Saturday, December 29, 2012

You asked and now it's here...

4180 N College Avenue


I am now offering FREE lessons and a place of gathering for knitters/crocheters/loomers on the 1st Saturday of the month at the College Avenue Library.  We will meet from 10:30-12:30.  Bring your needles, hooks, looms and yarn for a fun time with other like-minded people.
 
Our first gathering will be on Saturday, January 5th.  We'll meet in the Indy Reads room.  Just ask at the desk if you're not sure where that is.  And parking and the entrance is off of Broadway.
 
Join us!
~Denise

Friday, December 28, 2012

How I've spent my week off from work

 When I wasn't shoveling myself out of 8 inches of snow this week, I was knitting and crocheting!  The teal and beige cowl was quite a challenge.  It took 5 tries to get the stitch right.  It called for knitting in the stitch below.  Not as easy as it sounds. But it was all worth it when my daughter said it's her favorite thing I've made her! It was also my first time circular knitting with 2 colors- it was actually easier than doing so on straight needles.

One of the things I enjoy about making things myself is the ability to make changes.  The brown cowl for me was supposed to be shorter but I made it longer because I like being able to pull my cowls over my head. It called for a mobius twist which is actually a math term.  It just means you twist it before joining the edges.  I'm working on a pair of cabled hand warmers.  It's the first time I've knit using a chart.  I've done cross stitch before so it's very similar to that. I plan to wear them Sunday so I'll post pictures soon.  

To those who said they've been bored while being snowed in, take up knitting or crocheting, I promise you'll find yourself wishing for more snow days so you can just sit and create!

I'm off next week too.  I wonder what I will create next?    
I finished crocheting my daughter's socks.  She put them on right away!



I knitted this cowl for another daughter.  She said it's her favorite thing that I've made her!

The cowl I showed in a picture a few weeks ago.

This is the cowl up
This is the cowl down

Monday, December 17, 2012

Yarn bombing update

First bunch joined
I decided to join the swatches that have been completed so far so my co-workers would get even more excited about this project.  One of our library volunteers is  joining our group yarn bombing.

For more pictures, click on the "yarn bombing project at the College Avenue Branch" tab above.

Anything for my grand-babies

I'm sure my grand children think everyone's grandmother can just
"whip up" new dolls (or hats or mittens or whatever they like) every time they spend the night. 

She loved her crocheted Hello Kitty dolls and even "helped" me.  She chose the colors for the yarn and the embroidery thread.  I bet she'll be completely designing her own patterns soon!






http://arminas-aminals.blogspot.com/2008/03/ami-hello-kitty.html

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A change in plans

I've decided to STOP having the knit/crochet gathering at the Central Library on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. 

The only people who have been coming are Amadi and Patrick.  I appreciate their support and the effort they make to get there after work, but since we all work together, we can get together at work to knit.

I will continue the 4th Tuesday of the month gathering at the Haughville Branch as long as there continues to be an interest. (We will not meet there in December).

So while I was at the Central library today for 4 hours today (I had a meeting there this afternoon and just stayed)  I worked on my  newest cowl.  The pattern is called  "Winding River Cowl" by  Kathleen Cubley and it's been a very fun challenge.  I learned the crochet-chain-provisional cast on method.  That's the lighter color on the knitted piece.  Once I finish the length of the cowl, I "unzip" the cast on stitches, place them on the needle and then bind off.  I'll add another picture before I twist and create the Mobius strip and  join the 2 ends.  It's a very nice design. Like a winding river :)





This next picture shows the socks that I'm crocheting for my daughter.  I've knitted socks before but this is my first pair of crocheted ones.  They're from the book Learn to Crochet Socks for the family by Leisure Arts. I have a few more inches to do for the foot, then I do the toe.  The heel will then be added.
I"ll add pictures of both projects when they're finished, which I hope will be this weekend.  I have sooo many new things that I want to start on next!
~Denise


Friday, December 7, 2012

Yarn bombing at the library!


Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fiber rather than paint or chalk.

 I've added a new page to my blog.

It will document the yarn bombing project that my co-workers and I are in the midst of.  Because so many of us knit and or crochet, our manager thought it would be fun if we yarn bombed something at our library branch.  We decided on 2 chairs.  I'm in charge of the project so I measured the top of the chairs and divided it into smaller sections for everyone to make swatches that I'll combine. 
For those of you who aren't sure what yarn bombing is, I've added some pictures.

        

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

A knitter is born!

I had a new student today at the East Washington St Michaels.  A very nice 62 year young lady who already crocheted and wanted to give knitting a try.  She did very well! She learned both the knit and purl stitches and I taught her how to crochet with the Red Heart Sashay yarn. 

I had a "first" today.  While teaching Nancy, a customer came in the classroom to ask me how to knit with the Sashay yarn.  Of course I told her she could register for  one of my classes and I'd teach her but that's not what she wanted to hear.  I explained that she could find instructions and videos online.  She seemed to be satisfied with that answer. 

If you're on Pinterest, look for me - UntangledStitch.  I just added a new board with Warm Up America information.  I also have a board that will chronicle the Yarn Bombing project that we're doing at the library.  I'll add a "page" for that here on my blog too.

I hope that all of your knitting and or crocheting projects are happy and productive ones!

~Denise




Saturday, December 1, 2012

Updates

I have updated my December and January calendars. 

Because the Haughville (and all IndyPL locations) will be closed on the 4th Tuesday of  December, the 25th  it looks like we won't be meeting there this month.

I haven't done much knitting or crocheting this week.  I had a very rare cold.  Tomorrow I should be back at full strength so my fingers will once again be productive!