Video!! (drum roll, please!)

This is our video (or attempt of it). Don't be too harsh, and just enjoy it (or try to).

About the Video:
This video is about our trip to Lincraft, a knitting store. It shows the different varieties of knitting supplies available in the market. We used the Windows Live Movie Maker to edit this video. It's our first time (both making the video and editing it), so be nice. Enjoy!

(Sourced from/Hosted on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-4nK7Hzsew)

Aww. The video wasn't that bad, right?
But this marks the end of our ISYS100 project!! But it might not be the end of our knitting hobby. So why don't you try it too.

That's the end of it.

Until next time,
-Rina, David, Diane, Andrew-

Done! Yay!

Hey guys, after much practice, effort and positive progress I am happy to announce that I have successfully knitted my scarf. Finally after weeks, days and hours of work on it,  I have finally learned the techniques of knitting and created a beautiful scarf that I must say I am definitely very proud off ! I'ts my first ever self-knitted scarf ! yay! :)

Here is my scarf :] Oh yeah, as you can see the color of my scarf is black which is different from my original plan of a mix of brown, black and grey scarf that I first intended to knit. I ended up getting black supplies instead because the colour black matches all clothing colours. So, now  I can wear my scarf all the time without worrying about not matching all throughout winter! (hehehe, yea I'm such a girl :D)

So, for all you skeptics out there who thought that knitting was close to impossible (Like me before!) well be prepared to be surprised! It's not as hard as it looks. Trust me, If I can do it then all of you can too. 

I wish you guys all the best with your knitting and keep up the effort. I enjoyed learning how to knit and I hope you guys have enjoyed it too. 

Have a good one guys!

Diane

Also finished.....with trying

Well, all i can say is at least i gave it go, I guess knitting just isn't for me.

Like Rina i find it repetitive...but more then that i find it hard, i have enough new things to try learning at uni already ;).
It is time consuming and not exactly interesting for me, friends make it fun but....that's just what friends do, they make things fun.
At the end of the day i don't even wear knitted things and Rina tells me they are cheaper to buy then to make anyway.
I find myself rather spending my time knitting elsewhere, to achieve something more useful and/or more fun.... so that's what I plan on doing :).

I still do encourage everyone to give knitting a go. You never know if you never try, so you just MIGHT like it.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

- Andrew

Finished!

Yes! As the title says, I have successfully finished my scarf!!! The picture of it is as seen below:

It's about 200cm long. I didn't put any pattern on the scarf (it's just the basic knitting), since I'm just a beginner, but after doing this, I can proudly say that I've definitely mastered the basics. Maybe now, I can move on to knitting more complex and difficult things - or not.
 
Truthfully, I find knitting quite repetitive, but it's fun if you're doing it with others. It's a chance to bond and get to know people, and create something according your own tastes and preference - that is, you can choose the pattern and the colour of your choice. However, these days, I think, knitting has become a somewhat expensive hobby. Frankly, it is much cheaper to buy a cardigan than to knit one. A thin cardigan can cost about $10 to $30, but if you knit one, it'll cost you more than $50, and the price ranges depending on the type of yarn used.

(I highlighted the advantages in green and the disadvantages in red.)

So, in my opinion, knitting is a good skill to acquire, but in my opinion, not a very feasible hobby. Perhaps this is because I don't particularly enjoy knitting (>.<). But as the saying goes, "to each his own".

-Rina Chiew-

SUCCESS!!............ sortof

hello to all...


Remember how I was ranting on about how much I failed at knitting? Well, here is the physical evidence that I did. (its quite embarrassing)

 hehehe... It was so bad it managed to turn into a donut.

So then, I did analyse carefully read the instructions, watched Andrew's video MANY MANY MANY MANY times, AND also got the help from my mum and cousin. It took a lot of time but it has paid off.

... And as you can see, PRACTICE PAYS OFF!!!! I finally get the HANG of it. You know how there are those grandmas old timers who are super fast at knitting. Imagine that but 500% slower. Haha. Just because I've got the hang of it, doesn't mean that I am fast. BUT hopefully, I'll get there... :D

Okay... Now you ask why does that last picture look like a beanie!?!? Thats because I made the top half, while my "expert" little baby cousin made the bottom half. The reason why it looks like a beanie? Because I pulled my yarn very tightly onto my knitting needle which meant it made a closer stitch. Personally I find my cousin's looser stitch MUCH MUCH more attractive. Also she could actually keep the size of the holes even, producing a well-made pattern, unlike my very-tight-stitch-that-expands-to-a-looser-stitch.

I have started my scarf. Pictures will be up next time I post. KNITTING IS FUN (I'm not joking). I found myself constantly trying to get better, which is why I have that many samples... so you should try tooooooooooooooooooo!!!


*on another note, my little-baby-cousin took her 6 months to make her scarf >< Looks like its going to take me 2 years !!

Peace out yo!

-David

Oh, the difficulty!

