Idle Hands

I have been a crafty person since I can remember. Some of my first memories of my grandmother is where I am watching her knit or crochet. My mother is crafty also, though not as much anymore. And I have been interested in handwork since a small child. It just amazed me that my grandmother could take a ball of yarn and make something useful out of it. We always enjoyed her Christmas gifts to the family. One year we all received Christmas stockings, another was sweaters, and then there was the "bootie" year. That year she made us all slipper like booties. We each had a different color. Then there was the doilies she made. As she grew older and I began to have children she made baby sweaters and hats and blankets. My daughters still love the white sweater she made and they wear it often. It still has no buttons but they don't seem to care.

With that said, I have found myself over my lifetime picking up a project for a while and then leaving it and picking it back up later. After my grandmother passed away, I got the urge to pick up knitting needles again. I had long since forgotten how to knit but I thought with a "how to" book and some motivation I would figure it out again. And so I did. However, I am left-handed and I actually taught myself how to knit "backwards". I made beautiful scarves and they served as Christmas gifts. Then I thought I would try my hand again at crocheting. Again with a book in hand and some yarn I figured it out again. One good thing about crocheting is that if you are left handed you can crochet left handed. I have made some great afgans and blankets that my children love. I have made hats for everyone, including donation hats for newborns. I returned to knitting and decided to attempt some more difficult patterns. At that point I realized that I needed to reteach myself to knit right handed. Where was my grandmother when I needed her most? Why didn't I think to pick up the needles while she was still alive? She would have loved to work with me on my projects and I remember she was a great teacher.

Well two years later and many projects complete, I have just finished my first knitted sweater. I will post a picture of it for you all to see. I am currently working on two projects. One is a sweater for my son. I am knitting it with Lion Brand Homespun yarn in Colonial Blue and Off white, which I believe is flax. The second project is crocheted stuffed critters for Halloween. I have three patterns that I got from the Lion Brand website and are featured in this past week's newsletter. One is a pumpkin, one is a fuzzy friend, and the other is a pirate thing. I am using Red Heart Soft yarn in orange, brown, black and two different greens, along with Lion Brand Fuzzy Fur in purple.

(Photos from the Lionbrand website.)

Welcome to my new blog. I hope you find it interesting and informative. Please feel free to comment and share your projects with me. You are welcome to email me your project pictures and I will post them along with mine. Please give me advice on how to improve my skills and handwork as I really have no one to turn to in my circle of friends and family. I am a lone soldier in this craft.