YouTube For Knitting and Crochet

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Ravelry .  I am always referring someone looking for a pattern to check there among other sites.  So the other day when I saw my baby sister, Jessica, finishing up these adorable hats, I asked her where she got the patterns, asking specifically if she found them on Ravelry.  I was so surprised when she told me that she found the tutorials on YouTube.  She explained that she browses for a project that she wants to crochet and then follows along, working the yarn with the tutorial.  Cool!  I asked her to send my a photo of the hats so that I could blog about them:

 

Jessica went through her scraps and crocheted a newborn hat following a video on YouTube at Baby Hat for our great-niece, Brooklyn.

 

Jessica then crocheted the hat below using Bernat yarn that I picked up on clearance, it had the cutest little yarn balls and I totally planned on crocheting this for a friends baby.  Then, I actually began crocheting with it and it was a nightmare!!!  I grabbed my stix and attempted to knit with it and Nightmare City again.  So I did what all good big sisters do and I handed it down to Jess who is mother to four boy ranging from 15 to 8, obviously a woman with more patience than I.

 

I also learned that my other sister Romy enjoys browsing YouTube for tutorials on yarn projects and following along.  I think they like being talked through the stitches and patterns, unlike me, I would rather blunder my way through, pulling out stitches and reworking until I think I have it correct.....which explains why I was so quick to give away my problem yarn.  I am more driven to get on task and complete the project in a timely manner.  My ADHD keeps my children from ever being able to say, "Mom worked on that for months!"  Because, if it isn't done in a couple of days........it will end up in the corner of a closet. 

 

Jessica and our sister Buffy are our lefties.  I am hoping to sit with Jessica and Buffy soon to get some tips for overcoming obstacles with learning to crochet and knit in a mostly right handed family.  I also hope to get some tips on video for others not of the right-handed persuasion.  My sister, Buffy, is currently teaching her daughter, whom is also left handed, to knit and I'd love to get my niece on video too! 

 

I have browsed YouTube and I have found a couple of projects that interest me.  I will give them a try and post the results.  Currently, I am knitting a project for a photographer friend of mine and crocheting items for Wyatt.  Stay tuned!

Sale on Bernat Yarn!

I ran to Joann's this afternoon to grab a skein of gray yarn and I was nicely surprised to find Bernat's Pink Ribbon yarn for The Cure was on sale for $1.99.  This may have been advertised but I missed it! So I scooped up a few skeins......

They had pink, white, pink and white, chunky, grey, boa........RUN DON'T WALK!!!

Tangled Happy Test Pattern

TANGLED HAPPY TEST PATTERN

 

I was excited to crochet this test pattern for the blog Tangled Happy.  It is one of my favorite blogs, I love the patterns and enjoy its creativity.  The adorable newborn hat that I crocheted from the test pattern was easy and oh so cute!

 

 

I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn in pink, the pattern called for two strands to be crocheted together.  The hat was created using half double crochets beginning at the top, working to the bottom.  The very last row was done in single crochet.  I would rate this hat as super easy, it takes 45 to 35 minutes from start to finish to make.  I love cute projects like this that I can make really quick, it gave me a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction!

 

The bow I made on my own as an embellishment.  It is 5 rows of 8 double crochets with yarn wrapped around the middle to create the bow! 

 

Make sure to watch for the pattern on Tangled Happy!

Heeeeeer's Walli!

Heeeeeere's Walli!

 

My father's mother crocheted, knit, used a home knitting machine and a more industrial sized knitting machine, and even Irish crocheted large table coverings and bed covers.  I learned from her to crochet on my finger when I was eight or nine years old.  She also patiently taught me to loom flowers on a pegged plastic circle.  Unfortunately, I developed a bad habit right away, I would get an urge to crochet, purchase a skein of yarn and a hook and go to work on a project it for a couple of hours.  Sometimes, I would at least get far enough where you may even recognize what I may be making, but most times, the project ended up unfinished, in a drawer or closet, forgotten about and later discarded during a cleaning or a move.  I am happy to say that those days are behind me now, the bug bit and it finally took.  As my children grew older and left home and minor health issues slowed me down, I had a smidgen more down time here in the house and a new purpose for yarn work projects, grandchildren!

 

I was surprised around five years ago, when my sisters, whom had never before shown an interest in crocheting or knitting, became loom-aholics.  Once they realized how simple it was use to knit using a loom, they were hooked!  My nephew's friend was knitting hats on a loom and selling them to help out his mom, she was in cancer treatment.  Soon, my nephews and nieces were knitting on looms, making hats and scarves.  Back a couple of years ago, I purchased a loom kit and began knitting scarves and hats too, it was exciting because most of my projects were started and finished in the same day!  Soon, I was crocheting small projects and then I graduated to bigger items and I learned to knit on two needles.  Once the concept of yarn work took hold, my sisters graduated to crocheting and one even knits; which is more difficult to me but this is not a true statement for all, it falls under preference.    I am SO happily fascinated by the popularity of yarn work these days and I love how the Internet makes me feel like I'm in one big little yarn shop.

I have many sites that I enjoy browsing for yarn work patterns and ideas.  A few of my favorites are Ravelry, Moogly and Crochet Pattern Central  Ravelry.com never lets me down, I can always find something that catches my eye....who am I kidding?  I can get stuck on their site for hours!  One of my favorite designers is Drops Designs, with over 6200 designs.  The patterns that I have paid for on  Ravelry were fair priced to me, however, most patterns that I have used I was able to find for free.  It is my preference now to never buy a book or pamphlet in the store, but that is mainly because I am a pattern hoarder and I do not have a place for them.  And since I have now become a pattern hoarder, how thankful am I for Pinterest?? 

 

I have had a couple of friends mention putting my stuff on Etsy, and I would like to do this.  I really enjoy the pattern making process though and I will be blogging patterns because I think that I can make them easy and fun to do.  I am posting a picture of three hats that I recently crocheted for my daughter's baby shower.  My first grandson, Wyatt is due to arrive in three weeks.  His nursery and baby shower theme was pirates, so I crocheted a pirate applique for a little beanie and I also made a Pirate Owl beanie.  The black and white beanie I did just because.  I am going to make another Pirate Owl beanie and post the pattern for free for those who would like to crochet it themselves.  I am also going to put the beanie for sale on Etsy for those of you who would like to purchase one.

 

Enjoy!

 

moogly.com