Knitting is more than just a hobby.

Hello my fellow knitters, and anyone else who finds knitting blogs interesting!

Where to begin. That is a task in and of itself. I am currently working on an 8 strand cable scarf (pictured below), and a size 10 sweater for World Vision Knit for Kids sweater. For not having a lot of time to knit, my sweater is knitting up super quick. I have about 3 more inches to go in the body before I do the front sleeves. It is crazy how quick this sweater is knitting up for me, with working full time, and of late full time and then some.

I spent the last hour or so working on updating my knitting spreadsheets that I have going on my computer. I added the columns and formulas I needed for this year. I also did columns and formulas for 2016 – 2020. Beings that it is now almost May, and i had yet to make the columns up for this year, I decided that I might as well just do it through 2020 and be done with that for the next six years.

Knitting is totally my creative outlet. It more than makes up for the mundaneness and lack of creativity I have in my day job.

I have been spending a lot of time this past week watching YouTube videos about knitting, and looking up patterns, as I want to get better, and be able to knit more complex patterns. I tried knitting socks once and gave up while trying to turn the heel. I want to give it another try, and really try this time.

I also have a couple skeins of lace weight yarn in my stash to make another leaf lace wrap/scarf for myself. Now that I have the baby blankets for my cousin and his wife done (I just need to get them shipped), I will have more time to work on projects that I want to work on. I know I have talked about it in the past, about having a personal project and a charity project in the works at the same time, and that is the case 95% of the time. I rarely only have one project in the works these days.

Beings that I have a size 10 sweater in the works, it is nice to have a smaller project to work on, when I only have a few minutes to knit, before I start work, or I don’t feel like working on as big of a project when I am tired after working 10 hours. I would love to be able to get paid to spend time working on projects, blogging about them, as well as craft store adventures and hauls.

Over the next few months, as I get some of my own stashed yarns knit into fantastic projects, and as next fall gets closer I am going to get out more, and go track down the locally owned craft stores here in Portland, and buy some yarn from them and write reviews on the shops, and the yarn for you guys. If my goal to be a better knitting blogger is going to ever come to fruition, I am going to start having to do the work myself. I can’t afford to jump in to it full time, and just make it my career, but I am starting somewhere here and now. I am making this goal happen.

For those of you who read and follow me for my charity knitting projects, rest assured that those are going nowhere fast, and will continue to be an integral part of my blog, and pictures and so on and so forth. I am just wanting to increase my skills and create so much more in the way of fall and winter accessories that are not only cute, but very practical.

Making Hats

Hey Everyone,

Beings that today is the halfway mark through the month of April, I figured it was time to write an update on the 30 day 30 hats challenge I had started on April 1st. I have only made nine hats so far this month. While I am mildly disappointed in myself, I remind myself that keeping up the relationships I have with my friends is also important to me. While there are children who are in need of the hats that I am knitting, my friends are in my world, and I don’t want forget about them as they are more of a priority.

Last week I did a little digging in the basket of yarn that I have set aside for hats, and found some yarn I had forgotten about having stuck in the basket, so I pulled it out. I am now working through that yarn because it caught my eye and there is plenty of it to make several hats from each skein of yarn.

30 Days, 30 Hats challenge

Hey Everyone!

I don’t know if anyone else has ever tried this, but I wanted something to do for the next month knitting wise to jump back into hand knitting full time. I had been planning on switching to knitting hats for a while after I completed my last sweater. Beings that I finished my last sweater on March 30th, what better way to kick off a new month, and a new project than with a challenge. The hats that I will be knitting will be going to children in India, but if anyone wants to join me in my challenge and knit along with me, There are many other charities that you can send the hats too, including World Vision (they take baby hats).

I like challenges that push me to try to achieve something more with something that I am competent at. Hand knitting for a cause is something I am good at, and that I care about. How better to try and get back to being my best from being nearly burnt out than by doing something I love and am passionate about.

As of publishing this post I have completed Hat #1, for day #1!