Crochet snowflake

Something about the holidays are so heartwarming and exciting. I love the music and the lights. I wish it could be like this all year round.

So remember in a previous post I talked about getting into crocheting. Well, that time is finally here. I'm working on a snowflake that I learned from a tutorial on YouTube.

Our Christmas Stockings

So, I came up with this genius idea to knit our Christmas stockings. It was an amazing idea and fun at first, until I knit the 24th row of the cuff+leg of the first stocking.. in the round.. with double pointed needles.. for the first time. But you have to do it for a little bit and then it would come time to learn how to do the heel and toe.
That really does sound exciting!!!
 Here is the cuff..
I used 7mm double pointed needles with 2 types one yarn. One was white fun fur which is really hard to use for the first time, especially with just learning to use "double pointed needles," and the other regular white with glitter yarn. The leg is the same material as the white glittery yarn, so it gives it a nice flow as opposed to a drastic material change.



So, this will be the first post about our Christmas stocking and of course out

Projects I'm working on

Something funny happened yesterday.. as I was getting ready to go back to work, after my short vaca to Cabo, I had many thoughts and reasons why I shouldn't go to work! Why couldn't I just stay home and knit, cook, and blog all day? I walk into the bank and my managers tell me that I am not on the schedule!!!! I ran out of there like there was a fire! I spent time with my sister and mom and still had enough time to knit and cook in the evening while sitting in front of the TV with Z! I was a happy gal!

In other news, I wasn't sure if I could carry on knitting needles on a plane so I didn't even try to risk it. One of the projects I've been working on the past week is arm warmers with coral colored yarn. Here is what it looks like so far. It is a basic knit and purl pattern with the 2 stitches on each end alternating knit and purl. I learned today that this stitch is called stocking or stockinette pattern.



The other project I'm working on is the blanket I started for my sister a few posts ago. It is with purple chunky yarn. I undid the whole thing and started from scratch. I bought a contrasting colored yarn and circular knitting needles. The project has been going more smoothly and



I love this one because I am using spider stitch and the colors on the yarn are going to make it fun to wear.

I will post the final project when I am done along with the patterns... hopefully sooner than later!

Just an update

Crocheting is very relaxing. But before I get into crochet, I want to be able to be flawless with knitting. I feel like there is a lot more you can do with crochet than with knitting. Using the crochet hook is a bit awkward for my hand but I know its only because I don't use it as often. I want to be able to utilize both in the patterns I create.

I downloaded an app called Lion Brand Yarn on my ipad and now also on my phone that gives a lot of information on how to use gauge and also provides yarn info to recreate the same design. It's taking me a little longer to understand the guage to inches ratio but once i practice more I know I will get the hang of it.

You basically have to measure the number of stitches in an inch and that will help you get the right size with the pattern you are trying to use..

I tried to research it a little bit more and came across this website that breaks it down and will be esier to understand.
 http://www.knitpicks.com/tutorials/Gauge__D74.html

I'm using a notebook to keep track of new patterns as well as size measuremeants for different projects I'm working on. I also use the notebook to record stitches and keep track of where I am within the pattern when I set it down.

In other news, I restarted the purple blanket that I was working on from a previous post. pics will be on the way as soon after a few rows, so the pattern is more visible. I bought a blue yarn for a nice contrast in the pattern. :] I also bought circular needles and used 120 stitches to cast one. It's the most I've ever done! The outcome should be nice! I'm very excited for this project!

Sky Scarf

A year or so ago, I learned about a very fun conceptual knitting project that involves 5-6 colored yarns, each representing the different color of the sky for that day. I will get started on this project once I buy the yarns in the next couple of days.

I've been trying to come up with other concepts that I can use to do this project.

Here is the link of where I got the project idea from!
http://www.leafcutterdesigns.com/projects/conceptknit.html

Mindless knitting

Practicing is important in knitting, as it is to perfect any kind of activity. For that reason, I'm using this chunky yarn to make a blanket for my sister. I am using 10mm needles to give the yarn some space between the stitches. I love the lacy pattern in knitting but am too impatient to see how the outcome is if I continue knitting after the first few rows. That will be my next challenge, given I have some extra fine yarn and large enough needles to create that look.

With this project I wanted to just practice my mindless knitting speed and accuracy. 

After knitting halfway though the yarn ball, I realized I'm gonna need at least 3 more yarns.
I tried youtubing some tutorials about knitting blankets, I learned that I'd need to cast on many stitches. My needles werent long enough for that so I think I'm going to need more yarn and sew them together. Crossing my fingers that I will find yarn with the same exact color and I do the same amount of stitches or rows to make them all be the same sized square to make an even larger square.

Baby Booties

After a few weeks of on and off working on these baby booties, I finally finished them yesterday morning before work. It is a gift for my supervisor's baby, Lily, who is due end of this month.

The yarn I used is baby pink and soft to the touch, especially perfect for a newborn girl. Except this bootie I made is for a 6-12 month old baby. After I made the first one and realized its quite big for a newborn. I did not have the guts to start over.

I truly enjoyed working on these and would love to make more in the near future. I will experiment with stitch count to make them different sizes. 

Baby booties are one of the articles of baby clothing that I think are the cutest. For the past week I've been working on baby booties that I learned how to make from a youtube video. There are a lot of videos on youtube about knitting and finding one that you like and is easy to understand for a beginner is hard to find. This one was fairly easy because it was the only one for knitting the booties and not crochet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk9-AyF6sao

Crocheting is something I picked up a couple weeks ago. The crochet needles I bought had 7 different sizes. I don't think they are the best but good enough for a beginner like myself, who had never help a crochet needle.

The begining

Knitting is probably the best thing I've learned to do in the last year. Although with all the weddings going on, fun summer nights and of course endless work, I haven't had time to fully get into knitting like I'd like to. With fall approaching and the holiday season just around the corner, I find more inspiration and am able to find more time to dedicate to my hobbies, knitting being one of them. I enjoy the quiet to-myself time while I create something beautiful with my hands. Aside from knitting scarfs, I teach myself different patterns and how to work with special yarns. I love the challenge, outcome and reactions from people.

Here is a baby beanie I made for one of my friend's soon to be baby, Lily. I used 2 different super fine yarns with 8mm needles. The flower is crochet.