Okay, so as I was thinking about what to write for today's blog, I realized how difficult it is to explain how to knit. Seriously - no joke. There is no easy way to explain and understand the steps of knitting without meeting face-to-face. The easiest would be by viewing a video (Andrew's done that) or by looking at pictures. Even then, it's still quite tough to understand. So, my advice is, look for someone with knitting experience to teach you. For me, I got my mom to teach me how to knit.


Making a slip knot
1. Wind the yarn around two fingers and over the two fingers again to the back of the first thread (Fig.16).

2. Using a knitting needle pull the back thread through the front one to form a loop (Fig.17).

3. Pull end to tighten loop (Fig.18).

Casting on with the thumb method (one needle)
1. Make a slip knot about 1 metre from the end of the yarn. Place the slip knot on a needle and hold the needle in the right hand with the ball end of the yarn over your first finger. * Wind the loose end of the yarn round the left thumb from front to back (Fig.19).

2. Insert the needle through the yarn on the thumb (Fig.20).

3. Take the yarn with your right forefinger over the point of the needle (Fig.21).

4. Pull the loop through to form the first stitch (Fig.22).

5. Remove your left thumb from the yarn and pull the loose end to secure the stitch (Fig.23).

Repeat from * until the required number of stitches are cast on.


Casting on with the cable method (two needles)
1. Make a slip knot and place it on the left needle (Fig.24).

2. Insert the right hand needle through the slipknot and pass the yarn over the right needle (Fig.25).

3. Pull a loop through (Fig.26).

4. Place this loop on the left hand needle (Fig.27).

5. Insert the right hand needle between the two stitches on the left needle. Wind the yarn round the point of the right needle (Fig.28).

6. Draw a loop through, place this loop on the left hand needle (Fig.29).

Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the required number of stitches are cast on.

I got this from this website. (Click for more information!)
You can find many other information like this all over the internet, and in books. So go take a look.
By the way, this is my progress so far:

Well. All the best to everyone who's trying to knit. It's really not that tough once you get used to it.

-Rina Chiew-

NOW it's really time to start

So it's getting colder around here, and it just made me think - "Why haven't I finished my scarf yet?"
Well firstly because I've been slacking off....as too many uni students often do... probably because I'm not good at it, and our knitting meetings (or lack thereof) have not been very helpful, and secondly because IT'S HOLIDAYS!!! But I think when i get into the rhythm of knitting it won't feel like work, it will become second nature and will be fun...(hopefully) :) Perhaps it will be great way to spend the holidays? Who knows? I for one am going to give it a try!

Note - because I am of the competitive spirit, any ideas of how we can challenge each other? hehe

-Andrew

Practice ! Practice ! Practice !

Hey guys, so to keep you to date with things, I have bought my knitting supplies. (I will have pictures of it up in my next post as I can't find my camera atm )

So after I reading one much internet knitting guidelines..and watching a couple lots of internet knitting videos... and then applying what I've learnt so far.. I have come to one conclusion.

          I 

                     am 

                                    definitely 

                                                             a

                                                                        Natural

                                                                                              Disaster !

Why didn't anyone tell me knitting was so hard? lol. Or it could be just me, I might just be really bad at it. Yeah, I think it's the latter, haha. BUT! Yes there's a but! I'm not giving up ! Where there's a will, there's a way!

Currently, I'm just practicing looping the threads with my needles and getting used to it. I read that knitting is practically like a routine. I'ts basically just one sequence after another. I think once, you get the hang of it, It'll be a breeze after. So I hope. :]

So guys, the keywords of the day is "Practice, practice, practice". Remember practice makes perfect ! 

I'll see you guys soon, hopefully I'll have made some positive progress by then. :)

Diane 

                              

Oh No!

Hey guys,

I'M STUCK!! Being the usual over-excited and proud uni student (who think we know anything and everything), I rushed off bravely with my needles and yarn, carefully reading and analysing skimming over the "how to knit" guides. The result? DISASTER :(

The slipknot is step 1 in the basic knitting guide. Here's my Knitting Guide. Why did I choose this guide? Because it had PICTURES! So there I was, confidently making the slipknot. It was easy peasy, even for a beginner like me. So now I was pumped, I had officially started my first knitting project. Step 2....oh how it went wrong from here...

As I said before, after skimming the images (yeah, I didn't read the instructions), I pulled the yarn over my needle, grabbed the other end and pulled it under and ...I did that a couple of times. I compared my "scarf" to the pictures... and WOW did it look different.

SO I undid the rubbish I made, and am now currently actually READING through the guide properly. Actually I may infact read through many guides, and be 100% sure I won't stuff up next time.

The moral of my story?! READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! So you don't have to do what I did ><
Maybe I should have watched Andrews Video.

Hopefully I would have finished started my scarf by the time you read my next post.
Have a good one! I'm sure I will :D

-David-

Knitting 101 by Rina

So, I did a bit of reading on knitting. And here's the basic steps:

1. Think about a what you want to make.

We can knit many things - scarf, tablecloth, sweaters, dresses, gloves. I've decided to make a scarf, because apparently, it's the easiest simplest thing to make - perfect for newbies. Apparently, my teammates seem to have adopted the same idea.

