Shandeh's Knitting and Crochet Blog: Getting Used to Knitting

By this time, I was getting used to knitting, and felt much more comfortable with the needles in my hands. I was better at casting on, but my binding off was still a little tight.

I decided to learn some new stitches, so I spent MANY HOURS online looking up knitting patterns. There are so many free patterns available. I also loved looking at patterns in the knitting books I found at the library. But I wasn't content with just making copies and keeping them in a binder. I wanted the real books. So, I began my book collection by looking on eBay. I got LOTS of knitting books and back-issue magazines that way. I also found lots of great deals on knitting needles and yarn.

By this time, I had a decent stash of knitting supplies. In fact, my craft supplies were in boxes all over the house. So, to make things easier, I converted one of our bedrooms into a craft room. This was SUCH a TREAT!!! I think I spent the next year in that one room. :P

Since I had a space to work in, I was able to get a LOT of knitting done.
I designed a hat to go with the furry scarves I was making, and started selling the sets to make a little spending money. Of course, I spent most of the money on more yarn!

A friend at church had a new granddaughter, so I found a pattern online for a baby hat and booties, and a baby washcloth.

I really enjoyed making the baby items, so I started doing some for charity:
Tiny Preemie Booties:

Adding a hat, and sewing a vest and blanket to go with it:

Some Christmas Sets:

Then, I started getting more creative, and made some patterns of my own.

A preemie Santa hat:

A fuzzy steering wheel:

A thick, super-soft scarf:

Then, my middle son asked me to make a hat for him, so I found a pattern online, and made a nice looking beanie hat. He loved it!

Of course, my husband had to have a hat too.

By now, it was Christmas of 2005, so I was busy making scarves and hats for everyone. I even learned to make mittens, so I made a nice orange set for my youngest son. It was my first experience with double-pointed needles.

Since I had made something for two of my sons, I asked my oldest if he wanted anything. He said, "an afghan I guess". OMG!! An AFGHAN!! That's HUGE!

So, I sat down and planned an afghan for him, using the yarn I had bought when I first tried knitting in high school. It took a LONG time, but I finally finished it after Christmas.

Here he is, snuggling in it:

About this time, I found out that I was going to be having a hysterectomy. I knew that my feet would be cold in the hospital, so I searched online for a pattern to knit some very thick socks. I had never made socks before, so I figured big needles would make it easier.

After getting more comfortable with the double-pointed needles, I decided to try making some wrist-warmers with some sock yarn I had in my stash. This time, I had to use tiny needles.

Next, we found out that my husband's daughter was going to have a baby girl! I was so excited!!! So, I pulled out all my baby patterns and made her a purple baby poncho with some sparkly yarn in my stash.