this is my new hobby.

it’s all a bit free-style and whimsical, and i don’t think neat crochet is my forte. i’m kinda just going with the flow and exploring how many knots in a loop i can make, how linking this loop to that knot and that loop to that other weird sticking out thing can make some other thing. i can’t be bothered to learn from a book, so gut instinct is all that’s guiding me.

it’s not bad, though. i’m pretty impressed by my productiveness. i mean, i only started 2 days ago and i already have enough crochet flowers to fill a crochet basket (not that i’d actually a crochet a basket – that would be much too twee even for me).

hattymatty

i knitted a hat for the boyfriend.

it is dark grey, and has a ribbed band about an inch tall (high? long? what?).

it’s not the most beautiful thing in the world, nor is it at any sort of real standard. i started it too big, and had to sew the bottom in to make it fit, rather than just fall over his face. i’m also lacking in double pointed needles, so i basically just decreased the crown till i couldn’t stretch it across my circular needles any more, then sewed the top of the round together.

for a short and quick project i thought i did pretty good.

i think i might now try and make a beret for myself. hopefully i might incorporate a cable pattern or two, but i’m not placing any bets on how they’re gonna turn out.

a stitch in time

this weekend past i took the tentative steps towards a full-blown knitting kit at fabrications at broadway market.

so now i have a great big ball of 100% acrylic yarn sitting on my desk. it’s only saving grace is that it was so cheap (£1.50) for so much (500g), and so it shall be used for all my test stitches and my beginner learning lessons like how to increase/decrease, how to make a buttonhole, how to create weird patterns etc.

knitting’s been pretty easy so far. the hardest part was casting on and getting my needles and fingers in the right position. once i realised that it was merely a really complicated system of looping and knotting, everything became so much clearer and the mystique of the knit dissipated. but it really is quite fun, and watching a lousy piece of string become an actual piece of fabric, woah that’s crazy dude.

i’ve already made a mobile phone cover/sock whilst learning to perfect a garter (knit) stitch, and last night i made a finger-glove/finger-puppet whilst learning to purl and then making a stockinette stitch. so now that i have learnt to both knit and purl, i can go out and buy nice woollen yarn in beautiful colours and start creating a scarf. yay!

and i have to say, learning kniting from a book is dead easy. but maybe it’s the book that i use that makes it so simple. if you ever want to learn to knit, i highly recommend Stitch ‘n Bitch. it’s amazing what a bit of common sense and a lot of sass can do.

knitkit

i’ve decided to teach myself to knit, with 2 books and a craft kit.

and once i’ve done that, i might move on to crochet. because i absolutely love crocheted flower brooches and accessories, but am too skint to fork out the £5 or more they go for.

or maybe i’ll just scrap the knitting and jump straight into crocheting.

hmm.