Skill + 1UP

Day Two: 29th March. Skill + 1UP.
2KCBWDAY2

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

Last year was soo full with getting my book done, but I did still manage to learn a new knitting skill  - 2 actually. I have a friend who has arthritis in her hands and although she still manages to knit, forming purl stitches hurts so we (Heidi of Heidi Bears and I) set off on a mission to find a way for my friend to purl in a different way that won't hurt her hands and in the process learnt a few new ways to form purl stitches ourselves.

The first was the Norwegian Purl stitch. The method of forming the purl stitch differs from our usual method because the yarn is kept at the back of the knitting. Here is a link to a vidio tutorial which explains it far better than I could in words.

The second method we learnt was a whole different way of knitting - Portugese knitting. The yarn stayed in front of the needle for the purl stitch and for the knit stitch! Here is a link to  a video tutorial that explains how to knit this way.Instead of holding the yarn in your hands, tensioned with your fingers, it is fed through a  safety pin attached to your clothing just below your shoulder or it can go around your neck. The stitches are formed by flicking the yarn around the needle with you left thumb. It's really quick and there is very little movement so this was the method we showed my friend - who is very happy to be knitting more that garter stitch again.

HAPPY KNITTING