Friday, September 19, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

In Loving Memory...




R. I. P.
Isaias Rivera

"Asta Luego"







Monday, September 8, 2008

Tip of the Day: Easier Project Piece Sewing...

(At first I thought this post should come after a post about binding off. Chronologically speaking, it is only too obvious that binding off comes before sewing the pieces of a project together. I realized, though, that in order for the method to work it has to take place before binding off. Guess which thought won?)

Two things I vividly remember hearing from my knitting instructor were on how hard it was for beginners to sew their project pieces together and on how hard it was for some to evenly sew their knitted pieces together.

She then gave me a method to get rid of these problems. It was so simple I couldn't believe more knitters did not practice it.

The secret, regardless of the pattern in use, is simply to add two extra stitches to the pattern and begin and end every row with a knit stitch. So, let's say for instance, you are following the Stockinet Stitch for a specific length. Just cast on two extra loops and when making the purl rows just make sure to make knit stitches both in the first and last stitches.

When both of your pieces are finished, ready to be sewn together, and held in an upright position, you will see that their edges will have visibly outstanding horizontal lines. The lines stand out from the rest of the pattern on the piece and are thus easier to pick up with your needle. This essentially eliminates the guess work. Not only are the stitches easier to find and pick up but also easier to line up so that the pieces are evenly sewn together.

The rest is done in the usual way but when you pull the string you will notice something different. This method not only facilitates a faster sew up but also...what...where did the hem go? You will see virtually no hem at all but a clean, whole piece. The project will look as if it had been made on a circular needle instead of on straights. ( More on circular needles later).

Try it and see.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

More Knitty!!

Ok, I have to admit it. I love Knitty.com and will most likely post up a lot of patterns from the site. But can you really blame me?? I mean, look at these things. It makes me almost jealous to see so many people come up with so many different things to knit up. The talent these people have is simply amazing. The best part is that it's all free and You yourself can submit a pattern to be published in upcoming seasonal editions.

So here are the rest for today (links included):

 Stockings:






Very Tall Socks







                                        



Penguin: Pasha














Mancala: Mancala Mia

Knitted Womb...



Yet another little item I found on Knitty. This site is absolutely amazing. This one is on how to knit a womb.::chuckle chuckle::How creative can people get? Anyway. Here's the link: Womb. Enjoy! 

Knitted Chain Scarf...

I found this project on Knitty.com. I had had an idea very similar to this but never tried to figure out a pattern. This makes me wish I had. It's really so simple. I made one but I didn't felt it. Here is the link to the pattern on Knitty: Marley's Ghost. I absolutely love it. You can make it as long or as short as you like and is simply great for Halloween. To the right is what mine looks like.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Seed Stitch and Rib Stitch...

After you've mastered the Stockinet and Garter Stitch patterns the next best step will probably be learning the Seed stitch.

Seed Stitch.
The Seed Stitch is just as easy to do as the Garter Stitch in that, obviously, you are still using the basic purl and knit stitches. For this stitch you simply alternate between both purl and knit stitches. Ergo, after casting on, your pattern will be P, K, P, K, P etc, etc for the first row. The trick is not only in remembering to switch from purl to knit ( or vice versa) but also in remembering to begin the next row with the opposite stitch of the previous one. When you look at your swatch you should see a knit stitch( \/) above a purl stitch ( - ) and so on. So, instead of having only purl or knit stitches on separate rows you will have a patterned mix of both. To the left is a photo of what Seed Stitch should look like.

The Rib Stitch.

Next is called the Rib Stitch or simply "ribbing". It is very similar to the Seed Stitch but with a slight difference. Instead of keeping the P, K, P, K, P pattern for every row, you instead switch between P, K, P, K, P for one row and K, P, K, P, K for the second row. This alternation results in having every knit stitch above the next knit stitch, and every purl stitch above the next purl stitch. You continue this alternation to create the rib pattern until you reach your desired length. To the left is a photo of what Rib Stitch should look like.
(There are also other types of ribbing such as the Two to One ribbing
in which there are two stitches of one type to one stitch of the other type. For example : knit two, purl one, and vice versa.)


I thought about a way to illustrate the visible differences between all of the stitching patterns I have so far covered in this blog. Ergo, I made a 16x20 swatch showing each of these patterns. Here it is...


On the upper left hand side is what the Seed Stitch should look like.
On the lower left hand side is what that KNIT ONLY side of the Stockinet Stitch should look like.
The upper right hand side is what the Rib Stitch should look like.
The lower right hand side is what the Garter Stitch should look like ( fro both sides).




On the upper left hand side is what the Rib Stitch should look like.
On the lower left hand side it what the Garter Stitch should look like (from both sides).
On the upper right hand side is what the Seed Stitch should look like.
On the lower right hand side is what the PURL ONLY side of the Stockinet Stitch should look like


Good Luck!


(And for those of you who saw it: Yes, it's the same swatch just reversed. ::wink wink::)


Monday, September 1, 2008

Etsy.com! Cool website I've discovered.

For those of you wanting, needing, or thinking about buying, selling or gathering inspirations for projects here's a great website to pull it off. There are people with some great talent in here. You can find various types of materials for various forms of arts and crafts as well, not just the handiwork. I've an account with them but haven't sold  and/or bought anything yet. You can look me up and drop me a line, my Username is " Thumbelyna". Enjoy!