Knitting and more knitting...

Yes, I knit occasionally and this month's project turned out to be going to a knitting group.  It was so much fun.  It turns out the group meets monthly on Saturdays and weekly on Mondays at one of the local libraries.  Even though I have been knitting since the 6th grade where I was taught all kinds of bad habits that I have never been able to shake, I still consider myself a beginner.  So, with that in mind I stopped at local Michael's and picked a skein of worsted weight yarn.  The one I choice was Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand in Denim Mist.  As "beginners", they had us practicing the knit stitch and I made a scarf with 2 skeins of the Denim Mist:

I love the color and it is much appreciated in the very cold weather that we are having.  This is just 25 stitches.  One of the ladies at the meeting gave me a pattern for a dishcloth.  It was very easy and knit on the diagonal.  Again, it was just a knit stitch practice with an added yarn over. So a little more interesting knitting.  Here's my results:

This was knitted using the Sugar'n Cream Twists.  I love the color of this yarn.  It was simply called Green Twists.  I didn't care for how this turned out.  It could be an issue of practice but I don't like how the starting and ending corners look.  However, the pattern resulted in a nice size dishcloth that is about 8 1/2".  Maybe I need to investigate different types of casting on/off to see if the results would be better.  Let's just say that I'm not done with the knitting yet.  I have purchased a Sashey Sparkle from JoAnn's.  Here's the color:

This will make a ruffled scarf.  Again, this is just straight knitting.  I have attempted to start this scarf but pulled it out because I wasn't sure that I was knitting it correctly.  There is a video on the Red Heart site that provides information about knitting with this yarn.

I downloaded a sweater pattern from Ravelry.  I know jumping from a scarf to a sweater is a big leap but I wanted to try something a little more challenging.  Now, I need to figure out the difference between worsted weight and DK weight.  I know I have this information somewhere as I have a rather large library of knitting information. Maybe I'm try a hat or mittens instead of the sweater.

Now you know why I haven't been doing much in the way of sewing.  Part of it is that with the weather we are having it is very hard to get my sewing area heated up.  If it was a smaller room, it might not be an issue.  It really is easier to sit by the fireplace and knit.

I did do a few things sewing related.  Mostly mending but I cut out the brown wool skirt and need to work on the lining.  The lining is a little tough as I have to figure out the pattern.  I worked on the UFO dress.  I was trying a new technique that is more RTW.  This is edge stitching the collar to the dress.  I had the collar very neatly pressed where both edges were the same length.  The neck edge had been stitched at 5/8" mark and trimmed to about the 3/8".  I very carefully inserted both ends into the collar and started inserting the neck edge of the dress.  Unfortunately, the neck edge is longer the stand on the collar.  ARGH!  The dress has become a wadder.  However, I will be salvaging the fabric.  I love this fabric.  Hopefully, I can create a skirt from the remains.  I was so disappointed.  I have no idea if there was a problem with the pattern or if I had stretched the neck edge.  I didn't prove this pattern before I started.  Lesson learned.

Happy Sewing!