My Knitting Spree!!!

Monday, January 21, 2013 Sparkling Palette Blog 28 Comments

Hey Knitting Lovers!!!
I am a creative person but my creativity doesn't cease in one thing only I have always been a Multi-tasker all my life. I have been writing, reading, painting, stitching, knitting, doing makeup and now blogging. You can call me "Jack of all trades...but mind it I mastered them too:) When Winters comes my eyes wanna search for colourful yarn/wool and my hands crave to hold the knitting needles and knit something with those colorful yarn/wool, although I can not knit like a pro but still the much I can do, all with the help my own instincts, satisfies my Winter cravings and warms me up through the chilly breeze. To Know More Read More!!!


KNITTING:

I define knitting as a "warming Hobby". In the Winter's cold sunny days, chilling evening or silent nights, one can munch on the dry-nuts or squeeze and gulp all the vitamin C and juices from the variety of oranges while the hands and minds transfers the creativity into the yarns through knitting needles. It is such a soul satisfactory experience to wear your hand knitted sweater/scarf/mittens etc or to see your loved one feeling cozy and warm in one of your creations. I can write 5000 words on Knitting so let me shut up and show you few picture and the details about how it all started and then how it all RE-started....

Knitting: needles, yarn balls, crochet hook and creativity

HOW IT STARTED:

As a kid, once I was playing with my mother's childhood doll. The doll was wearing a open slits knitted jacket, My granny judged my curiosity and told me that it was knitted by my aunt. Astonishing, as till then I only knew that the dressing of dolls can be stitched at home but there jacket can be knitted at home also was a great news for me. Then my granny helped me with my first knitting sample. No I did not started knitting marvels then it all ended there and then. But the experience left its marks on my creative soul. I got busy with growing up, studies and life. On and Off I saw my granny knitting and I remember playing with her knitting needles placed in a home-made cloth wall hanging with compartments and a wooden basket full of different yarn/wool balls.
It was when I stepped into my college that I requested her to teach me how to knit then she helped me into knitting a sleeveless sweater with two colors of yarns. She guided me to crochet around the neckline. Then the time passed again with studies and jobs going ON. When I was teaching at a College I saw my favourite senior teacher colleague knitting for her soon to be coming grand daughter. That sparked the fire again and I banged on knitting again and knit a sweater for my self with 4 colours of yarns, all the shades of blue. My granny guided and helped me once again with all the increases and decreases and knitting around the neckline. So it was On and Off there with two successful sleeveless sweaters, I still wear to warm myself, and THEN I GOT MARRIED...lolz..it sounds so DRAMATIC!

Knitting Spree

HOW IT RE-STARTED:

Let's continue from "I GOT MARRIED...." :p I got busy with life once again. Marriage and A new person who shares your life rather owns it, yes Husband, he is lovable as he let me own his life too, MashaALLAH. In-laws, an institution where you HAVE to learn through the hardest way, Pregnancy, where you don't really know that what exactly you have to learn and then baby's birth, when you are learning even the things you never thought of learning. Well as it all was partially over so I started to unlearn few things and re-discover my being, the original one. Blogging started. Suddenly last winters, 2011-12 I realized that my baby do not have sleeveless sweaters that are warm enough. In the market I saw very few but with huge price tags. Meanwhile my mother parceled me the incomplete sweater my granny started to knit for my new born, she could not knit more dew to her age and failing eye sight and muscles. Being alone, without any guidance, in a friendless city I Google for help online and discovered Knitting Help.com, the best site among all where I could refresh my learning of knitting basic and advance too. Then there was no stopping I completed the incomplete sweater and with the wool balls which I bought in past, and my mom sent them to me, I knitted two sleeveless sweaters for my baby, which are still warming her during this Winters. I can say that I knit with the help of my instinct as no human guide is available and the site only guides with the basics. Till date I am ignorant of reading knitting patterns. I searched all around but no institution in Islamabad teaches knitting, if you know then let me know, although going out for learning is an issue for me, but still for knitting I can do anything.
Last winters Knitting proved to be as a knitting refresher course for me. This time I was too busy with blogging and my baby's health and her last year sweaters were serving us well. Then I saw new things called mittens on some site, I wanted those but I had no yarn to knit:/ Had only two rolls of white yarn so decided to knit a muffler for my hubby, he has been asking for some of knitting creation. I started knitting on 30 cast-on, I guess the cast-on numbers as no one around to guide, Allah has blessed me with an intelligent mind though. Then I had to go to Lahore and guest etc. Came back and I took on knitting the white muffler and knitted it while sitting free in the SUN and doing with my home chores etc. I discovered a wool/yarn shop in the narrow lane of Moti Bazaar, Rawal pindi in search of new yarn and found a shop where wool/yarn was selling like HOT-Cakes. Got new yarn, according to my choice of shades for mittens. Imported yarn was expensive Pkr 350 each but local was as low as Pkr 35 each roll. I got one multi shaded from imported lot and the plain one from local. I also bought a Round needle with a shorter strand as earlier I had a one with longer. So The spree is ON with full swing, and some days I don't even knit a stitch. Over all it is a soul satisfying hobby/skill.
Now let's have a look at my new creations:)

MITTENS:

My First Mittens. Completed and in-use.

My first Mittens

SLEEVE LESS SWEATER:

Still on knitting needles. I am only apt in sleeve-less ones :p


The stitch I am using for the sweater, a stitch I learned from my Mother-in-law.


The border of the sweater with a stitch called "SEED STITCH".


I am thankful to ALLAH for giving me a creative mind and hands, my granny for nurturing  my creative instincts, my mother for being there and also my Mother-in-law for teaching me few new stitches.

I hope you all will love this warm post. A new addition on my blog and the "UNUSUAL" one too. Will update about the incomplete sweater once it is complete. In Shaa Allah.

Do comment, like, share, tweet, G+ and Pin it.

If you have any query, of course about knitting not my M-in-law...lolz, do comment or email me: asparklingsparkle@gmail.com.

Enjoy Warm Sweater and Hot coffee/soup in the chilly Winters.
Learn Knitting!!!
Remember me in your prayers.

RABB RAKHA!!!
Note: The yarn and the needles are my own and my M-in-law is also not sponsored....lolz just kidding keep smiling.