Learning to Knit.
I'll admit it... I am a few years behind the whole knitting craze. As a child, I learned how to sew with a sewing machine, but I never learned any kind of hand-crafting. (I make FANTASTIC pillows.)
So, earlier this year I wrote about how this fall fashion will be about grungy, chunky knits. I am so "on-board" with this trend and am very much looking forward to it. But, I am anticipating that beautiful key pieces will be quite pricey. So I made a decision, "Why not learn to knit a few pieces myself? That way, I only have to buy the more complex knits, like sweaters."
So, with scarves and arm-sleeves predicted to be the rage this fall/winter, I set out to teach myself the basic stitches and craft something. It took a few starts, but eventually I got the hang of it... And after stitching in my little free time over two months, I finished off this chunky-patch scarf.
It definitely has its flaws (including using a boucle yarn that I ended up dividing and sticking each strand individually - making my scarf wider in some areas), but I am quite proud of the piece... Especially since I taught myself (I am a quick learner) and it was my first project.
Then, over the long Fourth of July weekend I watched the marathon of "Project Runway" on Bravo. When the season one finale came on, I remember looking at the winner, Jay's, collection and totally falling in love with the knits and crocheted pieces he did. (Wow, was he ahead of the times on the whole grunge-knit thing!) One of the models walked down the runway in a dark green sweater and matching long scarf. I had to have something similar. But I know that it's going to cost me mega-bucks to find something similar. So, since I had just finished my scarf, I figured, "Why not make my own?"
And so, I have started to knit my first fall piece. A soft-eggplant and tiger-eye yellow 75-inch scarf.
The scarf will consist of 10 7.5 inch patches with 6-inches of fringe at either end. The yarn I chose is a cashmere and wool blend. It was expensive yarn, but totally worth it. With such a basic stitch, I can make a very quality piece for about a fifth of the price it would cost me to but it.
My next project will be making arm sleeves to wear under t-shirts and tank-tops. Very 1980s with an early 1990s grunge flair.
So, earlier this year I wrote about how this fall fashion will be about grungy, chunky knits. I am so "on-board" with this trend and am very much looking forward to it. But, I am anticipating that beautiful key pieces will be quite pricey. So I made a decision, "Why not learn to knit a few pieces myself? That way, I only have to buy the more complex knits, like sweaters."
So, with scarves and arm-sleeves predicted to be the rage this fall/winter, I set out to teach myself the basic stitches and craft something. It took a few starts, but eventually I got the hang of it... And after stitching in my little free time over two months, I finished off this chunky-patch scarf.
It definitely has its flaws (including using a boucle yarn that I ended up dividing and sticking each strand individually - making my scarf wider in some areas), but I am quite proud of the piece... Especially since I taught myself (I am a quick learner) and it was my first project.
Then, over the long Fourth of July weekend I watched the marathon of "Project Runway" on Bravo. When the season one finale came on, I remember looking at the winner, Jay's, collection and totally falling in love with the knits and crocheted pieces he did. (Wow, was he ahead of the times on the whole grunge-knit thing!) One of the models walked down the runway in a dark green sweater and matching long scarf. I had to have something similar. But I know that it's going to cost me mega-bucks to find something similar. So, since I had just finished my scarf, I figured, "Why not make my own?"
And so, I have started to knit my first fall piece. A soft-eggplant and tiger-eye yellow 75-inch scarf.
The scarf will consist of 10 7.5 inch patches with 6-inches of fringe at either end. The yarn I chose is a cashmere and wool blend. It was expensive yarn, but totally worth it. With such a basic stitch, I can make a very quality piece for about a fifth of the price it would cost me to but it.
My next project will be making arm sleeves to wear under t-shirts and tank-tops. Very 1980s with an early 1990s grunge flair.
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