Friday, April 13, 2012

Some Knitting Projects

Every once in a while, I like to stray from my usual postings on paper crafts and branch out into some other project I've created. Today is one of those days. I'm excited to share this knitted project, because it represents a big step for me. You know how I often talk about stepping outside your comfort zone? That's what this project is all about. I've been knitting for about 9 years now, and I'm not being modest when I say that my knitting skills are very basic.Until recently, I could knit pearl, and decrease stitches. That's was about it. In the past, I've stuck to simple things like scarves that I can play around with patterns a bit, but don't have to worry about sizing just right. Two months before Christmas I stumbled on the pattern to make this really cool knit flower.


The pattern contained more than a few stitches I didn't know how to do, but I thought I'd give it a try. I headed to the internet and found a great resource for knitting terms and videos of stitches. I had to watch a some of the videos multiple times. In fact, I sat in front of the computer, needles and yarn in hand, learning the new stitches. After making one, I knew these flowers would be great Christmas gifts for the ladies in my life (Grandmas, Moms, Aunts, good friends, my son's teachers). I sewed pin backs on them so they could be attached to a shirt, coat, or even a purse:


And made cute little cards to attach them to (creating a paper craft portion brought this craft back safely into my comfort zone).


In the end, I made over 25 of these beauties from yarn I already had on hand.


At first I thought the biggest reward of stepping outside of my comfort zone for this projects was being able to give a heartfelt, hand made gift to people I really care about. However, just the other day when I was finishing up another knitting project, I realized the real reward. Taking the plunge and trying some new stitches on those flowers pushed me into the next level of knitting. I wanted to knit a few headband ear warmers, and I didn't even think twice about some of the more complicated stitches.




As you can see from the picture above, I even ventured into knitting with more than one color of yarn for the first time ever... and you know what? It wasn't even that hard. I'd been intimidated by it in the past, but now I knew I could do it. Oh, and a little side note the brown headband is for everyday winter wear and that green and gold headband is for wearing to Packer games next winter. So next time you're thinking about stepping outside your comfort zone, go for it! You never know just how it will help you grow as a crafter.

Thanks for stopping by!

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