Knitting Up A Storm

My Mom taught me how to knit when I was about 9-ish years old. She taught be both the knit stitch as well as the purl stitch, how to cast on and bind off. But, no matter how hard I tried, I always seemed to have difficulty with purling. She lived about two to three hours away from me while growing up, so when I was with her and messed up purling, it was no biggie to have her fix it for me…but when I brought my knitting back home it was usually put to the side as I was so frustrated with the purl stitches!

Over the years I have knit on and off…usually using just the knit stitch. I'd make the odd headband or scarf…that was about it. I never ventured to make socks, mitts, sweaters or baby blankets because often they were both too complicated and too large of a project. That was until this past Christmas :)

My Aunt Mary gifted me with the most amazing knitting package. Not only did it include tons of knitting gadgets (you'd be surprised how many there are!), some lovely yarn, but also two awesome books:

Stitch 'n B1tch


101 One-Skein Wonders


These are two excellent books for both the beginner and the seasoned knitter. Stitch 'n B1tch contains all of the knitting techniques you could need to create various projects - which a great resource to have on hand. It also contains a few projects ranging from slightly challenging…to very challenging, at least to me :P It also has some really neat historical information about knitting, and info on how to create your own stitch 'n b1tch group…if anyone knows of one in Victoria, please let me know ;)

101 One Skein Wonders is an excellent book for the beginner knitter. Most projects are easy-peasy with a few more challenging ones thrown in. It is also a great resource if you're looking for a pattern to make something quick, yet gift worthy ;)

Lately my focus has been on baby related items. Mainly because I have a supercute nephew to give them to, but also because it seems like everyone around me expecting a little one. Also, the baby related items are usually smaller than the adult versions…so they are a little speedier to make (but not much!) and in the case of the little rolled brim hats pretty easy ;)

My largest project to date is this 100% organic cotton yellow with white trim baby blanket:



I'm quite proud of this piece for a few reasons. The first being the size of it! The second being that there are no mistakes - which is a big deal for me…usually I make a few mistakes and have no idea how to fix them…or I try to fix them and I end up making it even worse. Although I used a basic knit stitch (I've mastered this one so well I can watch TV and knit at the same time ;) I added a new skill that I learned form S 'n B - which is to change colours while knitting…yes, it is likely one of the easiest skills…but it's still new to me!

I've begun working on a new baby blanket…in blue this time. It will be nice to knit something that isn't white or yellow. I usually stick to those colours for baby items because nobody is finding out (or sharing) the gender of their future little one's, and are therefore decorating their nursery in yellow or green using animals/zoos/rainforests as their theme. I'm also going to attempt "blocking" this time around…so exciting!

This little guy is called a "Blanket Buddy" which is from the 101 One-Skein Wonders. Although not my best work (I totally messed up on the head) it is the first time that I followed a pattern - which has always been a challenge for me.



The following are a couple rolled brim hats that I whipped up (I'm still working on a new apple hat). These little hats are relatively easy to make. I was even able to try a new skill on the teddy bear hat - I made PomPoms for the ears :)





For my latest project I'm attempting to follow another pattern out of 101 One-Skein Wonders for a 0-3 month old cardigan sweater - wish me luck!