A Knitting Kit

Today at the thrift store, I found a Lion Brand "Learn to Knit Kit" for $2.00 It was all brand-spanking new, didn't look like it had even been opened.

I wondered if perhaps someone thought it was missing a needle, since only one was visible on the back side? But the other one was "hiding" inside, between the skeins of yarn and the front label.

This is why I got the kit - the beautiful, indigo-colored yarn. :)

Here's the kit all opened up.

It has yarn, knitting instructions, patterns, knitting needles, and even a plastic darning needle for weaving the ends in when you're done (poked through the label in the photo).

Another look at the gorgeous yarn, which I am going to have fun making something with, either from the pattern provided, or maybe something else entirely. What a fun find this was. :)

Thrifty Finds

Some recent finds from the nearby thrift store:

Some chunky white and dark yarns.

A big skein of "gold" yarn.

Three skeins of some neat southwestern-colored yarn, kind of thick, and I've already about finished working this into a "bolero"-sized shrug.

A ball of patriotic-colored cotton yarn.

From the cotton yarn, I made two patriotic-colored dishcloths.

One Finish, More to Go

Ahhh .... got the "Wingspan" shawl done! It was FUN, I like how it turned out, and I want to make another one.

Also, I'm still working away on the "Cashsilk Fern" scarf. It's getting easier and easier as I go along. Just don't anyone talk to me while I'm working on it, it's a complex pattern (to me anyway), and I get mixed up easily if I get distracted! But I LOVE how it's looking.

Flying by the Seat of My Pants

I'm the type of person who likes directions and a pattern that tells me exactly what to do by steps.

Here awhile back, I came across a "wrap" knitting stitch on YouTube that gives a long, stringy effect. The more wraps you take, the longer the stitch "strings." I thought it looked like fun.

So ... though I tend to like to stick to rules and patterns and directions, I'm knitting a "decorative scarf" using this long stitch. I'm not using a pattern. I'm pretty much free-wheeling it ... unfamiliar territory for me! But I'm sticking with just a basic knit stitch plus the "wrap" stitch. So far, I like it, and it's turning out exactly as I pictured it. No pattern, I just knit however many rows, then make a long stitch row with whatever length seems good. It's supposed to be kind of haphazard-looking, in an organized way. Woo-hoo!

Knitting Progress

I'm happy to report good progress (for me) on a couple of my main projects right now.

First, I'm having a lot of fun knitting this "Wingspan" shawl. Today I reached the halfway point (four triangles out of eight), and started the second skein (ball) of yarn. This is easy and fast to knit, but turns out looking very impressive and "modern art"-looking. Different yarns give a different effect - it's been fun to see others on Ravelry and on the 'net.



This next project is probably the most challenging one I've attempted to date. The "Cashsilk Fern" scarf has a very lacy pattern, but it's not as intimidating as it first appears. After getting into the pattern, I'm actually enjoying it. Yet I have to really pay attention to the rows in the pattern repeat, and where I am in each row. I definitely like how it's going so far. And each time I go through a pattern repeat (only twice so far), it gets easier. So maybe I'll really start sailing along the next few times I work on it!

Fingers Were Made Before Knitting Needles

Came across some "finger knitting" videos on YouTube, so I just HAD to try it. Talk about fun and quick! Hilarious.

Knitting in progress:

Finished decorative scarf:

I used a small leftover ball of Homespun "Purple Haze." It's thick and soft, and was fun to do with this method. Must ... make ... more ... a great way to use leftover yarn!

Two New Projects

Like I need two new projects! I counted on my Ravelry project page and I have TEN "WIPs" (Works-In-Progress). But nevertheless, they're started. And I'm enjoying them. I seem to be moving into a "challenging" phase in knitting - pushing myself to learn new stitches and such.

This first one is called "Wingspan." It's a small shawl made of offset triangles, ending with an overall curved shape. The new things for this project are knitting a triangle shape, and adding on cast-on stitches. This photo shows the start of it. Earlier this evening I finished this first triangle, and started on the second. The pattern calls for eight triangles, but you can customize this shawl however you want with more or less triangles and such.

This pattern called for size 4 circular needles, but I don't have such a critter in my knitting tools. I had size 4 straight (flexible plastic) needles that were my mom's, so I started on these. But I realized I was REALLY going to need the length of the circular needles as the project wore on, so I started over on the smallest circular needles I had, size 8. So far so good, I like the looser feel it has - the size 4 was almost giving a dense, "carpet" feel to it. So this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

The second project, also just started, is awesome. I wanted a "lacy" scarf of some kind. I found this pattern called "Cashsilk Fern," and loved the viney-lacy pattern in it. Since I learned yarnovers in recent times, they don't intimidate me anymore. It called for size 3 needles. I was sure I had everything but size 1, but I can't find the size 3's for anything. So .... I picked up the size 4 flexible-plastic needles "discarded" from the other new project, and cast on. Only one size difference will hopefully not be too much. So off I go with probably the most challenging project to date for me ... this photo shows the beginning of what I hope will turn out to be a fun, pretty scarf.

Barely cast on:

Getting a good start on the beginning rows and I'm LOVING the pattern:

Both yarns are "Shimmer" by Red Heart, "Purple Haze" for the "Wingspan" shawl, and "Lime" for the "Cashsilk Fern" scarf.