Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Very Pink Knits



Verypink knits is a great resource for knitting help! It has a youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/verypinkknits), and a website (www.verypink.com). It is run by Staci Perry, and she is an amazing knitting teacher! I've learned a lot from her youtube channel, and she is so helpful! I highly recommend her. 


Links for verypink:


Ravelry:verypink
Youtube:verypinkknits
Flickr: 87559748@N00
Facebook: verypink
Amazon:ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1
Twitter: /

Ravelry

So... if you're a knitter and you haven't heard of Ravelry, you must be living under a rock. But, anyway, Ravelry is a completely free knitting and crocheting website! It's amazing, you can get advice on any pattern you have thanks to all the expert knitters, search the HUGE stock of user-uploaded patterns (many of them free), and socialize with other knitters. There are a ton of other ways you can enjoy the site, but that would take a long time to list! Anyway, I hope to see you on Ravelry! My username is iluv2read725, so please send me a personal message about my blog! I hope you find Ravelry as awesome as I have.

A Few Awesome Knitting Books!



There are so many amazing books on knitting out there, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.


  • Beautiful Knitting: Techniques & Patterns for Creating Elegant Designs by Luce Smits
    • It covers all the basics, such as the knit and purl stitch, but I would not recommend it for beginners. The book progresses quickly, and it mainly has tons of beautiful stitches, and projects you can use them on. There are so many color photos and good tips that this is an amazing book!

  • Fabulous Felted Hand-Knits: Wonderful Wearables and Home Accents by Jane Davis
    • This book is perfect for the beginning felter. It describes in detail the way to hand and machine felt, and again has lots of color photos. There are a lot of projects, from a very easy pin cushion for the beginning knitter, to a mola-style rug or a cute bag! I love this book.

  • Knit Wit: 30 Easy and Hip Projects by Amy R. Singer
    • This is good for the knitter who is just learning to use techniques such as increasing and decreasing. The projects are cute, and the patterns are easy to follow. This one also has a large difficulty range, from a Rockstar Scarf (a scarf striped with novelty yarn) to a Hidden Agenda Sweater (I love this pattern!). I highly recommend this book to anybody who is just starting to break out of the holds of garter-stitch rectangles, or to an experienced knitter looking for a quick, fun, and easy project.

I hope these books help you out, they should be at most libraries, but they are all available new or used at the Barnes & Noble website (I checked, and that's where I got the pictures). A note: there are so many more great books out there on knitting that I could list hundreds, but you probably don't want to read all that. :)
Happy knitting and reading!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Beginner’s Simple Cowl





This pattern is super easy. The skills you need to complete this project are:
Casting On, Knit Stitch, Purl Stitch, Binding Off, Running Stitch/Weaving in Ends

This is a perfect gift for somebody that's hard to gift. In fact, I designed it because I had no idea what to give to my dad for his birthday!  It's unisex, and pretty warm. It is made up of stockinette stitch with a reverse-stockinette border, to prevent it from rolling.  It will roll as you knit, but don't be afraid! After it is on a person, it unrolls. If you want, you could reverse the cowl and wear it inside out. The size is easy to alter, so it is not just limited to adults. In the pattern, I use no abbreviations because it is designed for the beginning knitter. Enjoy!


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Supplies:
  • Super Bulky Yarn (I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Cranberry)
  • 2 US size 13 straight needles (or size recommended on yarn)
  • Yarn Needle to sew it up and weave in ends (not needed, you can use your fingers.)
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Gauge:
Gauge is not very important for this project, but the gauge is 2 stitches and 3 rows in 1 inch. 
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Pattern:
Cast on 12 stitches (or desired amount)

Row 1 (and all odd rows): purl 2, knit 8, purl 2

Row 2 (and all even rows): knit 2, purl 8, knit 2

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until the piece measures 18 inches (46 cm) or desired length.

Bind off and sew the two pieces together using the running or mattress stitch. Weave in extra ends after that, and you’re done! 

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Other ideas:
·      Keep on knitting and make a scarf
·      Don’t stich the ends together, make a buttonhole and sew a button on the other end.