Learning How to Knit or Crochet

I am proud to say that I taught my daughters how to knit, and the best thing is that they have and are still showing a keen interest in this craft, which was passed on to me by my mother, and her mother-in-law to her - for some reason, she didn't pick it up when her own own mother tried to teach her, so I'm glad my paternal grandmother was an excellent knitter.

The method I've always used is English knitting, where you hold the yarn with the right hand (I am left handed, but this comes from being taught by a rightie).

A few weeks ago I discovered that my eldest daughter seems to be using the Continental style, in which you use the left hand to hold the yarn, so when I asked her how she learned this, she told me her school teacher showed her. I felt slightly betrayed, but I'm over it now (I think;)

For the last part of the school year, the teacher has been inviting the local knitting group once a week to teach the class how to knit, which was a good thing, since this may result in some of the pupils teaching their parents how to knit!

I have never been into crochet and my own attempts resulted in miserable failures (I can barely manage a chain), but my daughter's best friend taught her a bit of crochet, which my daughter passed on to her younger sister, and from what I'm hearing (they are both staying at my parents' house for a few weeks), my youngest daughter has been teaching my mother the little bit of crochet she knows.

I just find it great that it's not always the auld ones that can teach young people new skills, and that it can work both ways.


What about you? I am interested in knowing how you learned, and if you haven't, what is stopping you? Please your comments below!

P.S. If you want to learn skills like knitting, I have included a tutorials page in this blog, which I am planning on adding to, and there are lots of free video tutorials on YouTube if you want some more.

Girlie Hand Knitted Bag

I knitted this bag out of some lilac and white cotton "Colorado" knitting yarn.

I used the I-cord technique to make the string used to tighten and close the bag, and also for the over-the shoulder strap.

Knitted Mouse Pad

The mouse pad I had bought from my computer store is not the best, and as I didn't want to buy a new one (these things are expensive, especially if you are looking from something else than the traditional blue mouse pad that everybody is using or had used at some stage), I decided to make myself one.

As it needed to be thick enough to be stable on a desk, I decided to experiment with double-knitting, and even though it was a slow start and took double the time to knit, I really enjoyed making this reversible hand-knit mouse pad, using some of my leftover "Art of Knitting" yarn.

Cute Baby Headband and Booties

I really wanted to learn an easy way to knit pretty flowers, but what to put them on?

A baby headband, of course! I made this using circular knitting needles and added the flower for extra cuteness.

One of my neighbours recently had a baby girl, so it was the perfect occasion for me to learn baby booties. The pattern for the booties is taken from The Art of Knitting series, while the headband is my own.

All that's left to do now is to get her a nice card and give her this set.

Speed Knitting

 I have been lazy with my knitting this week: blame the good weather, as we are currently having our week-long summer in Ireland at the moment.

I have been watching lots of YouTube knitting videos, though, and the one i want to share is this one: I wish I could knit that fast, but I think I will need a little more practice before I can do this:

Once I can knit that fast, I'll start yarn-bombing my house (well maybe just a chair or two)!

Hand-Knitted Headbands for Sale

Not this one, as, once agin, it was pinched by one of my daughters, but I am knitting a few similar headbands so that I can eventually sell some on Etsy or a similar website; I am also considering Folksy, as it seems to be a bit less competitive, but this is still a work-in-progress, as I waiting to have at least 20-30 items before I can upload these to one of these websites so that my page can look a bit more professional.

For now, here's a sample of my best, knitted using circular needles and baby yarn (because it's so soft and I was actually planning to make baby booties with it, which never materialised (not yet anyway):

I Think My Top Is Finally Finished

This has taken me about 4 weeks to do, which is why I'm not too keen on knitting any more adult size clothes; I'd rather knit some accessories or baby clothes (I'll have to borrow a nipper from one of my neighbours to make sure I have the correct sizes, which is not very practical).

The yarn I have used is Ice Yarn lycra/cotton which feels a bit strange to knit, slightly elastic, which must be coming from the lycra content, and I find it easier to use bamboo knitting needles for this, as it tends to get stuck on metal needles. This yarn slides more easily on bamboo needles.

I am not sure what to do about the neck; should I add something to make it look a bit less like an unfinished item? I was thinking of crocheting a border because I don't have the energy to knit and sew a collar.

The sewing bit is what is stopping me and another issue is that I have no crochet experience, but as always when I want to learn something new, there's always YouTube!

So, what do you think? Should I add some kind of border to the neck or not?

I am aware that the way I'm standing in this picture is making me look like a granny (no offense to grannies); I really need to start doing something about my posture!