinghelp.com. As I have mentioned before, that website is brilliant and very good for beginners. She shows each stitch clearly and slowly so that it is easy to follow along. The first night I tried knitting it went all wonky. I was talking to a friend and drinking, though. So that might have had something to do with it. The next day I picked up my needles and it just worked. I understood what I was doing, though I was by no means quick, and I knew then that this would be something I would seriously enjoy. And now, it takes up most of my free time! Ha!
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