...Learning Me Some Skills...

Thanks to everyone who has been checking in on my posts for this year's KCBW! I have had a lot of fun putting them together and reading others!

Today's Topic: Improving Your Skillset

I have known how to knit 4ish years now and have only been serious about it for 2 years (?). To say that I need to improve my knitting skills is an understatement. I will say I have come a long way in 2 years, just look at some of my early posts. Wow. Was I really THAT bad?

I have learned a few things year, to name a few:

• Cables
• Top-Down, No Seams (thank goodness) Sweater Construction
• Jogless Stripes (Thank Goodness!)
• Several different cast on, increase and decrease methods

I like today's topic because it gives me a chance to record what I would like to improve on (perhaps a secondary YOP list?). Bahaha!

• I would LOVE to improve the general look of my knitting. Sometimes it just doesn't look even and smooth!
• I would enjoy trying some Fair Isle.
• Seaming. If there is a fool-proof way to teach a fool how to do this, please let me know. I am terrible at it.
• And if you read my son's post from yesterday (Can't believe he hacked my blog. Smartest 11 month old I know.) I would like to learn Amigurimi.

This looks like a list I can work on throughout the year, in fact, I will add them to my second Year of Projects list now! (Oh, you know you have already started! And if you haven't, check out Blog A Long at Ravelry!You should join us! )

I Hacked My Mommy's Blog!--3KCBWDAY4

Excuse me all you grown-ups who read this thing my Mommy writes on, I demand your attention. Do any of you know when my Mommy knits?
I know it happens...the evidence is clear. She makes me wear these goofy looking hats. See, look at this one:

And then she totally embarrassed me at Christmas when I just HAD to wear this to THREE different Christmases!!! If Dad took it off (and thank-you Daddy for rescuing me from that hat!) Mommy was right there telling him to put it back on! She's nuts!

Then I had to wear this awful thing. I had a long sleeve shirt on and it still felt scratchy. What is her deal?!

Seriously, people, I really do not get it. Those cool looking sticks she uses do not taste good. And if I ever get close to one, she freaks out. I don't even know where she keeps them now.

And this stuff? Oh my gosh, I thought the sticks tasted bad, this stuff is gross. Attention babies, do not eat this junk!! .

I need your help adults. I can't take it anymore. If you ever see my mommy knitting, will you tell her to stop making me all of these dorky things and make me something cool? Like a puppy dog?

Thank-You,

A

...Knitting in All Seasons...

Today's KCBW topic poses the question, "How does your local seasonal weather affect your craft?"

I took a look at my current (perhaps I should state active, as they are about 6 in a dresser drawer that have been there 6 months plus) WIPs to see if they held the answer. They include the Special Occasion Scarf and an afghan. 

 

The scarf is Spring-like and the afghan is obviously Fall\Winter. 

My guess? Seasons do not really affect my knitting. I am more "list-driven" (which my husband can attest to...he apparently believes he saw me making a list of my lists once...that is so not true). Even today, my grandma said she was looking at my Year of Projects tab and commented I wasn't very far on it ;) I have my current (and ever-changing) knitting project list in order of completion\deadlines. If I have to knit a pair of fingerless gloves in July I will do it. 

I must admit, it would be nice to be season driven...then those fingerless mitts would have been done in December.

...My Knitting Hero...3KCBWDAY3

Today's KCBW topic is all about our knitting\crochet heroes. Of course, I immediately think of the person who taught me the craft.


My Knitting Hero: Corinne.

Coronado Island, California

I can remember the day she taught me how to knit. I had barely been crocheting (and was really terrible at it, honestly, I likely still AM terrible at it) and I saw her knitting one day and knew I had to learn. We were sitting in my living room (with my "I Taught Myself to Knit" packet and HUGE needles in hand. For some reason I thought it would be EASY to learn with sz 16 needles...) and she starting to teach me. I read in my book about "purl-ing" and inquired on how to do it. Her response? "I don't really know, you just place the yarn differently."

Well, I LIKED knitting but eh, didn't really have a passion for it. So the sz 16 needles and abundance of Red Heart yarn sat in a basket, unloved. Fast forward almost 5 years and I LOVE knitting! I am not sure what happened to make me fall in love with it so much.

