Archives for posts with tag: Knitting and Crochet

We all do it. Don’t be ashamed. If you know how to knit, you have some… FAILED KNITTING.

An anecdote: A friend of mine announced she was pregnant with her second child. In anticipation, I bought a pattern for a cute little sweater. Friend had baby: A girl! So I bought some pink-ish wools and started in.

A year later, it evolved into a first-birthday gift.

Many other years later, it evolved into something for one the child’s dolls, perhaps.

Yet more years later… and I will be incorporating the pieces and bits of knit into some scarves.

I have done something like this a couple of times before. Once I felted an unfinished knit charity quilt-square (I missed the deadline, of course) into the end of a scarf. Here is a photo of the finished scarf:

my scarf!

I have more recently created a similar scarf. This time I used a finished, knitted scarf I wasn’t happy with, and sewed on (by hand!) some ruffly chiffon. I have this for sale on my Etsy page for a few days, and if it doesn’t sell it is MINE.

a knitted scarf and some chiffon find a new life together

Some of us just aren’t true knitters. We can’t find happiness with what we make; however we are continually drawn to trying again and again. The path to peace within the realm of knitting is perhaps in finding a mixed-media outlet for yourself. Sew on knitting. Felt with knitting. Re-purpose knitted bits. Go on, you can do it. Do It Yourself.

knitted bits of pinky wool will find their ways into scarves

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

*note this would work with crochet, too… and there’s nothing stopping you from making something like a cup-cosy out of your little knit and crochet bits. Small is good…

I have just started knitting my own first-ever tube-shape. Last winter my forearms and wrists would get much too cold, so I’m making myself some wrist warmers. My gloves are warm and wonderful, my coat is a beaut… but the airflow up the arms of my coat lets in a chill. I find this to be an easy project, as well as practical.

Knitting with four needles. It just keeps going around... and around... and around...

I started with 26 cast on stitches, and am increasing every inch or so by two stitches, one on each side. For a default gift-size perhaps start with 28 to 32 stitches (I have surprisingly small wrists!) 

My Achilles Wrists

They look cute and more importantly, will be a welcome warmth between sleeve and gloves. I am simply knit/purling so that they are ribbed and stretchy. I am using some olive-green wool that was leftover from another project, but for a gift you could choose something a little more flashy. You could decorate them with some contrasting wool stitching, or other stitched on cuteness, too!

warming...

It is nice to give yourself a gift, sometimes. The gift of warm wrists is a pretty nice one in my opinion. Comes right after a few choco-almond balls. Think about your taller friends… do their coats fit well? Might they not like to have warm wrists? An alternative to knitting would be to crochet something similar; that is faster and you can get quite fancy with eyelets and lace. The great thing about real wool is that it is an insulating fibre, so that even lace wool wrist-warmers add a lot of warmth! Those who love to sew could use a stretchy knit or fleece fabric to achieve a similar result.

This knit-wit loves her knit-wrists.

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

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