Overcoming Knitter's Block

Confession: I suffer from Knitter's Block. It's serious, guys.

I realize I'm blessed to be knitting in the age of wifi, where virtually any pattern you want to knit or skill you want to learn is at your fingertips.. most of it for FREE. That's right: most of it, but not ALL OF IT. And the problem is that I'm picky.. about the clothes I wear, the makeup I'll use, the food I eat, the way I decorate my home, etc...but mostly about the patterns I'll knit. Basically, I'm a huge control freak & also a little bit cheap economical. I want the good stuff & I want it for FREE.

Right. So most of you are probably thinking I'm such a snob, but I know you do it, too!
I will literally waste a decade browsing Ravelry & come up with nothing acceptable to knit.
On the off-chance that I do find something, it ends up that the pattern is flawed. WHY ME!?

Oftentimes, I can envision exactly what I want in my head, but I just don't have the skill or know-how to make it happen. Luckily, a solution occurred to me over the past weekend. What I've been missing is a Stitchionary. A dictionary made up totally of Knitting Stitches/cable patterns/motifs. I rushed out to my local bookstore to pick one up this weekend, and I'm really excited to learn some new skills & implement them in original designs which I will, of course, share here!

Basically, if you want to improve your knitting, go to Barnes & Noble and look at all the knitting books until you find one that has a ton of stitches you like with clear, simple instructions & good pictures.
Here's the one I got: Knitting Stitches Visual Encyclopedia by Sharon Turner. 
I've linked to it on Amazon in case you want to check it out also.

I'm also thinking of subscribing to VOGUE Knitting magazine. It just seems to have the most modern and "wearable" fashions of all the knitting magazines I've seen. What do you guys think? What are you favorite knitting magazines, if you subscribe to any? Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear your advice!

Easy Seed Stitch Boot Cuffs

Boot cuffs make a fabulous last minute gift! They're fast, easy, and the pattern possibilities are virtually limitless. Funny enough, my calves are big enough that I don't need any extra bulk, so I never wear them, but they look adorable on others! (If your calves are as big as mine & you rock them anyway, more power to you!) Still, boot cuffs seem to be a popular item with most of my friends. My family requests these frequently when the weather gets cold & Etsy is plagued with them this time of year!

Here's the pattern..
*I think this size will fit most calves, but decrease or increase by 4 stitches for smaller or larger sizes*

Materials:
US Size 7 double pointed needles or round needles (I used magic loop method)
Lion Brand Heartland Wool (I used the colorway Isle Royale)
Stitch Marker (to mark beginning of round)
Yarn Needle (for weaving in ends)

Cast on 40 stitches.
First seven rows: K1 P1 ribbing to end of row
Row 8 & all even rows: P1 K1* repeat from * to end of row
Row 9 & all odd rows: K1 P1* repeat from * to end of row
Finish with K1 P1 ribbing for seven more rows, then bind off.

*Tips: I used "tubular" cast on to make the ribbing extra stretchy so these cuffs would slide on & off easily. It was tricky & took me a few tries to get right.
For bind off, I used something called suspended bind off. Though I ended with ribbing, I knitted all the stitches when binding off.. seemed to work fine & was easier ;)
I learned these methods from Youtube videos. Links below!

Tubular Cast On
Elastic Cast Off

**If you want a boot cuff that's a little bit fancier, I also wrote up a pattern for a cute cabled & seed stitch boot cuff. You can check it out here:
Check out my FREE Seed Stitch & Cable Boot Cuff Pattern HERE.

Monday Mini Knitting Haul

I ain't gonna lie, y'all. Mondays are poop. But I think I've found the remedy. Just order things with Amazon Prime on a Friday, use the free 2 day shipping, and when you get home from work Monday at 5pm: PRESENTS! At least the evening will be slightly less poopy.

Here are the details of my Monday Mini Knitting Haul:

The Yarn is from New Lanark Wool & Textiles. I purchased the Adult Harry Potter Kit in Medium from them in Forest Green with Soft Gold Contrast for the initial. I'm already knitting a Weasley sweater, but this is for the next one, which will be screen accurate according to what Harry, Ron, Fred, George, etc. wore in the movies...and it will have the L for Lexie. I'm so excited! I'm hoping to finish my first one and make the next in time to wear to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando sometime this fall. Feel free to check out my progress on my first Weasley Sweater or view the free pattern from Canadian Living here.

Second, I finally ordered a set of interchangeable knitting needles. I've done research online for awhile, but there are so many to choose from, and I finally just went with this Knit Picks nickel plated set. Definitely on a frustrated whim. I haven't tried them out yet, but one of my main motivations was to get a set that I could practice magic loop with, and I've heard good things about these. All the "round" needles I've purchased in craft stores have cables that are too hard or inflexible to effectively knit magic loop. Review to come!

And finally, I guess I snuck some non-knitting items in this haul, too! My Birchbox came in the mail, and that Ageless Body Cream by Harvey Prince smells DIVINE. Also, I finally ordered the18" gold plated Circle necklace from Dogeared. I've been lusting after it since it came out, and after other Dogeared jewelry since long before that. It's dainty, feminine, and the perfect amount of sparkle for every day! Go treat yourself to something special, friends..we made it through Monday!

WIP : WEASLEY SWEATER, Part 1

It's no secret that I'm obsessed with Harry Potter. Like, for life.

I'm sure my credentials will check out just fine:

• I've read all the books multiple times. 
• Attended midnight premiers.
• Book Releases.
• Unlocked all the secrets on JK Rowling's old website.
• My parents, unbeknownst to the other, each pre-ordered me copies of books 5-7.
• I was gifted the deluxe edition DVDs each Christmas until I could afford to buy them myself. 
• I've visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando twice.
• My niece totally got chosen to get a wand at Ollivanders (my proudest moment, obvs).
• I'm already planning my third trip to the new Diagon Alley! (!!1!!!!!!!).
• When the first movie came out, I was exactly Harry's age, and consequently had a mad crush on Daniel Radcliffe..which lasted until Chamber of Secrets came out and I developed a crush on Tom Felton, whom, naturally, inspired my secret Myspace & AIM passwords.
• I was an avid reader of Mugglenet.com (y'all don't even know how much I miss 2004).
• I was also an avid reader of Harry Potter fan fiction (oh, the things I cannot un-see).
• I loved Robert Pattinson (RIP Cedric Diggory) before he was R Patz.
• Did I ever do a book report not on Harry Potter?
• I now have to buy every magazine with Emma Watson on the cover & keep it forever.

I could go on, but I doubt you find that as interesting as I do. The point is that once my sweater is finished, I will officially be part of the Weasley family.

I started the sweater about a week ago using Patons Classic Wool in Natural Heather, finished the back over a weekend & have finished the front with an intarsia "H" over this week. Shoulder shaping is done & I've seamed them together. For my first sweater, it's been pretty painless to this point. Of course, it's far from perfect. I got too distracted by an episode of Gossip Girl & accidentally knit the back too long (whoops!). And I really hope blocking takes care of that wonky intarsia initial!

Now to knit the arms & finish the neck & all the seaming/weaving in. Can't wait to show you the final product! If you'd like to join the Weasley family, here's a link to the free pattern.