Little did I know

Little did I know I would get such a kick out of knitting! In March of 2010 some of my girlfriends were planning to get together for dinner and “knitting.” I told them I wanted to learn to knit. So they told me all I needed was #7 knitting needles and yarn. A couple days before we were to get together I went to the craft store and bought my yarn and needles. While there I came across a knitting instruction book, Learning to Knit in Just One Day by Jean Leinhauser. g g g I couldn’t wait. I was so curious, excited just to try. Stitch by stitch I learned first to cast on. Stitch by stitch I learned then to knit. And stitch by stitch I moved on to purl. What a riot. It was so fun to see the rows taking shape. At dinner my girlfriends taught me their tricks and encouraged me. g g g I then discovered Knitting Tips by Judy YouTube videos. She is a great teacher! Check her out for any stitches you want to learn or need to clarify. I was amused as I learned more and my husband would genuinely pat me on the back every time (yes, every time) I played “show and tell” with my new projects. g g g So, thank you to my teachers, my friends and my husband for sharing this joy with me.

g g “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” – Father James Keller g g

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Learning Intarsia

I have this idea for some fingerless mittens I want to make for Christmas.  I found  a very simple pattern for the basic fingerless mitten.  But, I want to insert a cable of a different color into the pattern.  When I get this project completed I will share it on the blog.  However, in order to do this I needed to learn how to knit vertical stripes to create a color block, and then I also needed to learn to knit cables.  As you know, I am a beginner.  So, I will share with you my process, though I am not a teacher.  I have mentioned previously that I am largely taught by YouTube videos and am so grateful to those individuals who have used their teaching talents to help people like myself learn.  

 Intarsia is a method of knitting which changes colors within rows and allows the knitter to create stripes or columns, blocks or other shapes.  I have learned the basics by watching the YouTube video How to Knit Intarsia knitting Part 1-k1p1 TV.   

 Beginning Intarsia Knitting:


Since this was going pretty well, I added a cable to the center section.  I learned the cable technique from the stitch booklet Knit Stitches by Leisure Arts.  


This swatch uses three colors for no reason, except that I needed three different "sources" of yarn as I learned to put them together.  Ok, let's see if I can include this idea into my mittens.  If you like puzzles, or a challenge as you knit, and you have not tried Intarsia - I recommend giving it a try.  Very fun.  
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