Creative Changes

Good Morning!

Another fabulously sunny day, an incredibly delightful change from the many days of clouds and rain. My little buddy is having his AM snack of
crackers and a glass of water...no top on it! He is getting so grown up!

I was watching a video earlier this morning. Knitting Daily TV Episode 813 with host Eunny Jang and expert Kristin Omdahl for effective ways to add details and charm to you knitting and crochet.(http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/kdtv_series_800/archive/2012/01/13/episode-813-quite-effective.aspxt) this episode reminded me of classes that I taught a few years back.

I love using "Pure and Simple" patterns by Diane Sousy, to teach beginning sweater classes. They feature circular knitting, raglan sleeves, a variety of sizes and styles as well a different gauges. One of the best and my favorite attributes of this company is that the designs i have knit so far, have been without an error. There are corrections for a few of the designs and they are available here http://knittingpureandsimple.com/corrections/

I have coached my students to follow the pattern exactly, respect all the punctuation and just trust. Once they get going, they really see how simple it is.

Now for the fun part. The advanced beginners are now ready to embark on adding details. (The video I mentioned earlier jogged my memory of these classes.) With a little planning you can add some really gorgeous details to any plain hand knit pattern from cables to seed stitch and back again. Or maybe add some color instead or both!

Change it up! Make it interesting! By adding some of these easy design elements, the plain design becomes a WOW design. You can do it! Challenge yourself and your imagination to create something that is purely you. When asked where you got that incredible sweater, you can say proudly "I knit it myself".

If you need some help to begin, leave a comment or email me at dee@youandmeknit.com. I would love to chat with you on how to get started.

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful guys out there!