My first knitted gift

Well since Michelle's birthday has safely come and gone, I can finally post pictures of what I made for her birthday. Not that she would have found this journal anyhow, but that's besides the point.

The pattern was Straw.com's Felted Cosmetic Clutch, and the yarns I used were a skein of Paton's Wool in Black, and Moda Dea's Cartwheel in Raspberries (which I've developed a fetish for. I bought way too much.)

I learned no less than three—count 'em!—three new skills for the little clutch I made her. Firstly there was The Turkish Caston, (from this tutorial), which I had to alter a little and figure out on Magic Loop (ooh, I learned Magic Loop, too! That's four skills!), then knitting in the round, and Fair Isle, AND felting! Much fun it was. And amazingly enough, once I got the cast-on done (which made it nice and seemless), the rest of it took me less than a day to knit!

Here's an in-progress shot. I was shocked at how easy the Fair Isle was, and it was so much fun!

And here's my hand-felting. I think I'll machine-felt from now on, though, because while the wool didn't bother me at all while I was knitting, it started bothering my hands while I was felting.


And here's the finished product:


I love the button I found for it, and I can't wait to make one for myself. Which will happen. Oh yes.

I don't think Michelle was as impressed by it as I was, though, unfortunately. You always hear how non-knitters don't appreciate knitted stuff as much as knitters do, but some things you have to experience for yourself, I guess!

Little intro

I honestly don't know whether anyone will ever read this, or if it'll ever be worth reading, but here's a go, anyhow. If things go badly I'll just delete myself off the blogosphere and no one will know the better.

I claim to be pretty new to knitting, but the truth is I've been knitting for almost three and a half years now, but I've only just made the leap beyond scarves and into more exciting things, like purses. (oooh)

The minute I learned how to purl, and that it was possible for me to do something other than back and forth in straight lines, I went into a bit of a frenzy for the craft, and here I am today, adding one more to the already massive pile of knitting blogs.

Soon enough there'll be pictures of things I'm working on, and things I've finished, but I'm not in too much of a hurry. Other than my yarn addiction, I'm a student at UCSB, graduating this June (hooray!) and also a beginning YA author, but that's another story, and another blog.