2. Look for the pattern in books.

Yes. Obviously, we can make patterns when we knit. I knew that. You could get the books from any knitting store or online. If you're in Sydney City, I highly recomment visiting Lincraft. They have a wide variety of choices of books, yarn, and knitting needles. Or you could visit their online store. Unfortunately, the books are pretty difficult to comprehend (so might need an experienced friend). They look something like this for a shirt:

3. Get materials - knitting needles and yarn.

Choose your colour of the yarn, and get the right sized knitting needle (the diameter is different). Prices for knitting needles range from about $3.00 to $9.00 depending on the size of the knitting needle. Prices of yarn also differs depending on the type and quality of the yarn. Usually, you'll need more than one ball of yarn, so they do sell it in a pack. Make sure to check that you've got the right colour (and try to get them from the same production batch), if you bought them separately.

4. And you're ready to start!

Yeah. I'm ready as well. You could even ask for help from more experienced people (like my mom), by joining clubs. If you go to those knitting shops, sometimes there'll be people sitting down there, knitting. You could talk to them and get them to teach you (and a great way to make new friends!). One place I recommend is Morris and Sons on York Street. Or, you could just post your questions on some knitting forum (Viva technology!!).

Right. Now you absolutely have no excuse to not start knitting. It's not a too expensive hobby - it only costs about $30 to start up. And the benefits are awesome - new friends, you get to use what you make, and a new hobby! So start now! You could pick up your supplies at the places I've mentioned, or just look around Sydney - you're bound to come across a couple of similar stores.

Time to start!?!

Hi everyone, I'm Andrew 4th member of our GREAT knitting group. I've never knitted before but can't wait till give it a go, knitting with friends, I'm sure it'll be fun!

So, because I don't want to embarrass myself I've been reading some guides on how to get started knitting and how to knit - Google is such a smart friend <3. There's lots of tutorials on youtube as well, so if you don't already know how to knit, you have no excuse not to give it a go, even if you don't have a group of smart uni students ready to help you when you need it :P

I have this idea that group knitting sessions where we knit together sounds fun, we can help each other and give advice, perhaps show some new techniques we learned that others don't know about. It just seems that if knitting becomes second nature then we can multitask.

Spread the word ~ make your own knitting groups, but we are the original!

-Andrew

Third post ! :)

Hi, my name's Diane ! This will be my first ever blog post as well !

So, the hobby we have decided on is knitting. I think this is quiet a challenge because I have never knitted in my life.  But you know what? I think its about time I give knitting a go :) Find out what's so special about knitting that I hear everyone going on about ! Who knows? I might just as well be a natural ! :P

To kick off this activity, I've been looking at different types of design and colours for the scarf I plan to make. I was thinking of a a mix of dark and cool colours to suit our autumn weather here in Australia. Something similar to this picture I found on the net.

Black, grey and brown are just about the right colours for Autumn I think ! Now off to go buy supplies ! :)

- Diane Abinoja - 

Our Second Post! Finally!

This is officially my first blog post in my life! haha I'd thought it'd be more exciting, but fair enough. I can MAKE it exciting. 

Well, my name's David, and knitting isn't my thing. So we (as a group) decided to try it anyway...

Today I went shopping. Yes. Shopping. Shopping at spotlight for all my knitting goodies. Like the NEEDLES and YARN. and I'm fairly excited about doing something NEW. ..(oh and on a side note, I just realised I write words in CAPITALS when i try to emphasise something.. lol thats random).. but anyway.

The colours I chose were RED and a Yarn with WHITE, BLACK and GREY, all mixed together. The reasons I chose these colours was.... NOTHING. It was random. i went into the store and these were the first two i picked up... Hopefully they look like awesome scarves, after I'm done making them. 

That's all from me tonight. Hopefully I will have started this daunting task by next week. 

-David Han-

Our first post! Finally!

Yay! We've finally kicked off our ISYS100 Assignment 2 blog (this one) after a lot of discussion. Since this is the first post, I'll be talking about what we plan to do with this blog.

Basically, we will bee researching a hobby (just one!) - knitting!! Sounds boring, right? But it's really quite difficult to do. The four of us, Andrew, David, Diane and I (Rina), have decided to try out knitting and will be posting/blogging about our experience and opinions as we progress along.
So, in every post, we'll show you what we did and what we think about knitting. Sounds simple, right? Or not. So, keep checking our blog or add us on our twitter account (awesumfoursum) to get tweets on our blog updates!

Each post will be accompanied by a picture of our progress in knitting, or what we did. Overall, we want to use this blog to look something like a research journal (if you know what I mean), where we take up a project (knitting), and then write our opinions on it.

If you need some kind of visual aid of our storyboard, and what we plan to do with it in the future, here's a picture for you:

And that's basically it! If you didn't understand what I just explained, please pardon me, since I'm still a beginner at blogging (Yes. Can you tell I'm not tech-savvy and have limited vocabulary?). But don't give up on this blog just yet. I can almost guarantee that it'll be absolutely interesting - only one way to find out. That's if, you keep checking this blog! =)


-Rina Chiew-