We laugh now because I am a knitting nerd. I like to talk to her about new yarn, needles, patterns, the fact that I knit my first sweater this winter and she is content knitting her occasional scarf. (and Corinne, they are fabulous beauties! However, if you EVER want to nerd out a little more, you know where to find me). 

So THANK-YOU Corinne for being my Kntting Hero!! Without you, I would not have an abundance of needles, a small dresser (or two?) of yarn, a Ravelry account, my first sweater and a cute striped project bag.

...My Most Prized WIP...3KCBWDAY2

Today's challenge involves taking a picture of my craft of choice (knitting, der!) in a creative way. I thought the best way to approach this challenge was to include my most prized Work In Progress,  my son.

Here is my best WIP amidst other WIPs...

"I think you should work on THIS one Mom!"

Thank you for coming back! If you are interested in looking at other Photography Challenge blogs, type in 3KCBWDAY2 in Google. If you like this picture, consider nominating it at Eskimimi Makes! Come back tomorrow for: My Knitting Hero.

...The Love of Colour...3KCBWDAY1

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012 has started! This is my first time participating in KCBW and am looking forward to it!

Today's KCBW topic: Colour Lovers, specifically, how do I go about choosing colors for fiber projects.

Good question.

I thought for sure the answer was in my stash of yarn. So I took a look...to my surprise, no one color stood out! There were Browns and Creams. Bright oranges and some yellow. Grays and Blacks. Variegated pinks. Purples. Greens. Blues. Not one stood out.

There was, however, one color NOT present in my yarn stash. Red. I have a good feeling as to why: My Husband. He strongly dislikes red. Therefore, I have zip. zero. nada. single ounce of red yarn. Then it dawned on me...perhaps my color influences come from my surroundings. While thinking about this, I took a walk around my house.

My hubby's favorite color is obvious after looking at this picture: Orange. He owns SEVERAL orange shirts and almost EVERYTHING he owns has some sort of orange on it. Orange waterbottle, watches, sunglasses, and yes, even his hangers are orange.

I took a look in my yarn stash and of course, found Orange:

Hmm...this IS interesting! What other surroundings influence my color choices?

 

There are elements of sage green in my dining room. There is also sage green in my stash!

Something similar happened with my living room where chocolate brown is the secondary color...

 

When it comes to choosing yarn colors, it appears my influence is all around me. From my husband to my home decor. It was a fun journey to say the least! Of course, I cannot forget the colors that are influenced by my bright personality. ;)

 

Thanks for stopping by! Come back tomorrow for the second topic in this years Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Photography Challenge Day!

Knit & Crochet Blog Week

I found out about the Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week from Kim at Page after Page and thought it sounded kinda fun! It will at least change things up a bit on my little blog. Topics are assigned for each day starting April 23rd through the 29th. There are several prizes and giveaways as well.

If you are interested in participating, click on the above banner for more information!

Made It Hap-Pin!

Thank you for coming back! I am so glad you did! I had fun making the Confetti Sprinkle Cookies I wrote about on Monday.

 Confetti Cookie Dough

It is crazy how EASY this recipe was! Cake mix, baking soda, oil, eggs, sprinkles. It called for 1 Cup of sprinkles...and all I had was valentine's day sprinkles in that amount!  At first, I didn't believe that I would use that entire cup but to my surprise, I did!

The cookies turned out perfect! Lots of fun sprinkles in every cookie! My brother and sister came over yesterday and gobbled them up! My only change was to shorten baking time to eight minutes instead of ten.  These will be a lot of fun to make when A gets older! Imagine a kid's face when he\she gets to pour in ALL THOSE SPRINKLES!

Thanks for checking in! Have a great Friday!

Pick A Pin!

Welcome Back! Let's pick a baking pin this week! I am always up for cookies...or anything sweet really! I think these cookies look DELICIOUS!! And a lot of fun!

 

 Image from Cookin' Cowgirl

The pin is from the blog Cookin' Cowgirl. She has some really fun posts and I enjoy how her passion comes out in her writing.

Come back Friday because this will for sure hap-Pin! Be sure to check out Nicole and Tamara who have joined the fun!