Girlfriends Knitting

7 Books for Learning How to Knit There has been a resurgence of crafts and learning how to make things ever since the pandemic locked us in our houses for over a year in 2020. One of those crafts is my personal favorite - knitting. I have spent over a decade teaching people to knit and spreading the love of all things fiber arts and now, it seems everyone knits, or wants to! I have searched the interwebs and have found seven books that I believe will help you learn my favorite craft. But let's get our crafts straight first. Every time I am knitting in public, I inevitably run across someone who says, "Oh, my grandma crochets." I usually respond with, "Mine did, too, and taught me how as well. But this is knitting." At that point I usually get a confused look and a quick end to the conversation. Your average non-fiber artists do not know the difference between knitting and crocheting. There are many examples in movies and television, as well as advertising, wher...

How do you decrease in knitting?  K2tog and SSK explained  When you first learn to knit, you start off with simple straight lines, back and forth. You learn to knit and then to purl. You learn that combining knit and purl stitches can create ribbing. But eventually most of us get bored with various sized rectangular items. There are only so many scarfs, dishcloths, and blankets one can make. If you want to learn how to create sweaters or hats or socks, you will have to learn how to shape garments by increasing and decreasing the number of stitches. A decrease is when you combine two or more stitches, thus reducing the total number of stitches you have. When shaping items, such as the top of a hat, you have to combine decreases to have the desired effect. In fact, there are many different types of decreases to further customize the look a pattern designer wants to achieve. In this article, we will look at two basic decreases. If you are a seasoned knitter, there will be very fa...

*This article has affiliate links to the items I used on Amazon. Clicking on links is at no cost to you, but I may earn a small commission. After you are gifted a hand-knitted item, you should learn how to properly care for it. I had a wonderful time teaching Evie how to wash and care for her new socks. Of course, Mama will still do that for her for a while, but she can now help me. It was also a fun way to spend time together and bond over my love of knitting and her love of socks! If you haven't seen the video, here it is. @girlfriendsknitting Today I am teaching my daughter how to care for her new handknit socks. #knittersoftiktok #knittok #girlfriendsknitting ♬ original sound - Girlfriends Knitting In the video, I used my very own homemade hanger. However, there is a better way. Check out this sock blocker set with hangers that are even adjustable! Here is also a link to the assorted set of Soak wash that we used. This product is great because it does NOT require that...

Does knitting really help with stress and anxiety?  🤔 💭 💆‍♀️ #mentalhealth #selfcare #mindfulness #knittingtherapy #anxietyrelief #stressmanagement I sure hope so!! Today, as I dropped off my baby girl at school, I couldn't help but feel a wave of emotions. It's one of those moments when stress and anxiety overwhelm this mama's heart, and I get sucked under the flood. But guess what? We have a secret weapon in our hands that can help us find serenity amidst life's challenges—knitting. While it is certainly not a replacement for our faith or professional mental health care, it can help with stress and anxiety. It's incredible how those yarns and needles can create a cocoon of comfort, guiding us into a world of calmness and peace. Whether we're knitting intricate patterns or simple stitches, the rhythm of the needles has a unique way of soothing our souls and quieting our minds. Still skeptical? Actually, there is evidence to support the claim that knitting c...

What do you do when you post a simple video on TikTok and it blows up overnight? Why, you have a knit-a-long of course. (That would be a KAL for those of you not yet knowledgeable with knitter-speak.) Thus....drum roll please... on July 1 we will start a Knit-a-long!! It will be across multiple channels, with this being its main hub. It will be simple, accessible for all skill levels, and not require anything more than what you may already have. However, if you are looking for some more tools, check out these links below for some suggestions. The comments for the viral video included questions about how to get started (casting on), how to purl, and what supplies I might recommend. I did create those two videos, and they are on my TikTok page. I will update them on my podcast soon.  As for the supplies, well, I have yet to meet a knitting tool or yarn I did not like, but here are some of my favorites: #promotion In the video itself, I am stabbing away with these knitting needles ...

🔥Beginner Bliss Sock Pattern 🔥 When a knitting bestie texts you and wants a simple beginner sock pattern, you get to writing! Thus, here it is - Beginner Bliss Socks! It is a simple pattern that is knit from the toe-up with a short row heel so that you can learn the basic construction of socks. There are simple instructions and pictures. If you would like it, you can click the link below. Even better - use the email sign-up on the right side of the blog, and you will be sent the pattern for FREE! (I might even include another little gift just for signing up!) I get a commission through purchases made from links to this site.

