Knitting, For Beginners like me.

I got a message a while back asking about knitting, for a beginner who knows how to cast on, cast off, and not do much in between. Well, to be honest, I'm not the world's best knitter, just about everything I make has raging flaws in it but I try! My best advice to anyone is to go and join Ravelry immediately and search the pattern and forum databases to join a great community. I got all the best of my patterns there, some free, some not, and I love it. I've also met some wonderful people since joining, as it seems that there is no group so tight-knit!

So I hope that helps. I'd love to go in to more detail, but the babies are corralling the wagons and ready to commit some breakfast time to their tummies!

Some projects I have done/am working on...

I've taken up knitting, as we all know. But I thought I'd upload some pics for posterity and yeah, so you all know I'm doing my home work and not just sitting around watching daytime tv (as is often rumoured of us stay at home mummies....)

Firstly, one of my girlfriends was blessed with the birth of another bub, Ricky, who arrived last week. He's adorable, and I hope he's enjoying his little blanket! The pattern is from the LionBrand website, under 'Horizontal Baby Blanket'. The pattern is super easy to knit once you get your yarn-overs and knit2tog's right, you go pretty well in front of the telly! I knit it with 12 ply acrylic because acryl is machine washable and 12ply is suuuuper thick, so it is great for a new bub to keep warm under either in bed or in the pram.



I've also been making this lace pattern scarf for my sister, but it's being made with 4 ply baby wool because it's very soft and I have bucket loads of it! I like this pattern, it's a baby-kind of pattern too, and an aunt had a reminisce over how her gran used to make it for the little bubs. The basic construction is just a feather and fan pattern that was downloaded from Ravellry under Feather and Fan Baby blanket but I doubled the stitches because the ply is so thin.



And then there's this monster of a blanket! I feel bad, because the jumper and the beanie I have so far made Ethan have been far too small to last him, so I've begun making him a single bed width blanket with this 12ply. It's a monster of a yarn, but it's a simple pattern that I can put away at a nanosecond's notice and pick up very easily! It's just yarn overs and k2tog's again, and is another great project that is picked up and put down between articles that 'must' be completed or may be a bit more complicated in patterning.


And then there's Alice's circular blanket, still kicking, that I'm teaching myself crocheting on as well as the initial lesson of knitting with double pointed needles.


So that's my project list at the moment. I'm also making an Oriental Lily dress (another Ravellry download - all knitters and crocheters MUST go there!) for Alice in a 2yr old size, because I want to start using it next winter and for it to be used for quite some time. No pictures of it yet, but they'll come!

Anyway, must go as there are two cherubs and I watching history change and greeting in the first woman Prime Minister today.