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a knitting kick

finished cowl

I don't usually think of myself as a knitter, although, to look at the number of knitting accessories and the stash of yarn I have around here, you'd never guess it. My grandma was quite prolific in her knitting, she taught me much, and then she passed on all of her gear to me. Still, I don't knit very often.

For Christmas, I knit a pair of leg warmers for my sister, and I thought it was going to use up all of my knitting energy for the "season" (I only knit in cold months). Fortunately, the opposite happened. I got on a knitting kick. A friend of mine has also helped this happen, and when she told me about a local yarn sale, that only fueled the fire (see the damage).

Since the middle of January, I have completed the cowl you see above, and the necklace you see below. The cowl pattern is the chunky cowl found on this page, and the necklace was made with a knitting fork, based on this tutorial.

finished necklace
knitting a dishcloth

But I've also started on some dish cloths, per my mother's request...

knitting a legwarmer

...a pair of leg warmers for myself...

knitting a cowl

...and a cowl for myself using a different pattern (hoping the leftover yarn from my sister's holds out!).

And then there's all that lovely new yarn I bought just waiting for me to start in on it. Apparently, I'm a knitter.

Do you knit? Do you have any favorite yarns or patterns I should know about?

16 comments:

  1. I just started knitting about five or six months ago. So far I've only done scarves, dishrags, and that sort of thing.

    I was hoping to get some more knitting done during the cooler months, because I'm not sure that I'll be able to knit in the summer (I need to be able to use the things I make *right then* :). But I've been on such an embroidery kick lately that I've pushed knitting to the side.

    ~Kristin

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  2. Hands down all time favorite yarn: Blue Sky Cotton.

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  3. YAY! I've crocheted since I was 7 and taught myself to knit a couple years ago, but it really kicked in the past 8 months or so and now I can't stop! :) I really like Rebecca Danger's patterns for toys. I love Kate Davies' Owl sweaters for adults & babies. I'm currently trying to finish up a baby sweater so I can start a cowl for myself while it's still warm around here. :) If you really want to get your knitting mojo flowing you should consider joining Ravelry! Tons of patterns and lots of support there.

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    1. I agree about Ravelry and the Owl Sweater for adults is one of my faves. I taught myself to knit about 6 1/2 years ago when we moved and I went from being a corporate business person to a stay home mom again. It has been my sanity as I have now worked my way through grad school, a great stress reliever when I need a break. Now I just don't have enough time to complete all the projects I love from embroidery, to knitting, to quilting, to other sewing, to scrapbooking.

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  4. I taught myself to knit a couple years ago but didn't get more serious until a year ago. I can't say I've made many things as I divide my free time among many creative outputs. I find I prefer making up my own patterns for certain items, just like I do with sewing.

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  5. I'm addicted to knitting! In the last 3 months, I've made a shawl, a hot pad, a dishcloth, a coffee mug cozy, 4 scarves, and I'm making another scarf ("bufanda" here in Argentina). I'll try to make several more coffee cozies and a couple more scarves before we go back to the States in April. Can't stop... :D and I don't want to! There are so many cute patterns on the Web!

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  6. I've been knitting for years! Went from loving cross stitching to loving knitting! I don't blame your Mom for wanting some dishcloths. Those seem to be the favorite of everyone! Have you seen some of the cute patterns on http://downcloverlaine.blogspot.com/ ? I've made some of them and they are adorable. Enjoy your knitting. I love your blog!

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  7. hahah, that's awesome! I'm proud to have been an influence.

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  8. i really love the stitch pattern in the first cowl shown in your post! i've never been much for cowls, but i may change my mind now! very nice!

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  9. I LOVE knitting. Those leg warmers are darling!

    ♥ sécia
    www.petiteinsanities.blogspot.com

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  10. I've been on a knitting kick too! But so far just hats for the little ones. As Lia said, Ravelry is a really fun tool with lots of fun and (even plenty of free!) patterns!

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  11. Wow! love your colors.

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  12. Anonymous5:29 AM

    Those leg warmers look the most gorgeous colour!! I so need to learn how to knit x

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  13. I'm knitting socks as I read this. My favorite site for knitting patterns is Knitty.com. Everything on there is a bit funky or stylish or a little off-beat. They have patterns for almost anything, but not as many as they do on ravelry. I can get hopelessly mired on ravelry sometimes, but if I go to knitty I can make up my mind pretty quickly about what I want to knit. Besides the socks I'm working on, I have a cardigan and a fairy doll on the needles and both of those patterns are from knitty. : ) (Actually I have lots of things on needles, but we don't need to go into that here...)

    Don't worry about running out of cowl yarn. I had only one skein to make a cowl for myself this winter and while it is narrow, it's still wonderfully warm and beautiful. The best thing about hand knits is that they are one-of-a-kind, and people will always take notice of your beautiful work. I don't often feel stylish, but when I'm wearing something I knit, I know it looks good.

    And I LOVE the leg warmer yarn.

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  14. I love knitting! I just google free patterns, there are tons!

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  15. Oooh...lovely! :) I need to learn hoe to knit, still...I've been jonesing to learn for years, and I've been dying for legwarmers, too...they're hard to crochet, I've been told. lol. Love what you've been making!

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