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Wednesday, March 21, 2007 In this Issue: - Spring has sprung - Slip Stitch Knitting - A great Forum to visit for Craft, Recipes, Tips etc. Hello Everyone, Happy first day of Spring! Soon my daffodils will be peeking out through the soil and in bloom and I will be able to get back out into my garden. I love gardening as much as I love crafts. I would suppose that gardening could be considered a "craft" or "hobby". I think it's much more a "craft" than a "hobby" as you have to learn all the tips and tricks in order to have a beautiful vegetable or flower garden. But, even crafts are hobbies, so I guess I'll give up on trying to define it...lol I am working on a new knitted slipper pattern that was inspired by Melinda's post on my forum titled "Slip stitch designs!!!" Melinda just discovered this method, and I just did too from reading her post! Melinda said, "I just discovered the method of using slipped stitches for making two color designs instead of fair isle style work where you carry the yarn behind. Slipped stitch work doesn't come out so thick and heavy and also retains its stretchiness." This really caught my attention. To be able to use two colors to create beautiful designs and not have to carry the yarn across the rows sounded like something I would like to try too. I learned that the design appears to look complicated, but it is actually very easy. I like EASY! :) It's as easy as knitting simple strips in two colors, but you slip a few stitches on the row where you would normally knit with the other color. This brings the color up to the next row and creates a very pretty design. Plus, you do not use as much yarn in the project. Melinda was looking for slip stitch designs to knit, so I set out to find some for her. There are not many free online, but I did find some that I have listed below. (I want to remind you that my newsletter provider, GetResponse, encrypts the links to make them shorter so they won't break onto another line and be unclickable. Some of these links were very long!) Amazon has a book about it Slip-Stitch Knitting: Color Pattern the Easy Way By Roxana Bartlett Checkered Slip Stitch Dishcloth Slip Stitch Sampler Jacket. - This is at Freepatterns.com - scroll down and you may have to login to get it. Just create a free account if you don't already have one. Chinese Tapestry Slip Stitch Hat. (I see I made a mistake in that link when I posted it on my forum. This link here should work!) In my searches, I found out that Slip Stitch Knitting is also called Mosaic Knitting. Mosaic Knitting is another term for Slip Stitch Knitting, coined by Barbara G. Walker in her book first published in 1976. This revised edition includes 116 new charted mosaic designs to complement the 157 charted designs featured in the original edition. I found two patterns online for Mosaic Knitting: These two are samplers, that you can work into another pattern. But I know many do not like to try to do that, so I am working on my first Slip Stitch design, it's something easy. I am designing Knitted Slip Stitch Slippers. It is an easy pattern that may look complicated but it's not at all. I am doing it in black and white so the design will show up good in the photo when it's completed, but the color combinations you could use are most likely unlimited. I will let you know when that pattern is ready. Then I may try a mitten pattern and whatever else I get inspired to design. A Great Forum to Visit: When you have the time, drop on over to Inner Connections. This is a wonderful forum. You will feel right at home! This forum has been around for a long time and has a lot of great information. There are a lot of sub forums there. The craft tips and information are in the "Our Country Kitchen". There you can share information and discuss Recipes, Diet, Home, Gardening, and Crafts. There are threads about "Crock Pot Dinners", "Look Good, Feel Great", "Thrifty Tips", "Beading and Jewelry Making", "Quilting", etc. I have a thread there about crochet as well. "The Healing Gardens" forum has a lot of good health tips and alternative healing methods and home remedies. There are also a lot of other forums where you can discuss different topics and read all the tips and inspirations. There is even a forum where you can talk about your "Pampered Pets". I know many crafters do pamper their pets and make a lot of neat knitted and crocheted items for them, so this would be a great place to talk about all the cute things your pets do and get tips on how to keep them healthy and safe. So stop by and check it out. Drop into the "Country Cafe" and say "hi" to let us know you are there. You will get a warm greeting! I am "CrochetSue" there and the Admin is someone I knew before on another forum and got to know much better at her forum. She's a great lady. By the way, her name is "Sue" too, SAR01 at the forum. The link again is "Inner Connections" http://pub26.ezboard.com/binnerconnections That is all for today. Sincerely,
Sue Norrad |