I think I have an obsession with Julia Roberts. I based the name of my blog off of a statement she made about knitting. and of course, there is the fact that she KNITS! Third, I adore the movie Steel Magnolias for many reasons, Julia being one of them. But more on that in a minute... So why did I decide to name my blog "Girlfriends Knitting?"  During the filming of the movie  Larry Crown (she played a community college teacher! We have so many connections, I think we should be BFFs), Tom Hanks played a prank on Julia Roberts, who is known for knitting on the set. He had an assistant and the costume director prepare 50 skeins of yarn with a few rows of knitting, then passed out these knitting projects to 65 men in the crew. When Julia walked in, she began cracking up laughing, and immediately got into the spirit of the prank, talking about knitting with the guys. Here is a small excerpt of that from A ccess Hollywood , but the line I remember most came from anothe...

As I was reading the old posts, I came across the following Christmas wish list. (See  Dear Santa . It is still a great list for the knitters in your life if you ever need one.) #promotion Signature needles  (any size circular, with a long cable) - or the whole collection! (Haha, as if!) Wollmeise yarn  (I just bought my first skein....ooooh) Really, any wool blend yarn would make me happy, so check out all the gorgeous yarn on  Etsy  and pick me up a skein, or three. Doing that also supports local small businesses, which is nice. Those yarn blends make for some gorgeous socks, which I am in love with knitting right now. So any set of Wendy Johnson patterns, particularly her  Socks in a Box , would be awesome. With all that yarn, I will need to be making and blocking final projects, so there are also,  blocking wires  and  Sock Blockers (women's large). Blocking those new hand-knits requires wool wash, such as  Soak . For t...

Have you ever time-traveled? I have this week - back in time over ten years to when life for me was much different. Some of you have traveled with me, having seen my current TikTok videos under the same name and googling Girlfriends Knitting to find an old blog with over 80 posts about knitting, spinning, and life with a disabled spouse.  I perused the pages, watched some of the videos, cried a little, laughed a lot, and just reminisced. It is very odd seeing your life documented in front of the camera that way.  Your brain has what my dad liked to call revisionist memory. It will edit out the bad parts, blur some of the parts that sting a little too much in full color, and add embellishments to make stories better, funnier, sweeter. But not the camera. It shows everything. You can't say something didn't happen when it is right there in recorded history. Roll the tape! I have decided to revisit that time in my life, review the footage, learn and grow from my new vantage point ...

We went out and bought a lighting kit for the podcast (back in Feb.) and even bought a new camcorder (back in March). We made lists of things we wanted to discuss. Did we record? Obviously not. Why not? Well, because sometimes life happens. Here's what we have been up to: Spring Break, in which we did not accomplish anything, except watching the entire series (thus far) of Grimm. I do marathons...Netflix marathons! Carolyn's braces were tightened. Ouch! After several days of not being willing to talk, it hurts to eat. So not fun. Amy got the "crud" because her immune system sucks. And then felt the need to share the fun and passed it along to Carolyn. Two not-happy, very sick, campers. (We are over that now.) Travel, travel, and more travel for Carolyn (all business related) with no end in sight. But I get lots of knitting done this way, so I am happy. What about the alpaca?? I am SOO excited to say that our wonderful mill, New Era Fiber, was able to process...

(The following events may or may not have occurred in the creation and publication of my podcast. I refuse to say in order to protect the guilty.) You decide you want to do a knitting podcast. You have a webcam on your computer. You could just record on there, upload it (somewhere, you don't even think about the where really) and tell everyone about it. Done. This will be easy. Then you get started. You sit down to record and realize that you aren't even quite sure what you want to talk about. You look around frantically for your works in progress. But wait, are you really prepared to admit on camera you have 20 WIPs? Not even your knitting circle know this shameful secret. (Actually, you didn't even realize this until you started counting them.) What about yarn, didn't you buy some yarn this week that was really cool? Ok, grab it. Share that, too. Segments - should you have segments? The cool podcasters all have cute segment names that go with cute them...

I have been doing lots of spinning lately. It began because Amy wanted me to spin up some of the fiber she had dyed so she could see how it might look. I picked the purple Peruvian wool because I loved how it changes tones. I pulled out my beloved ladybug and spun it up as a simple two-ply, dividing the fiber down the middle and spinning each one on a separate bobbin. Very pretty if I do say so myself. I had so much fun with that project I decided to finish up a few things I already had on a bobbin. I pulled out this luscious grey 80% Merino 20%silk from Cute Bunny Farms that I purchased at Rhinebeck in 2012. (No, it had not been on the bobbin since then!) I spun it onto a single bobbin, then chain-plied it to create a 3-ply sport-weight yarn. Spinning was putting in me such a relaxed and zen-like state, I had to keep going. I pulled out some Merino in the "I'm a sexy squash" colorway from Knitters Nightmare . I had grabbed it up from Sadie at this past SSK in Nashville....

