Ravelry

Hey Everyone! 

This Week for pattern Friday, I am sharing with you another one of my favorite pattern resources. I have mentioned it in other posts, but I have not written a post about it yet. This week I am sharing with you guys Ravelry. It has plenty of patterns (some are free, others are not). It is also great because it has groups, and forums and such. I like that feature in addition to the patterns because there are often groups by location, or project (particularly charity knitting/crocheting). 

With Ravelry you will need an account to access patterns and the groups but creating an account is free, and allows you to save patterns to your library and keep track of projects you have completed if you so choose to use that feature. 

This is just one of the places I go to, in order to get ideas of what I want to make. 

Knitty

Hey Everyone! 

This week I wanted to share with you a website that I had been referred to by one of my former coworkers who knew about this site. The website is entitled Knitty and it is a free online knitting magazine full of knitting patterns and ideas. 

This had come up when I had been talking to my coworkers about projects I had in mind and trying to get some pattern ideas and bounce things off other crafters. 

I love getting new ideas, and seeing what others have made and what else is out there. I like getting ideas for future projects and for what I want to use some of my yarn that is just sitting for. I am always up for free patterns and trying new things. 

Recreating from ideas found Online

Hey Everyone!

This week’s tip of the week, is recreate something you like. For example, you are making knit for kids sweaters and you see a color combination (design or pattern) you like, don’t be afraid to recreate that color combination in a sweater that you make. Most other knitters who knit items for kids in need share what we have completed to inspire others.

I can only speak for myself, but I also share my completed projects, for several reasons. 1. I share what I create in reciprocation to what others share, 2. There are not enough other “shared projects” coming up in my own searches on Google and pinterest, so it would be safe to assume that if I (who spends hours at a time searching) have a hard time finding inspiration online, how much harder would it be for someone who doesn’t have the same sweater knitting background I do. 3. I share what I create to give others ideas for sweaters.

Many projects I have found from doing searches online and then have gone on to recreate what I have found for myself or for sweaters for kids in need. Some people have a knack for putting color combinations together or using patterns to make the sweaters for kids interesting. I have found that the knitting/crocheting community is generally very willing to share and help others learn, and give others ideas, especially for projects that go to benefit those less fortunate than themselves.