(no subject)

[oyceter]

Since I know I have a few knitters on my FL:

I'm contemplating trying out knitting -- I used to do it a little when I was a kid (very basic, i.e. I can make a scarf, is all), and I want something to occupy my hands while I watch all my tv.

Any good book recs? I only know knit and purl, nothing fancy, no idea of any sort of patterns or techniques. So I think I'm looking for something that has good explanations of how to do various things, as well as a book with cool, contemporary clothing patterns.

Comments

[rheanna27.livejournal.com]

The beauty of knitting is that you don't need to know anything fancy - if you can cast on, cast off, knit and purl, you can handle pretty much anything.

I never knitted clothes (I didn't have patience for anything big) but I used to knit toys and would highly recommend the Jean Greenhowe books of patterns - I made a four-way topsy-turvy doll that worked very well. A couple of months ago I picked up the needles for the first time in years and knitted a reindeer for a friend's new baby (although I still need to finish the antlers...)

[oyceter]

Oh good! Right now, I can make endless scarves ;).

Thanks for the book rec!

[ladystarlightsj.livejournal.com]

See if your library has Stitch and Bitch and/or Stitch and Bitch Nation. My knitting community swears by them. (knitting Knitting for Dummies would be a good choice too.

Have fun!

[oyceter]

Thanks for the rec! Will check it out.

[avrelia.livejournal.com]

I think I learned by knitting clothes - picked up the magazine, chose the sweater, and followed the instructions. Of course, I cannot knit without one, but my ambitions are not that high. The instructions are usually easy to follow when you know basics.

My favourite magazines: Vogue Knitting, Sandra, Verena (the last two are German, but I've seen them in Canadian bookstores in English, and I read them in Russian.)

[oyceter]

Dude! There are knitting magazines? OMG, cool ^_^.

I have no real ambitions either, so patterns sound good to me.

[elke-tanzer.livejournal.com]

You might check out craftyslashers...

[oyceter]

Oh, man, I should have know there was a fandom community for crafty people! I love fandom ^_^.

[busarewski.livejournal.com]

I started knitting again just last year, with very basic skills. With yarn being pretty expensive I ended up looking for wool in second-hand shops etc and mainly making shawls, since one can use a lot of different color without messing up the pattern.

I started with <a href="http://www.knittinggeek.com/howto/shawlworkshop.htm>this</a> shawl, and I am currently trying to finish my second one. Makes a good gift to friends. I have also made a very basic french market bag from http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter03/PATTfrenchmarket.html, even if I still haven't dared felting it yet. It is excellent to knit in front of the telly, makes me feel like I am actually working when watching Buffy. I now I think I need to look up some new wool on the net, might find a bargain somewhere.

[busarewski.livejournal.com]

sorry about the links, tried to fix it but lj kept messing up =(

[oyceter]

Wow, cool. Something in me is just very impressed on how you can make things to wear or use from hand!

Obviously I don't do too many crafts ;).

Thanks for the links!

[chi-zu.livejournal.com]

Definitely seconding the recommendations for Stitch n' Bitch and Stitch n' Bitch Nation as well as knitty.com. They're fun, clear, instructional and contemporary. I would try Stitch n' Bitch first, it's comprehensive and very much geared towards getting someone started and hooked on knitting. There are a lot of knitting books out there with techniques, etc., but SnB is just plain fun and has a lot of cool, funky patterns. It's a good book to get you reacquainted with the craft and once you figure out what you're interested in doing you can go from there.

There are also a lot of great free patterns on the web offered by amateur designers. One of the great things about these is that you can often contact the designers by email if you have a question about the pattern, what yarn to substitute, etc.

Yay knitting! I am thrilled to see other people on lj who knit, I haven't found too many. Looking forward to news from the knitting front.

[oyceter]

Your knitting posts have definitely been part of what has gotten me interested again!

Thanks for the recs!

[chi-zu.livejournal.com]

Oh yay! I'm so glad I helped get you interested! Anytime you want to talk knitting I will be thrilled to do so!

(with many exclamation marks probably. !)

[oyceter]

LOL! As soon as I get my hands on a book, I'm betting questions will come pouring in ;).

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

No recs, because I crochet; but, I will say "watch out!" It's quite addictive, and there are soooo many cool yarns around, some a bit pricey, and I can easily make huge inroads in the tiny disposable income pool in some of the local knoit shops! It's fun though and I really enjoy it for the waiting times like doctor's offices and travelling and also watching TV. (I'm not too great at doing only one thing though!)

Current droolsome fetsih http://himalaya-yarn.home.att.net/recycled-silk.htm

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

I don't knit any more, but I do crochet. I just started again after years of not doing anything. There is a new yarn shop up the street from where I live that has the most fabulous yarn, all shimmery colours and textures. I couldn't leave without something, so I bought a ball of beautiful cotton and am going to crochet a fancy scarf. It's the yarn that makes it fancy, not the stitching in my case. If I can do it, anyone can, so go for it and have fun!

[oyceter]

I had a friend who could crochet, and it looked so cool. She made me a hat for my stuffed animal ;). Hrm. More things to do with the hands! Cross-stitching is, alas, very difficult to do while watching TV.

[oyceter]

Ohhhh that is purty! My sister learned last year and we were doing it on the train -- much easier on the eyes than reading books ;). When I was a kid I used to put on music, pull out the knitting and a giant picture book I could flip through.

[leaina.livejournal.com]

Two good recent books to look for are The Knit Stitch and The Purl Stitch by Sally Melville. They have lots of photos of techniques and are completely suitable for beginners. Not everybody likes the patterns--fairly simple, but with lots of variations possible with different yarns--so look at them in a store before you buy.

And there are quite a few online sites with free patterns--besides knitty.com, there's woolworks.org and wiseneedle.com and chicknits.com. But I like books better to start with, as they tend to have better instructions and pictures.

[oyceter]

Oh thank you!