All things knit...

For the last six months or so I have been indulging in knitting. It is a hobby I have had since I was 8, but reignited when I married Corey and found that his mom was also a knitter (and a quilter and a crocheter-- you get the idea, she is very crafty).  She bought me my first real knitting supplies and answered questions. Then law school happened. And like so many of my other hobbies, knitting fell by the way-side.

Pinterest is one of the reasons that I picked it back up. So many ideas and so little time. The first scarf I made was based off of this.

Once I made the first one, my friends wanted them too-so I made a second... and a third...and a fourth...and a fifth...and a sixth...the rest is history. I have been happily knitting and experimenting ever since-I've even earned a little extra money. Now I have fellow-knitters in my midst, and friends that want to learn. Thus the birth of our knitting circle Thursday mornings.

In honor of my new hobby and all the people that have supported it, I am adding a page to the blog called "my knits...".  My goal is to share patterns that I like and projects I am working on with you. The first pattern I will share is probably my favorite. It is an infinity scarf (a circle)-warm, cozy, and beautiful. It was my second experiment after I got tired of all the button scarves.

I stole the pattern from a fellow-blogger-which you can find here. It is REALLY easy, but it takes a little longer than the button scarves because of the length.

OK-instructions per Cole (which means I know NOTHING about gauge-etc. I will tell you what I did, and you can figure it out from there).

1. Using size 13 needs and two skeins of yarn (I used this kind  in Pagoda) cast on 25 stitches ( just make a slip knot with both strands and pretend like you are only using one) 
2. Row 1-K, *P, K, repeat from * to end-make sure you end on K.
3. Repeat Row 1 until your scarf measures 55 inches long
4. Cast off leaving a long tail
5. Fold scarf so that cast on and cast off edges are together. Use the tail to "sew" the pieces together.

FINI!

 I have made 5 of these scarves, and I wear mine almost everyday-so does Danie, who got the second one.

I hope to keep everyone posted as I find wonderful knits that are easy and fun. Right now I am working on some fingerless mittens and a shrug. I even bought double-point needles to try a hat-slightly terrified, but here we go!

Exhale...

Finals are OVER. They were actually over on Tuesday, but I still haven't had a lot of time for blogging-

SURPRISE!

Oh well. Finals were exhausting. I feel like I say that every semester, but magically I forget until they come around again.

Sooo True.

But it is done. And I am one semester away from graduation. I am looking forward to celebrating that fact with my friends tomorrow at our Semi-Formal. We get dressed up. We have good food and drinks. We forget all the stress....we laugh...we have fun.  

As for the rest of break...I am knitting up a storm to get ready for Christmas. I'm hanging with the kiddos some-yesterday was Libby's Christmas Program so check the family blog soon for photos and hopefully a video! I'm back in the office too. Every year I have big plans for break, and then it whizzes by without me realizing it. So this year, I have 2 concrete projects that I want to accomplish.

THIS...

and THIS...

Both are knitted-I haven't delved into the crochet world yet. And I SUPER excited to make them! Added to the fun is that 4 or 5 of my friends have expressed an interest in learning to knit, so I will get to work on my projects while hanging out with some really awesome ladies.

I'll post photos-unless they turn out terribly...

images from here

DIY? DI-Done!

From start to finish, this took me less than a week. I generally only worked on it while watching TV in the evening. And if I do say so myself (and I do), I think it looks great! I am excited to wear it now that the weather is turning cold :)

NOW? I am making another-in mustard yellow for my best friend and fellow blogger Danielle (you can check her blog out here). I am using a different pattern which I will post when I finish.

For all of my fellow knitters, I will share the pattern for this guy.

• CAST ON a multiple of 4 plus 3 stitches to size 13 needles
• Row 1: K3, *p1, k3; rep. from *.
• Row 2: K2, *p3, k1; rep from * to last stitch, k1.
• Repeat the two rows until desired length (I used 1 skein of soft but chunky yarn)
• CAST OFF ( I don't know any fancy casting off things, so just regular cast off for me)
• ADD decorative button (the pattern is not too tight, so no button hole is necessary.)

WEAR HAPPILY :)

Progress.

I have been working hard on my scarf. I only knit when I am watching TV or taking a break from study mode. Amazingly it is really coming along-it is imperfect, but made with love. I thought I would share a photo.

 I think in a week it will be done :) 

DIY Corner |:| Be forewarned I am NOT crafty

As evidenced by my endeavor today.

I have been on pinterest for a bit now, and one of my favorite aspects are the DIY ideas. I love looking at things and seeing how doable they are. But then I remember. I am not crafty. I am almost positive that the right side of my brain is missing.

But my friend Lauren had said she was going to get crafty this weekend, and I thought--"Pinterest says that I can do this...so I will." And the one thing I know how to do is knit. So I went to Michael's and got some pretty yarn.

 I grabbed my size 13 needles and sat down to make this...

So cute. Seemingly so easy--short, wide scarf with a button. I had to figure out the pattern. I was thinking Knit, Knit, Knit, Knit--Purl, Purl, Purl, Purl. But I started and it didn't look right. So I called my very, very crafty mother-in-law, Becky. I asked her to pull up my pinterest and tell me what she thought the pattern was. After a few minutes of looking for the picture, she said, "Well, Cole, that's crochet." And guess what? I don't know how to crochet.

But Becky, being a wonderful mother-in-law, said she would show me how (maybe a good Thanksgiving break activity for the two of us). So that scarf will have to wait for a bit. In the meantime I will use my size 13 needles to make a normal scarf for myself or some other lucky person ;)