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