DIY Life

I have decided that in the spirit of DIY and all that entails I should learn how to knit. Knitting wasn't something my mom or grandmother did and therefore I want to do it. Its just something that I thought would be fun to learn. I also thought you, our readers, might enjoy a peek into the saga that is sure to ensue from me muddling my way through learning to knit.

I began my knitting journey yesterday at Michaels craft store in the knitting aisle. Having never knitted at all before, I had no idea what I was looking for other than a book. I wanted something that made this whole thing easy for me and didn't cost too much. I found something that I thought would fit the bill. A book that came with needles and some other stuff that looked interesting and mysterious. I also grabbed some inexpensive yarn that I wouldn't feel bad about destroying but was also a nice color if I did manage to make something.

I took my book/starter kit home and opened it. Only then did I realize that the book was published in 1987 with no style updates. By this I mean I will NEVER wear any of the sweaters and neither will anyone that I even remotely know. There are a couple of things I can make but if I want to make anything really good I'll have to find another book or other patterns.

Jodie, a fellow crafty blogger at Ric-Rac, made some fun, easy bracelets using plastic knitting needles and a pan of boiling water. Its a fun and fairly simple way to show your love for knitting or simply for cool and slightly wacky accessories.

By simply boiling the knitting needles to soften the plastic so that it is pliable, she was able to form them around a form to create a cool bracelet. This would make the perfect gift for your awesome and trendy friend that just happens to be a knitting freak.

She does warn that you may want to have a pan you set aside just for this project because the plastic may let chemicals into the pan. As crafters we are more than used to having extras of many things that are just for crafts so that shouldn't be a big deal should it?

The next time you are at your local craft store, pick up some plastic knitting needles and give this one a try. Have fun but be careful since this does involve boiling water and hot plastic.