Bundle Up!

Well Get-Along Gang, I don't know if you kids have pried yourselves away from your Twitter and your MTV and your 90210, but it is freezing outside, so knit club for this Wednesday is canceled due to act of God.

Second order of business, my helper monkeys have fixed the links. Never say Auntie Heather never did you anything.

Thirdly, as we all know we (and by we I mean the crocheters. Those girls is fierce!) have amassed what scientists refer to as a "crap-ton" of hats. We have yet to decide exactly how we're going to distribute the woollies, so we have a few options:
1. We can give them to A Better Way, the Muncie domestic violence shelter.
2. We can sell them and donate the money to a worthy cause
3. None of the above because somebody has a better idea but isn't sharing.

Finally, Katie will be sending out an e-mail with sale dates, etc. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a warm, cozy, event-free weekend.

And now, your moment of zen:

These Broken Links!

Folks, I am aware of the broken links in the T&T section. Please bear with me while I try and find new links or fix the ones I have or run away to a French villa buckle down and ask for help. Cheers!

Help and Harmony

Hey-ho everyone! There be changes in the water at this blog. First, if you'll glance ever-so-casually to the right, you'll notice a new panel for techniques that might throw you or tips on how to make your projects go better. For now, we have a knit and crochet glossary, but tell me what you want to see on the blog and I'll post it.

Secondly, as Katie e-mailed to us all (we love you Katie!!!!) we as a club have decided to help make hats, scarves, etc for people who are not as lucky as we. As a way of doing my part, I will print my extremely handy Universal Hat Pattern (patent pending) and pass it out on Wednesday. If I can find my Universal Mitten Pattern I'll print it too. I will also post my hat pattern here now for those of you who might be impatient or just want a copy on the blog for whatever personal reasons you might have.

Heather's Universal Hat:

You will need:
1 set of size nine (American) needles. Flat or circular, whatever floats your boat
Stitch marker (if circular)
Darning Needle
Measuring Tape

Step 1
Make a swatch. No griping! Just a tiny one.
Measure your stitches to the inch
Measure recipient's head

Now the dreaded math!!!!!!!!!
Let's say our recipient's head is 21 inches around. Let us also say you happen to get 7 stitches to the inch. Remember, this is all your gauge, so if you do not like the fabric you are getting, move up or down a needle. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG GAUGE!

We do a wee little bit of arithmetic...21x7=147
Now, this is the only tricky part. We need to adjust the number just a little bit so that the total is divisible by ten. Since 147 is close to 150, we'll just call it 150.

This is the cool part! Cast on 150 stitches in any method you prefer. If knitting circularly, join in the round, being careful not to twist. Don't feel bad if you do, though. It's tricky and always takes me a couple of times to get it right. Place Marker. Knit until the life drains from you, or until you get about 5 to 6 inches, whichever comes first.

At the beginning of the next row (round) knit 9, then knit two together (k2tog). Repeat until you hit the end of your row (round). Knit the next row (round) straight. Repeat this pattern:
*K8, K2tog* rep
K 1 row(round)
*K7, k2tog* rep
k1 row (round)

Get it? Keep going til you have knit 1, k2tog. Now, take your darning needle. thread some yarn through the last few stitches (on my last hat it was only 13. Your mileage may very) and pull nice and tight. Weave in ends, sew up the seam if knitted flat, and viola! You may add a pom-pom if you want to. I would.

Thirdly, Harrison has one again found us a kick-ass, if not a wee bit more advanced, link. Let's give him a big hand.
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2009/10/basic-short-rows-theory-and-method.html

PS. Short rows are not as scary as this uber-knitter makes it out to be. Trust me.

And finally, your moment of zen:

Getting Started

Okay, we've had a few meetings so I thought I'd post a few things to help us get through the bumps you may encounter.

First, crochet. http://www.youtube.com/user/tjw1963#play/playlists

Teresa's crochet page has a lot of good things, including left-handed crochet.  Good luck.

And now, knitting.

First we have the knit stitch, in continental because that is what Katie insists on teaching. 

And purl

And if you are lucky enough to get this far...casting off!

As a side note, if anybody knows a good knit/crochet glossary, send me the link so I can post in in the sidebar as a tool.

