Knitting Daily : Beginner

Ten Easy Free Knitting Patterns for Women

KD Sandi — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:46:00 GMT

Here are ten easy free knitting patterns for women--because sometimes you want to knit something fabulous and fast!
	Slouch Rib Cardigan by Cathy Payson. Easy knitted women's cardigan pattern that is simple enough to be your first knitted sweater!
	Frock Camisole by Katie Himmelberg. A simple, fashionable, and fast knitting project!
	Spectrum Scarf by Eunny Jang. What could be simpler than this easy knitted lace scarf? Get this beautiful pattern along with 6 others when you download the free eBook Knitting Lace: Knitting Daily Presents 7 Free Lace Knitting Patterns.
	Cecily Beanie by Louisa Harding. All knitting, no purling--the easiest knitted hat pattern you can imagine.
	Chevron Rib Tank by Ann Budd. No shaping on this easy beginner knitting pattern.
	Amanda's Squatty Sidekick Bag by Amanda Berka. Knit this in a weekend--the felting covers any mistake you make!
	Barrymore Slouch Hat by Lisa Shroyer. Download this comfy and cozy hat along with 5 other easy knitting patterns. Get these patterns in the free ebook Easy Knits from Knitting Daily: 6 Free Easy Knitting Patterns.
	Garter Stitch Balaclavas by Mary Jane Mucklestone. Simple knitting and classic styling.
	Feminine Mittens by Amanda Berka. Knit in chunky yarn, you'll have warm hands before you know it!
	Boucle Shrug by Liz Gipson. Knit an easy rectangle, sew it up, and you have a lovely garment to wear over your favorite outfit.

The Girl Who Loved Fiber Tools (plus making your own drop spindle!)

KD Sandi — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT

The tools of our trade add to the delight of our craft. Spindle or needle, hook or wheel, I love them all. Yes: I am a tool gal. Bring on the pretty orifice hooks, the elegant top-whorls, the superbly balanced knitting needles, the wheel that sings to the eye as well as the heart. I love the fact that these tools, often so lovingly crafted by hand, are then in turn used to work more magic by hand.

I have a tiny spindle painted with tiny sheep roaming in a tiny painted pasture. (I squeal a tiny squeal every time I pick it up.) I have a lovely polymer clay spindle that I bought at the Estes Wool Market two years ago. I have, uh, "several" others. And still I lust after more.

I also hanker after ALL the knitting needles, particularly any that used to be part of a tree. I mean, how many size 2 wood dpns does a girl really need? (Several sets, in different woods and finishes and lengths, apparently.)

Hand spindles in particular fascinate me. They come in all shapes and sizes, are made of everything from clay to wood, and can be as simple as a stick pushed through a bead or as complex as a hand-carved beauty made from an exotic wood. I have to discipline myself not to become a spindle collector. I have been known to go up to a booth at a show just to pick up and admire every single spindle in a vase, and ignore all the rest of the glorious fibers and yarns for sale (forgive me, dear vendors…). When I am wandering through the latest issue of Spin-Off magazine, I make myself look away from those really gorgeously carved drop spindles in the full-color ads, because if I didn’t, then I’d be explaining to the dog why we were a little light on dog chewies this month.

“Walk a-WAY from the spindles,” I chant to myself, and turn the page.

But what if you really want to try spinning, and you do not have a hand spindle? (I’m pale at the very thought of this terrible situation.) Or, what if you wish to be sensible (go over to your yarn stash and ask yourself why you would want to start being sensible now) and not make a purchase of a hand spindle until you know you are going to enjoy spinning?

What if you find out that you hate spinning? (You won’t. You’ll get addicted, just like the rest of us.) What if you’re terrible at it? (Not possible. Five-year-old kids in the Middle Ages could spin, so why shouldn’t you be able to?) What if you can only spin really bad yarn? (What exactly is “really bad yarn”? Bumpy yarn with personality? Don’t some folks package that stuff up and sell it for $25 a skein? You bet they do, and it’s really pretty bumpy yarn.)

I understand that some folks possess much more self-control than I do; these paragons of virtue say it’s good to dip your toes in, just a little, at first anyway. That way, by the time you’ve discovered that you are getting to work a little bit late because you wanted to spin for “just five more minutes,” you’ll have a better idea of which spindle you want (because you’ve been drooling over the ads in Spin-Off), or you’ll have had time to save up for a Lendrum wheel (which is the one I bought a few weeks back—yes, in fact, it is my second wheel, anyone got a problem with that?).

The question then becomes: What can you use to spin on, just to get yourself started, just to give spinning a try?

A spindle made out of a dowel and a CD. Yup. I’m totally serious. Don’t believe me? Here are the instructions on how to make your own CD spindle, plus how to use it to spin real, actual yarn.

