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First Outing Afghan | Free Knitting Patterns

dr girlfriend's guide to knitting backwards

Knitted Patterns

I still have a few projects on my needles. I need to cast off a green hat that I basically finished last night; ten more minutes and I'm done. I'm making slow but sure progress on my cables and lace shawl. So much for finishing it by the end of December. I got a chart holder from Knit Picks, which sped up the process considerably. Now I can knit from a chart while sitting on the couch. The freedom to knit somewhere besides a table is a great thing. I am also still in progress for my dog's sweater. I need to go back to my knitting store to have someone help me with the directions. My dog was liking his sweater. Thanks to craftsy.com, I also have a lace shawl on some needles. I do want to work on that, considering lace work isn't too hard. We'll see when I work on that again.

However, pregnancy stops for no one. Two of my friends are pregnant with boys. While I really enjoy knitting my projects, or projects for adults, knitting for babies provides me with another opportunity. I can try out new techniques and not worry too much about the results because babies won't be able to wear the product too long. I don't like giving away my knits with mistakes, though. Still, knitting for babies usually means quick projects, so if I do make a mistake, I can unknit stuff quickly and not lose too much time. Trying out new things is what I really like about knitting for babies. I can practice picking up stitches and embroidery techniques, etc. So I'm going to knit a few hats, some with dog ears and others with little propellers at the top. I'm going to attach my first pom poms to these hats and try ear flaps. I may even try stripes. I think I will try stripes since they aren't difficult.

This also means that I have to buy more yarn. The problem? My closet has more yarn than clothes now. I'm going to have to start knitting quickly. So my plan today is to do errands, plan my classes, and knit like a beast. Tomorrow I will repeat the process.

Read, set, go knit! (and happy knitting!)

Hey Girl!

There are people in your life for a season, a reason, or a life time. He was in my life for a reason my freshman year of college. I loved him and he broke my heart. However, I am so glad that I met him. I was studying for calculus, a course I never should have taken as an English major. I mentioned flippantly that I would promptly forget everything soon after the test. The "cool" kids in high school had said that, so I thought I would too, not that I had ever been cool. Boy did that backfire on me. He told me that I should never use my time to do something only to forget it. I would be wasting time that way. Who knew if I would need that information later on? Even if I would never use it again--like I have never used calculus since--I shouldn't use my time, time that I will never get back, in a wasteful manner. The way he said it made every second sound precious.

Today, as a teacher, I try to impart that to my students. They still don't understand exactly what it means, but if I repeat it every week for a year, maybe it will stick with them. Perhaps it is also partially why I'm always so busy: every minute is precious to me. I think my biggest anxiety about death is that I don't want to die thinking that I had wasted my time.

As a teacher, I do look forward to long weekends. They mean that I can actually relax and enjoy myself rather than prepare for the following week. Of course, I get sick during this break. Although it's quite convenient to be sick on a weekend because I don't have to worry about a substitute, etc., I still don't like it.

While my fever got higher and my nose became more congested, I knew that I would have to actually relax. Therefore, I took a full day to simply recover. It was during that day that I realized that my hobbies are perfect for being sick: knitting, reading, and writing. I finished reading that week's New Yorker, read more of Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James, and knit up a bit of my shawl. While some may consider knitting "work," I found it quite enjoyable and relaxing.

I hate feeling like I'm not productive; I always want to feel like I'm using my time wisely. Being sick always reminds me of my mortality and that it is wasting my time here. I find that knitting allows me to use every second I have wisely. Someone will use my knitwear. For how long? Who knows, but I'm not wasting any time. Being sick may slow me down professionally, but I'm lucky that I have a hobby that lets me be productive even when I shouldn't be.

Knitting in Prison

This is an interesting article about the benefits knitting provides prisoners. I'm not sure if I'm gutsy enough to do what these women do, but I know that they are helping a lot!

Happy knitting!

I started one of my resolutions today: learn to knit a lace shawl. Thanks to craftsy.com, I'll be able to succeed in this goal. After making 3 gauges, I found the right needle size and started the shawl. It's a semicircular shawl, so I also learned to do a provisional cast on. I think mine would have been better if I had used a crochet hook, but I made it work. When it came to "unzipping" the cast on, I wasn't so successful, but I rescued those first three stitches. I also picked up some stitches. While I don't think I picked them up at the same bump as demonstrated in the video, I think I would have been more successful if I had practiced with larger yarn. At any rate, I have 17 stitches, know how to do pretty much everything else, and am excited to continue.

Happy knitting!

I love to knit. As you know, I'm sure. There are so many projects that I want to make that I'm not sure if I will ever have enough time to complete them. Because I want to knit so many different types of projects, I'm lucky that I have many different friends to give them to.

I encounter a problem in my knitting speed when I knit for myself. In the past six years, I've completed only a hat for myself. I started a cable scarf last Christmas, but I never finished it. I'm finding the same problem with the shawl I'm working on. It's a beautiful cable and lace shawl, but I do have to follow a chart, which takes more time and concentration. While I can't wait to have the finished project, I find that I'm already looking for more projects to knit for others and it's been about a week since I've worked on my shawl. I need to find a solution for this. Any suggestions?

Happy knitting!

First off, I resolve to prove the Mayans wrong! I really don't want the world to end this year; I don't think anyone does. I have too many goals to accomplish before the world ends. I believe this is the third prediction in my lifetime, but there probably have been more.

Now onto my real list:
1. Lose 10 pounds by May. That should be doable.
2. Learn to knit lace. I already know how, but I want to get better and to do more than a rectangle. Craftsy.com is helping me accomplish this goal.
3. Learn to knit socks. Craftsy.com is again going to help me learn this.
4. Organize my place 5-10 minutes a day. It's a habit I need to hone...I'm good at cleaning and chores, just not putting my stuff away!
5. Start designing hats.
6. Blog more.

I have a bunch that I'd love to write about, not always about knitting. However, life has gotten in the way sometimes. I'm hoping to write a blog a week. If everything is organized, then I should be able to do this. That also means that I'll have to knit a little less, but I'll need to give my hands a break, right?

I hope 2012 holds many blessings and wishes-come-true for you all!