I have learnt where I went wrong....

Taking a back seat from the knitting....as my fingers are hurting again...what the hell am i doing wrong? I am doing the stretches, I am not knitting without taking a break argh! I took knitting up as a hobby as something I could enjoy but clearly its not working...grr....I'm thinking of getting myself one of these Handeze gloves that nearly every website I've read re knitting hand pain, recommends...a good idea you think, readers? 

Meanwhile whilst taking this little break until my fingers feel somewhat normal, I have been going on You Tube looking at knitting videos and I do wish I had come across this video before I started picking and knitting the the squares I knitted earlier at the start of knitting this blanket! Doh! No wonder my knitting looked...wodgy (wonky and dodgy mashed up lol) Oh well a lesson learnt eh?   I think I'll make this blanket one  day though, It looks really nice and would be a nice blanket to cose up to in the cold wintery period.

I'm already thinking about my next project lol

Knitting the baby blanket is going well. I found picking and knitting  the  stitches of the squares of my blanket a bit tiresome and some what exhausting and I found in a way, that I am ruining the squares by doing so - you could see it from the picture I posted in my last post. So I thought I'd just knit  the baby squares and seam them in when its finished. It might take some time but its better than ruining what is supposed to be a lovely present for my BFF's baby.

Meanwhile, whilst the blanket is still a WIP (for those who are reading my blog first time and aren't knitters,  WIP stands for Work In Progress),  I am already looking at what my next project should be. I came across this knit pattern: Converse Booties. While on the baby theme, why not? So cute, so tempted to try!  Can anyone suggest any other easy knits I can knit for a baby?

Umm....its all gone slightly a bit wrong - does it look really bad?

So, I decided to pick and knit the next square and I am starting to wish that I hadn't and just stuck to knitting squares and sewing them together, even if it did take me some time.

So picking and knitting, it took me a while to figure out how to do it but I did it.(Yay me!)  And i managed to knit a few rows till something went horribly wrong (how can you go wrong knitting garter stitches?!) that I thought I'd frog it  and try again, but for some reason the yarn knotted in one of the stitches that i made the decision of cutting the yarn from the knot, and re knit the stitches that were there and managed to 'save' my knitting somehow...but the squares look rather...wonky yikes! Think the receiver will notice the wonky-ness in the squares?

Someone suggested i knit squares on the sides of the first 2 that I have knitted and that should straighten it out. What do you all think? Should I? Or would it be better to start all over again?

Apart from  this WIP, I have also thought of my next project would you believe? LOL I mean, like, I haven't even finished this yet and already thoughts are pouring about what I should knit next.  Does anyone else do that or am I just completely weird?

Pick up and Knit or Knit and sew?

So, yesterday I received my yarn for the baby blanket I am currently working on. Don' t these look like such gorgeous colours?

Anyhow, I started up on it and managed to finish one square today  However after casting off, I remembered Aneeta Patel's advice from her book  Knitty Gritty: Knitting for the Absolute Beginner on how casting off should be with a needle size larger than the one I was knitting with...oops. hope that doesn't make a huge difference.  How does the square look? Check it out?

Anyhow, the square isn't the main reason for my blog post today. I mean yeah I just knitted the first square but there is a question.  I recently read on Ravelry on how someone picked and knitted stitches for the  next square rather than going through the time of sewing each and every square, and I wonder if I should do that too?  Or is it better to just knit the squares and sew them up?

Teaching myself how to knit continental - not easy

So, last night i thought i'd practice knit, you know just to see if I remember how to cast on and do the knit stitch and stuff - how can anyone forget - its like riding a bike (oh boy one of my friends is going to laugh about that comment lol) Anyway I obviously did some arm and hand stretches before doing the knitting, and I found even after that I still got pain in my upper left arm.

So I read somewhere that knitting in continental style is supposed to be easier on the hands/wrists/arms (unless I read wrong) so I teach myself using this video on Youtube Continental knit stitch.  So early this morning (yes I am one of those early risers, even on a Sunday!) I did the stretches, picked up my knitting needles and yarn, cast on like about 5 stitches and thought I'd give it a go. OMG its hard! i don't think using the plastic needles my sister gave me for christmas 2 years ago help either (even though they are comfortable to use and also easier on the hands), cos they make it all so slippery. But I suppose practice makes perfect right?  Can anyone give me any tips on how i can make everything less.....slippery?

First Knit Project in after a year would you believe!!

Hello everyone. Sadly this blog hasn't been kept up to date, on account of  taking a backseat to knitting due to hand/wrist pain. I think I'd gotten too carried away with my knitting that I didn't think to rest my hands or do stretches and stuff, so I thought I'll take a break, and what a break it has been - a whole year! Yikes!
Well I thought I'd try again, and if things with my hands happen again I think it'll be safe to assume that knitting isn't for me and i will have to sell all my knitting stuff my sister bought for me for Christmas in 2011.

So, my back to basics project is a baby blanket. My BFF is having a baby due in May and she has a baby shower coming up in a few weeks. Now because she has a child already I have been wondering what I can do for her for the shower. So i thought why don't I make something like a baby blanket. So thanks to lovely people on Ravelry, I chose this pattern: Patchwork Garter Baby Throw.

I've yet to start it but I have picked out my yarn which my sister kindly helped me pick. I chose 4 colours out  of this yarn Robin Bonny Babe Aran.  My colours are mint, yellow, white and lilac. I wasn't 100% sure about the lilac but my sister and another fellow ravelrer, Charly said yes. What do you all think?