Shhh! Don't tell anybody, especially not Bob the Bobbinator or Jean-Luc, Master of Macramé, but all knitting on the green dress has been suspended. It's not my fault - people keep having babies, and requesting totally gorgeous duffle jackets for them. What's a girl to do - I can't let dem babies get cold now, can I?
The pattern I'm using is the Debbie Bliss Duffle Coat. How cute is that thing? Just as well it's adorable enough to make your ovaries squeal and demand another baby, because all that boring garter stitch is killing me. I'm on my second coat, and boy oh boy, if I never do garter stitch again then I'll not regret it.
Right, must go. Time waits for no man, and baby's growth waits for no handknits. So I'd best get cracking! Oh, and apologies for not blogging earlier this week - we went for one of our mammoth bike rides, and I came home with a cold, so I blobbed instead of blogged. With knitting in hand, bien sûr!
I just learned how to cast on and to knit and purl in my textiles class at university. Do you know of any really simple patterns for a beginner (let me clarify that, VERY BEGINNER)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know if you have any such recommendations :)
I agree Jorth, the duffle coat is gorgeous but please do finish the gorgeous green dress, I can't wait to see a photo of you wearing it!
ReplyDeleteAnd a suggestion for Cambra, I am also a beginner knitter so selected a simple pattern, the Debbie Bliss baby shrug (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-shrug) to begin with and have now made it three times, I love making it!
I bought the Debbie Bliss "Simply Baby" book which contains lots of lovely looking baby things and also clear instructions for everything you'll need to know to make the shrug. It's not too complex and quite quick, both important criteria for a beginner. Also, the finished product has been a huge success with the mothers of the recipients - my niece wants one in every colour for her baby girl :)
Jenny
Hi Cambra,
ReplyDeleteAs Jenny said (thanks, Jenny - excellent comment!)Debbie Bliss patterns are great for beginners. You will need to learn how to do some basic shaping if you want to make any garment i.e. increasing or decreasing, but these are easy to learn.
Baby clothes are great beginner projects, as they knit up quickly, before you can get too bored by them!
If you go to Ravelry, and do a search for 'beginner' coupled with the knitting only criteria, you will get the following result:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&query=beginner&view=captioned_thumbs&sort=best
Lots of easy patterns for you to practice you knitting on. Patterns, scarfs, hats, socks, toys, cardigans - there's plenty to choose from.
And by the way - welcome to the knitting fold!!!
Jenny again - oh dear, I hope I haven't given you bad advice Cambra! I've just looked at Ravelry for the first time (what a fabuloust resource) and found lots of reviewers for the baby shrug talking about how difficult it is. I can honestly say I'm a novice and the only problem I had was picking up the correct number of stitches around the front. I gave up after two attempts and just made sure it was evenly spaced and allowed for extra stitches on the curves, making sure I ended up with an even number. I have yet to get the correct number (it's always too many) yet my shrugs look great, at least to my beginner's eyes. I've found it to be really quick which is great for a gift. I love that there are only 2 seams to sew up.
ReplyDeleteMy only real complaint is that I can't get the small size out of two balls of wool so I now buy 5 balls for 2 small shrugs. The sizing is quite generous, I expect they will fit well beyond 6 months.
If you do decide to give it a go I'd strongly recommend you read the very helpful reviews on Ravelry.
Jenny
"L" the pattern and those babies are super cute!! Love the green yarn too. Next time - yarn shopping!!!
ReplyDelete