Don't get me wrong here: One cannot possibly compare the ease and joy of spinning on a REAL drop-spindle to that of spinning on a CD spindle. Hand-carved spindles are precisely balanced and wrought by experts in their craft; and many are really not all that expensive. However, a CD spindle is actually a pretty good starting place, if a real spindle is not in your budget.

Plus, I added in a free pattern for a lovely, chunky scarf specially designed to be knit out of your very first handspun to the end of the CD Spindle PDF. The lumpier and bumpier your first glorious yarn, the better!

Do you love the tools of our craft almost as much as the craft itself? What are some of your favorite tools? Have you knit something wonderful out of your handspun? Leave a comment, and then go off and knit something. (After all, it’s the weekend, right?)

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's spinning wheel? Beautiful hand-dyed alpaca roving from SakinaNeedles, which I am spinning very fine, about 38 wraps per inch.

Spinning The Rest of The Story

KD Sandi — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT

So many of you wrote in to compliment me on "my very first yarn" that I felt a teensy bit guilty. These posts are so short that sometimes I have to leave out parts of the story in order to fit in the really important stuff.

But this time, I realized that perhaps the "rest of the story" WAS really important, that it actually holds the key to just how important Maggie's class was to me, as a knitter and as a spinner. So now, here's the fabled Rest of The Story...

I actually learned to spin about fourteen(ish) years ago, back when I lived in California. I bought an Ashford Traditional wheel, dozens of drop spindles, and had an absolute blast spinning every fiber I could get my hands on. The yarn I spun was lumpy, bumpy, and, uh, "full of personality," —not at all like the lovely smooth yarns I dreamed of spinning. I always felt as though I was missing some Secret of Spinning that would enable me to make those "real" yarns, but I never could figure out what I was doing wrong. I was confused by all the fancy-dancy spinning terminology, and I felt like I was fighting with my wheel every time I tried to adjust it. Although I loved spinning, I came to the conclusion I was just really bad at it.

Then a car accident left me with a hand injury, an injury that when all was said and done left me with only partial use of my left thumb and forefinger. I managed to re-teach myself to knit and crochet and do beadwork, but no matter what I did, I couldn't manage the spinning anymore. My left hand was my dominant hand for spinning, you see, the hand that did all the pinching and clever stuff up front. Now that the hand wasn't being particularly clever, my bad spinning got worse, and, well...I gave up.

Not terribly fearless of me.

This is where Maggie comes into the picture. After years of thinking I would never spin again, a friend at work recommended I take Maggie's class, saying that Maggie knew so much about spinning that she was often able to come up with alternate ways of doing things.

The best way to spin? In handknit socks!

Which is exactly what Maggie did. She taught me to spin so that my "good" right hand did all the clever work, and my "not-so-good" left hand was just hanging out there back stage, to guide and supervise and provide running commentary. It was tough at first, because my brain, which thought it knew what it was doing, had to become a bit humble, and realize that it needed to be completely retrained now that I was learning to do everything the opposite of how I had originally learned to do it.

The point is: Maggie was able to teach me to do that. And when I spun my first smooth, fine yarn, yarn that looked like REAL yarn, I felt as though she had given me back part of my knitter's heart.

We all have obstacles to overcome in our crafting. In my beginning spinning class, there were several folks who had been to previous spinning classes, and like me, thought they were simply bad spinners. One woman was fighting with her wheel, and Maggie helped her learn how to adjust it. One woman had had a rather cranky teacher who had discouraged her. Maggie helped her spin a lovely two-ply yarn with confidence. And the true beginners in the class, the ones who had never held a drop spindle or sat before a wheel in their lives, well. They came in saying "I'll never be able to do this" and yet they left with hanks and skeins of beautiful handspun, dreaming of what they would knit with the yarn they had made.

If you want to do something, find a teacher. If that teacher doesn't give you confidence, find another teacher. If there are no teachers nearby, find a good book. Find a way to do what you yearn to do. The world's a better place if you are doing what you love.

Photos from Maggie's spinning class

I know Maggie lives here in Boulder, and most of you cannot make it to her classes. If you'd like to learn to spin, or if you'd like a refresher course in everything from handcarding to fixing yarn with too much twist, Maggie's new book, Start Spinning, is almost as good as having Maggie sitting right next to you. It's filled with step by step photos of Maggie herself demonstrating each technique; the instructions are so clear that it's like having a spinning cookbook as you learn the delights of fiber and wheel. My copy is already a bit battered, and I've only had it for a few weeks. Plus, it now has the ultimate Sandi Seal of Approval: page 52 in the Troubleshooting section has a chocolate smear on it.

If you want to hear more about Maggie's passion for teaching spinning, there's a conversation between Amy Singer and Maggie in the Spring 2008 issue of Spin-Off magazine.

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's spinning wheel? Beautiful hand-dyed alpaca roving from SakinaNeedles, which I am spinning very fine, about 38 wraps per inch.