I LOVE to knit. I'm not the greatest knitter by far...but I do love it. My sister just brought me back some yarn from Ireland and I'm knitting up some hats. It's a little itchy, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings...after she lugged it all the way back from Ireland!
One good thing about knitting...both of your hands are busy and you can't eat at the same time.
Oh Yeah! I heart knitting! I am knitting myself a sweater. I hope it fits when i'm done. I love that about knitting too. It's hard to eat with your handsful!
I'm a crocheter and I make mostly baby clothes...sweaters, hats and afghans. I also make grown up hats and mittens. I have some pictures of my things, but I can't get them sized down enough for attachments. Macs.
Knitter and crocheter here! They're great diet aids. While the family munches popcorn, chips and dip during a movies, I'm knitting one and purling two. I'm working on Christmas gift #3, so it's saving me money, too. I've been knitting and crocheting since I was nine, self taught, so my projects have always been pretty basic (i.e scarfs, hats, simple sweaters). Lately though, I've ventured to more complicated pieces like lacy knitting and socks and gloves.
I just started to crotchet after trying to learn for the last 10 years and I love it. I think I mostly learned this time around so I could do that instead of eating. Working so far. Now I just need to find a way to crotchet and walk at the same time.
I knit and crochet too...mostly for my kids, since their size is so much quicker. But lately I started to do some working out and thinking about eating healthy in addition to my regular life, so I don't have much time left for knitting I had to choose between knitting, studying or working out... but here and then I manage to squeeze a few rew in!
MaggieJ....do you knit on 2 circulars or dpns for socks? I've only made one sock, but I definately like the 2 circular method. Right now I'm making lot's of itchy hats out of the itchy irish wool my sister bought me. EVERYONE in my family will be getting one! Thank God we all have thick hair to protect us.
Knitting has been my favorite diet aid!! I started with basic blankets and I'm now up to fancy baby blankets (which I'm pre-making so I have them when my friends start having babies). I also make tons of scarves this time of year for everyone at work. It's awesome because I can watch tv and knit and have no hands or attention left over for food.
I bought a spinning wheel and I'm going to take lessons this winter. My friends think I'm crazy...but who cares! I think I belong on a commune somewhere.
I crochet and am trying to learn to knit. I'm left handed, and have a hard time learning from pictures of right-handed knitting. Until very recently, I couldn't do the purl stitch at all (know I can do it, but very awkwardly) and didn't know that you were supposed to turn your work after each row (so I had one needle always in the left hand, and the other always in the right hand, knitting left handed one row, and right handed the next).
I just finished an afghan in which I alternated random bands of crochet and knitting (using my weird, non-turning knit stitch method). I used two tunisian crochet hooks (the tunisian hook looks like a knitting needle but is hooked on one end like a regular crochet hook) to knit for several inches, then used the afghan stitch to cast off, and then crocheted in hdc for several inches. I used random numbers of rows, so I wouldn't have to count rows. It turned out really pretty. It was really my first successful (at least partially) knit object. Every time I tried to knit a scarf or afghan, somewhere along the line a bunch of stitches would fall off the needles and start to unravel before I could pick them back up and I'd have to rip out the whole thing. Alternating the bands of crochet meant that when this happened, I only had to rip it out to the last row of crocheted stitches.
I learned from Mary Thomas's knitting book that both the non-turning method of knitting, and knitting with hooked needles are historically accurate for some countries/times in history. I thought is was kind of cool, because I don't have to think that I'm "doing it wrong."
Buy a knitting book for children. That's how I learned to knit. I felt like a jerk at first making soda can cozies and other hideous things....BUT...it taught me the knitting basics. I'm definately craft challenged, but books geared towards kids are full of pictures and easy instructions. If I can do it...you can!!!
There are also videos for kids and adults. I've always been tempted to buy them, but they can be so expensive. A friend recently suggested checking out the library, because they will send for books, and sometimes even videos from other libraries for you. I knew that they would do it for books and magazines, but I never thought about videos or other media.
I've never gotten beyond knitting scarves. My next attempt will be socks. I'm buying a "sock kit" with enough yarn for a pair, supposedly easy instructions, and circular needles.
I sort of taught myself to crochet but I seem to miss loops MUCH easier with crocheting. I can knit feet and feet in the dark without having to look at my work and won't drop a stich but I seem to mysteriously add or lose around 5 stitches when I crochet!
Any other dieting Knitters out there?
I had to choose between knitting, studying or working out... but here and then I manage to squeeze a few rew in!