And now...your moment of zen.

Meeting times

Well everyone, we finally got our collective heads out of our collective rears and decided on some times to meet.

If you are interested in learning how to knit or crochet,we have a learning night on Mondays at 8 to whenever you feel like leaving.

If you just want the social fun-ness (and why wouldn't you, really?) the Knitting Club meets on Wednesdays at 7:15.

As always, we meet in the Atrium TV lounge. Bring your works in progress, patterns, and smiles! It's gonna be a fun ride.

Welcome Back!

Well everyone, it's a new year with a new blogger! Hi, I'm Heather and I'll be keeping everyone updated here on the BSU knit blog. We haven't decided on a meeting time yet, so if anyone interested would please email Katie to let her know what time would be convenient for you would be great!

Also e-mail me (hnbartram@bsu.edu) to let me hear some ideas for what you guys wanna learn and what kind of fun we're gonna do!

In the meantime, I thought everyone would enjoy this video. Look familiar???

Happy End of the Year!

Well, it's the end of the year and time for me to graduate! I want to thank everyone for helping to make this year a really great one. I am handing over webmaster privileges to my good friend Heather, who I'm sure will be posting some exciting and fun things in the coming year, so stay tuned and check back often! And thanks so much for taking over, Heather!

Have a great summer; make sure you all knit and crochet a lot!
Love,
Abby

The KNIFTAs

In an especially brilliant move, I Knit London decided in a fit of rage over bad knitting scenes in film and television (see their Campaign for Real Knitting) to stage and host their very own KNIFTA (Knitting in Film and Television Awards) ceremony! Pictures from the event can be found here, and the list of award winners is here.


The five categories were:
Funniest knitting/crochet scene
Best knitting/crochet scene
Best knitwear
Best advertisement
Outstanding Contribution to Knitting in Film and Television
(to see the nominees and winners in each category, see link above)

I'm hoping that this awards ceremony will be replicated in the future--very funny!!
Enjoy!

Sweater Recycling

Hey everyone.
For those of you who didn't get to come to the meeting tonight, we had a great time and learned a lot! If you want to learn the very very helpful technique we did tonight, here is a great tutorial you can look at:
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/9839/how-to-recycle-yarn-from-a-thrift-store-sweater

Good luck trying it out yourself. It's great!
-Abby

Knitters You Should Know--Part 1

Here is part one of what may or may not become a series. The first knitter that everyone should know is the absolute most influential knitter probably ever, but at least in recent history: Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Elizabeth Zimmerman is credited with:
--bringing Continental Knitting back to America after WWII when it had gone out of style as "too German"
--encouraging knitters to knit in the round on circular needles
--bringing the Aran sweater to America
--and many more innovative techniques that we take for granted today

Read about her at the very simple wiki page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Zimmermann
And read this great Vogue Knitting Tribute to her here: http://www.vogueknitting.com/node/485
Or do your own search for her and her wonderful books.

Happy knitting and crocheting!
-Abby

Colbert Report Satire on "Radical Crocheting and Knitting"

Hope you enjoy this irreverent satire about radical crocheting and knitting. I thought it was very funny.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Nailed 'Em - Radical Knitting
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Great seaming technique

Here's a really helpful technique on how to seam shoulders well (and it works really well on any vertical seams you have to sew, not just shoulders). Enjoy!

Knitting is good for your health!

A recent BBC News article reported that knitting and other brain-stimulating activities can delay memory loss. Yay for knitting!




“ One million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years so there is a desperate need to find ways to prevent dementia ”
Alzheimer's Society

Knitting 'can delay' memory loss

Engaging in a hobby like reading a book, making a patchwork quilt or even playing computer games can delay the onset of dementia, a US study suggests.

Watching TV however does not count - and indeed spending significant periods of time in front of the box may speed up memory loss, researchers found.

Nearly 200 people aged 70 to 89 with mild memory problems were compared with a group who had no impairment.

The findings are to be presented to an American Academy of Neurology meeting.

The researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota asked the volunteers about their daily activities within the past year and how mentally active they had been between the age of 50 to 65.

Those who had during middle age been busy reading, playing games or engaging in craft hobbies like patchworking or knitting were found to have a 40% reduced risk of memory impairment.

