Fearless Knitting 101 - Just Fun

Paper and Knitting

ninaclock — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:28:29 -0700

"Knitting Flowers"by Only Alice

Knitters and paper have always had a special relationship. We read out patterns off of paper. We scribble things like "finished row 16" on scraps or in notebooks when we are forced to do things that aren't knitting. We jot down our own design-as-you-go patterns and keep knitting journals. And don't for get those doodles of dream sweaters that sometimes appear.

If you would like to show your paper how much you appreciate it's assistance in your knitting, consider making it a Matchbook Notebook Cover from greeting arts as a token of your friendship.

Or you could paper on a pedestal, so to speak and create your paper it's own unique Roach Clip Memo Clip

Another option: get your existing paper some new little friends, like these very cool keychain notebook Ring Bound from Myndology. $12 gets you 5 little attachable notebooks that would be perfect for jotting down knitting notes while your at your knitting group or on the go.

More Bags

ninaclock — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 05:27:47 -0700

Can a girl ever have enough knitting bags? Well, I can't. All the better if I can make the bags myself for next to nothing!

The bag above is a loose interpretation of the "Simple Leather-Handled Shoulder Bag" from Amy Butler's In Stitches. By loose interpretation, I mean I didn't follow any of the measurements in cutting my fabric and followed most of the sewing instructions.

Once hubby and I get a few more home improvement projects out of the way (including finishing the office space of doom), I've been thinking it would be great to make a few more of these bags to store my works in progress. There are still several WIPs that spend most of their time on the ground tempting my cats to play with them.

Anyway, I think instead of more bags ala Butler, I'm going to try my hand at a couple of the Drawstring Bags in this Instructables tutorial. These bags look simple enough for a novice like me to have some fun!

Spring is Coming

ninaclock — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 05:37:14 -0800

"Yarn Sale" by optically active

Around these parts, (Washington DC, that is) we are on the very cusp of spring. Spring means flowers and yard sales! If you're lucky a morning of scouring your local yard sales will uncover some seriously neat, often cheap knitting paraphernalia. Keep an eye out for knitting needles, vintage patterns, knitting accessories, knitted blankets, containers for knitting storage, and great kitschy craft projects!

Craftzine pointed out some great tips for yard sale haggling by Curbly

Brush up your Spanish

ninaclock — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:20:37 -0800

"precipice" by tobym

Looking for some crafty inspiration or a reason to use all that vocab you learned in high school spanish class? Check out We Love Crafts, a new online magazine with a novel format. The zine is full of fun graphics, novel ideas, and splashed with English phrases with a layout like an artist's notebook format. (found via craftzine)

If you haven't noticed

ninaclock — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 05:23:12 -0800

Anyone who glances at a knitting blog would notice that knitters enjoy photo documenting their knitting. Many of us feel compelled to document our friends' knits as well.

But I think knit bloggers like me should get extra points for documenting the documentation.

Workspace Progresses....slowly

ninaclock — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 07:51:08 -0800

A few days ago I confessed that my workspace is desperate need of organization. I did actually complete part two of my self-assigned tasks and moved all knitting paraphernalia into my office space.

For a little while the space almost looked organized. That didn't last very long, but it was a step in the right direction.

I've also decided that I need a clean desk top, or at least the ability to make it clean quickly. To that end, I found a suitable wall mount for my computer monitor I haven't bought the mount yet because I'd like to have some other parts of my layout design determined first.

In the comments BethC and Amber suggested that I buy a cabinet to store the stash and other knitting stuff. I think that would be a great idea if it weren't for the living room factor. My work area is the first thing you see when you walk in our front door and kind of shares a main pathway through the house. So putting a visually heavy cabinet right in your immediate line of sight is not going to work for me. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up with open shelving, which will have a lighter appearance and lower profile along the wall. I just haven't figured out their length, depth, and placement.

On Craftzine I spotted a link to a tutorial on how to make your own fabric boxes. Though it will take more time than just buying boxes, I will probably end up making a few of these type of things to go on my open shelving. I love things that I make specifically for my needs instead of buying mass-produced things for nameless somebodies.

Honesty is becoming. Right?

ninaclock — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:25:00 -0800

I have a confession. My work space is a complete disaster.

In my estimation, this mess is made problematic by the fact that I live in a one bedroom condo with a husband and two cats. It reaches disaster status because my work area is in a corner of the living room which means that there is no ignoring it, or closing the door discreetly when company comes over. It is ugly and making me incredibly unproductive. And so I am working on a plan to get my little corner in fine, working order.

My little corner actually has a lot of functions it must perform. Some of those tasks it sort-of performs currently and some which it needs to do in the future.

It is currently where I
- blog and do all fun computer stuff
- keep the books for my hubby's business
- keep all of my scribblings/notes for design and knitting projects
- use and keep all my most important knitting tools

In the future the space must:
- store all of my knitting books
- store all of my knitting tools
- store all of my yarn stash

That last list is a lot of new stuff to incorporate into this space. One last requirement: this new work space organization has to look good and be simple to maintain. That is, of course, because my corner is a part of what guests see when we entertain. Most of my guests are knitters, but still, I'd like things to look attractive...take a good photo, just in case I ever am asked to be in a book or something.

To me, these requirements me that I am going to need to carefully plan this space. Very carefully. And that task feels daunting. I've set to goals for the time being.
1) Determine the regular and essential functions that I perform or need to perform in this space
2) Move all objects that are hiding elsewhere into the space so that I can clearly see how much I've actually got to deal with.

Wish me luck!

The Mistake Contest

ninaclock — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:22:57 -0800

FK101's First Ever Contest:

Guess how many mistakes are in this afghan square and win a copy of Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2006.

Leave you guess in the comments. First to guess it correctly is the winner! (Make sure to leave your email; it won't show up publicly.)

After Christmas

ninaclock — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 05:16:10 -0800

The holidays are over. The afghan is not even at the half-way point. I hope to appease you with random, but interesting links elsewhere.

Make your own felted bags out of recycled sweaters.

Next year you can send your Christmas cards out with knitting themed stamps.

Get fashion inspiration from vintage sewing patterns from the 20's, 30's, 40's, and 1950's.

Learn how to create your own garment labels.

Return Home and Afghan Status

ninaclock — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:24:53 -0800

Happy 2007! I'm back from a nice visit to Illinois and Wisconsin to visit and enjoy my family. And I've got a brand-spankin' new computer to make writing for FK101 even more fun than last year. (Thank you hubby, I love it!)

Though I started the trip home with every intention of speeding through Great American Aran Afghan squares, it didn't take long for me to give up and revert to sock knitting. The cramped quarters of our car and the bustle of holiday activity made concentrating on varied charted patterns impossible.

This afghan has become a personal challenge and even though my deadline of January 18, 2007 is looming, I'm looking forward seeing how far I can get if I put in some concentrated effort. To Date, I have completed a total of 3 squares and have 2 more squares that just need finishing touches. So for the next week or so you can look forward (or not, as you choose) to posts reviewing blocks as I knit them at lightening speed!

Not to be completely void of knitting content in this post, I leave you with this photo of my friend Nola's baby sock.

Nola knit this adorable little thing on two circular needles using Sensational Knitted Socks which she says is a very nice book for learning to knit socks. Too cute!