Amy here -  While Carolyn was busy spinning the fiber I dyed last week, we received a shipment of 80% merino 20% mohair fiber we had processed at the Wild West Fiber Mill in Colorado. The mohair is from the fleece Carolyn bought a while back - the cute goat Eloise. Dying this fiber was a challenge. The mohair content made it, well, hairier. In other words, there were colorful bits of hairy fiber all over me, the kitchen, and our dogs for a few days. Though this doesn't make for the most pleasant dying experience, it makes a beautifully haloed yarn when spun (which I had Carolyn do to a sample so I could see what it would look like.) I want to be able to produce a nice solid, as well as tonal colors, so I keep doing both. The Sun Yellow is a nice solid in a yellow that doesn't look like French's mustard (at least not when you see it in person. We really need to work on getting some lighting.) Carolyn likes the orange and named it Autumn Sunrise. (10 points for anyon...

We can't tell you how excited we are to be working toward offering beautiful alpaca roving and yarn in our store. We have been working diligently toward perfecting our processing, as we want you to have the absolute best quality product. At the mill this week are the fleece from these two charming young girls - Raven and Ripley. As you can probably guess from the name, Raven is the cute black alpaca in the front with the white specs on her nose. Her fleece is a deep true black and some of the softest stuff I have ever felt. Ripley is the sweet girl in the back that looks like she has been drinking chocolate milk! Her fleece is an extremely light beige/white, and we plan on dying it up into mounds of glorious color. Now off to process the next batch - Claire and Angel!

They are cute. They are funny. They are oh so soft! Alpacas, a cousin to the llama and camel, have fiber that is extremely soft and luxurious. The huacaya alpacas raised on Grace Farms and Alpacas of Center Hill are beautiful animals that are loved and tended carefully by Jon and Pat to produce beautiful, show-quality fiber that is great for the spinner or knitter. In fact, fiber from these animals has won competitions for its crimp, softness, overall quality, and great spinning qualities. The best part is that Girlfriends Knitting is teaming up with these wonderful farms to begin providing 100% alpaca fiber and yarn. The beautiful fleece will be on its way to the mill this week and we will keep you up-to-date on when it will be ready for purchase. Get those alpaca knitting patterns ready!

We are very excited to begin this joint venture. Our first vending experience was at the Arkansas Fiber Extravaganza in December 2013, and we had a blast. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make that first show so wonderful for us. If you signed up for our newsletter at that event, thank you. The newsletter will contain knitting tips and techniques, jewelry-making ideas, coupons, patterns, and more…but maybe not all in the same issue! If you have not yet signed up, the subscription link is on our Welcome page.

We were back after a four-month break! Amy joined me as my permanent co-host for what we hoped would be a new format. However, we never recorded it again. Too much life and illness getting in the way. Join us one last time as we draw for several prizes and talk about upcoming goodies in the shop!

Illness has kept me from recording regularly, but I hope to rectify that soon. However, life is getting busy, so I won’t have as much editing in my episodes (no cool Rav displays.) Sorry. Prize Drawings: Here’s to Your Health - July SSK messenger bag. Thanks to the awesome oohfancypants for donating hers as a giveaway as well. Daizie Yarns Check out the cute Dr. Suess themed podcast by  Heather219 ,  Knits-N-Things . FO’s:  GoT My KAL ,  For Lottie ,  First Baby Cardi ,  Looping Pinwheel Baby Blanket WIP’s:  Summers Shawl ,  Lilac Lizette ,  Modified Looping Twist ,  Rock Star Socks Summers at Scarritt-Bennett Shawl KAL!!

Since I had so much to talk about, it is close to an hour long instead of the usual 20-30 minutes. Hence the name “Double the Pleasure”. That’s what happens when you don’t record for almost three weeks! Too much to talk about!! Long tail provisional cast on tutorial will also be posted under the Tutorials Tab. Enjoy! Your knitting (and teaching) girlfriend

This week has been consumed with spinning - as evidenced by the four, yes four, spinning FO’s. Go Team Knit Me Sassy!