In later life, those same activities reduced the risk by between 30 and 50%.

Those who watched TV for less than 7 hours a day were also 50% less likely to develop memory loss than those who spent longer than that staring at the screen.

"This study is exciting because it demonstrates that ageing does not need to be a passive process," said study author and neuroscientist Dr Yonas Geda.

"By simply engaging in cognitive exercise, you can protect against future memory loss. Of course, the challenge with this type of research is that we are relying on past memories of the participants, therefore we need to confirm these findings with additional research."

Sarah Day, head of public health at the Alzheimer's Society said: "One million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years so there is a desperate need to find ways to prevent dementia.

"Exercising and challenging your brain - by learning new skills, doing puzzles such as crosswords, and even learning a new language - can be fun.

"However, more research, where people are followed up over time, is needed to understand whether these sorts of activities can reduce the risk of dementia."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7896441.stm

Published: 2009/02/18 10:39:51 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Awesome Knitting Art Exhibit in Chicago

Today I read this review on one of my favorite knitting blogs of an interactive knitting art exhibit in Chicago. It closes today, but hopefully you can enjoy reading about it and looking at the pictures, anyway. The way Franklin describes how he felt at the exhibit sounds like an almost spiritual experience; very interesting. I hope you all enjoy the pictures, the concept, and his review!

(More pictures and the review at the link above. Franklin's website here: http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/)

Picking Up Stitches

Here are some great tutorials I found for how to pick up stitches. I have had several questions about this recently, so if you're wondering, here you go!

http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2009/02/10/picking-up-stitches-slipped-stitch-side-row-edge.aspx
http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2009/02/10/picking-up-stitches.aspx

Meeting change!

The Meeting this Tuesday, February 17, is no longer going to be on colorwork; that meeting has been moved back, probably to next week.
This week, we will be tackling how to knit in the round! This is a very important skill that I have been getting a lot of questions about recently, so everyone bring either a set of four or five double pointed needles or a circular needle (preferable 12-20 inches long, no longer). If you do not yet have double pointed or circular needles and want me to bring extras for you to learn on, please email me as soon as possible at bsuknitcrochet AT gmail DOT com.

Also, the movie night is THIS FRIDAY!! We'll be handing out directions to Katie's house at the meeting Tuesday, so come come come! We'll work out movies and rides at the meeting, so everyone be there. If you cannot come, again, email me as soon as possible saying you want to come to the movie night but cannot come to the meeting and I'll send you directions or get you a ride.

Hope to see you all there!
-Abby

Cool new bind-off method

If you're looking for a great new, very easy and clean looking bind off method, here's a great one for you. You can find a simple explanation in the "cast off methods" link on the right ---->

Or watch it here:

Knitted Brain!

Here is a cool article about psychiatrists who knit an accurate human brain. Really mind-blowing!

Reminder, first meeting tomorrow!

Just a reminder that the first meeting of the semester will be tomorrow, Jan 20, at 7pm.

Jan 27--"How to Knit" class for all
Feb 3--"How to Crochet" class for all
*Remember, you can still come if you don't want to learn either of those skills. Every meeting is "free knit/crochet," meaning bring whatever you're currently working on and work on it in the presence of friends.

**Don't forget that over on the right side of the page is our calendar of events. Check back often for updates and special events!** ------->

Hope to see you all soon,
Happy Stitching!

First Meeting of the Semester

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a really great semester. I just wanted to let you all know that our first meeting of the semester will be on Jan 20, the second week of school, NOT the first week. This is because I want to make sure that all of you can get used to your classes and such before we start meeting. Also, when we get to the first meeting, Katie and Abby will have a bit of a schedule worked out for you as well as some knitting and crocheting lessons ready!

Hope to see you all on Tues, Jan 20 at 7pm in the Atrium right outside of Starbucks on the couches around a TV.
--
Happy Stitching!

-Abby & Katie
BSU Knitting and Crocheting Club

"Extreme Knitting"--Rachel John

Watch this, be amazed, and never complain about a project again! This woman is crazy and amazing!

Click here for Rachel John's webpage (http://racheljohn.co.uk/default.aspx)