Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Friday - Location, Location, Location - knitcroblo5

Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favorite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you like to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub?

I've knit in many places.  I knit at my parent's house all the time.  I knit at the hair salon and the doctor's office while waiting for my appointments.  I've knit on cruise ships as they sailed for the Caribbean.

But what is my favorite place in which to knit?  (Well, besides the cruise ship, because I could seriously use a Caribbean vacation right now!!)  My favorite place to knit is on my couch.

This is actually an old picture from a post I did in 2006,

I always sit on the left side of the couch (or the right side, depending on if you're facing it or sitting on it).  It's the perfect place. It's soft and comfy.  I have a coffee table in front of me for supplies and snacks.  I have my knitting bag on the floor next to me for when I need tools to fix emergency knitting situations.  (Although for some reason, it's not shown it the picture above.)  And I have my little cat snuggled behind me on the back cushion.  (Or sometimes, perched next to me trying to chew my yarn.)

"What? I'm not even paying attention to you OR your yarn."

I don't quite believe her . . .

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Thursday - A New Skill - knitcroblo4

Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one day? Maybe you’re a crocheter who’d also like to knit? Maybe you’d like to learn to knit continental, knit backwards, try cables or attempt stranded colourwork.

A new skill, huh? Well I guess I kind of jumped the gun on this topic when I wrote Tuesday's post.  Silly me, I didn't talk about a specific pattern I wanted to knit.  Instead I went on about how I want to do REAL stranding - as opposed of the "fake my way through it" stranding I do now.  I also confessed that I want to learn to knit continental, partly to help me with stranding and partly because it just seems cool.  So now what do I blog about today?

Well, how about crochet??  After all, that's where this story really began, right?  With me asking Grammy to teach me to crochet.  And with her saying no.  Somehow I never really did learn to crochet.  I've made a few attempts over the years, but my crocheting always looks like crap and I have a hard time wrangling the stitches.  But then one day I thought about how it felt when I was first teaching  myself to knit.  It was slow . . . it was difficult . . . . and frankly, it looked like crap too!  But I kept going and now I can really knit.  I realized that's exactly what I have to do with crochet.  Just keep going.  (I figure another Stitch n Bitch book couldn't hurt either.)  And one day, (hopefully) it will stop looking like total crap and  it will all suddenly click - just like my knitting did!

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Wednesday - One Great Knitter - knitcroblo3

Write about a knitter whose work (whether because of project choice, photography, styling, scale of projects, stash, etc) you enjoy. If they have an enjoyable blog, you might find it a good opportunity to send a smile their way.

For my Great Knitter I decided to go with a wonderful knitter who has a beautiful blog and who is also an amazing designer.  Any guesses?

Anne of Knitspot, of course.  I adore her for all of the reasons listed above.  Her projects are gorgeous - her socks and lace are the best I've ever soon - and she designs them herself.  I bet she has more creative talent when she's asleep than I'll ever have when I'm awake!!

And then there is her blog.  The photography and styling of her patterns, as well as her blog posts in general, are like looking at a beautiful picture book.  I enjoy seeing photos of her garden or the dinner she cooked or some treats she baked just as  much as I love looking at her lasted knitting designs.  Going to her blog is like going on a little vacation.  So click on over and start your vacation too!

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Tuesday - An Inspirational Pattern - knitcroblo2

Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

Although I’ve dabbled in stranding, I still count it as the technique I most want to aspire to. One felted bag and my Olympic hat are a start. But I want to learn to hold my yarn in two hands, instead of fudging it with both yarns in my right hand.

I aspire to a gorgeous Fair Isle sweater. I want it to look great and to actually fit.  I haven't picked out a pattern yet, but there are so many great ones to choose from. Will I ever get there? Who knows, but maybe someday I will.

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Monday - Starting Out - knitcroblo1

How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? Was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?

The story of how and when I began knitting starts with my grandmother. Grammy was a Knitter. My mother would take her to Bradlees, our local department store, to buy big skeins of Red Heart that she would knit up into sweaters or blankets. When the craft bug hit me, for some reason I decided I wanted to crochet. I asked Grammy to teach me, but she stubbornly said “I don’t crochet, I knit. I’ll teach you to knit.” And I stubbornly replied back “I don’t want to learn to knit. I want to crochet.” And that was that.

Fast forward 5 or 10 years. Grammy was no longer with us. One weekend, Pete and I found ourselves in The Discovery Store at Quincy Market and I came across a book called Knitting Pretty. Suddenly I decided I was going to be a knitter. I bought that book. I bought a skein of yarn. I bought a set of double pointed needles – which was the wrong kind for what I wanted to knit, but at that point I had no idea. But soon, Pete and I got engaged and learning to knit took a backseat to wedding planning.

A year or so later, I finally began to seriously try to teach myself to knit. Knitting Pretty was a good beginner book with a lot of great projects. But I couldn’t quite get the hang of things. So I looked for more knitting books and stumbled across Stitch n Bitch. This book changed things!! This book made it all click. This book made me a Knitter too.

I’ve come a long way since those first projects. It’s been a great journey that I look forward to continuing. My only regret? That I didn't let Grammy be the one who taught me to knit.