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My Filing Cabinet

filing seemingly useless information, quietly waiting to be useful

My Knitting Library

Welcome to My Knitting Library.

My first pair of knitting needles belonged to my elder sister. Here is a picture of it.

knitting needles

She attended a convent girls’ school that expected her to be a lady. This included knitting. To say she has no talent is an understatement. Her lack of talent aside, she was asked to knit, of all things, a pair of baby booties. How can a pair of booties be the right project for a beginner?

To cut the long story short, she wanted nothing to do with the needles after that year and so, I inherited it.

Learning to Knit

My late grandmother taught me how to craft. She knows how to cook, sew, crochet, and macramé. But, she does not know how to knit.

I have to pick up knitting on my own through reading knitting books (no Internet nor Youtube yet). My sources are mostly public libraries and bookstores.

Living in Singapore, a crossroad between the East and the West, meant that I have access to both Asian and Western knitting books. I was exposed early on to the Japanese tradition and they tend to use a lot of charts and symbols. The Chinese knitting books take after the Japanese but with much less information and bad illustrations. Western knitting books have more written instructions and pictures.

I also found that the names of the sizes of needles and yarn weights differ between the East and West. Quite confusing.

Abbreviations and diagrams in knitting books require “deciphering” too.

Knitting Fail!

Knitting supplies in Singapore can be quite expensive. I used the knitting needles my sister left me and the cheap pink acrylic yarn she bought for the baby booties to practise for a long time.

I finally had enough money to go to my local yarn store to buy enough yarn to make a blouse. I still remember the yarn: it is cotton and orange in colour. My mum was my first “customer“. I knitted a blouse for her using a Japanese pattern with a lace front. My finishing wasn’t very good, I must admit. My mum said she looked fat in it and so it got relegated to the bottom of a cupboard together with the knitting needles and yarn.

Ravelry

In the interim years, I tried out other types of crafts like sewing, crocheting and cross-stitching.

My knitting mojo came back when I stumbled upon Ravelry.com and met some really passionate and knowledgeable people in my vicinity as well as overseas. They introduced me to great yarns, nice needles and beautiful projects. Now, I knit more often. My projects can be seen in my Ravelry profile.

Knitting for the Tropics

I live in Singapore, a little tropical island in Southeast Asia. Winter knitting is not very appropriate or useful to me. I usually pick patterns that can be used in summer hot Singapore.

The Practical Knitter

I consider myself a practical knitter. I like knitting things that are useful, not just ornamental.

A Frogger and Tinker

I find that I frog and tinker a lot at the beginning of a project. I don’t know why I always make mistakes at the start of the project. But there are times that I just wanted to try out different methods to achieve a look I felt I can get.

Understandably, it takes me a much longer time to complete something.

Knitography

One of the more time-consuming activities of a knitter is looking for knitting patterns to knit. I started compiling and annotating knitting patterns that I come across that I find interesting and may someday knit.

Occupational hazard I guess. I am a librarian after all.

I also make notes of patterns that I have tried and sometimes I feel the need to re-write or fill in more details to make the instructions easier to follow.

I find WordPress a suitable way to post these compilations, annotations, and designs. So, my knitting library is born.

Thank you for reading my knitting story. How about you? What’s your knitting story?


10 Free Teddy Bear Knitting Pattern Ideas On The Internet

Posted on July 16, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe
10 Free Teddy Bear Knitting Pattern Ideas On The Internet
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for a teddy bear knitting pattern? Find 10 free project ideas here that have quirky construction, including teddies knitted in one piece.

24 Baby Hat Knitting Pattern Ideas Free on the Internet

Posted on July 15, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe
24 Baby Hat Knitting Pattern Ideas Free on the Internet
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In baby knitting patterns, free knitting patterns

Looking for a baby hat knitting pattern? Here are 24 ideas. The list starts with basic shapes and borders before moving on to cuter designs inspired by all sorts of things around us.

14 Fingerless Gloves Knitting Pattern Ideas You Should Try

Posted on July 15, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe
14 Fingerless Gloves Knitting Pattern Ideas You Should Try
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for a fingerless gloves knitting pattern? 14 ideas here covering a whole range of construction techniques, with and without thumb gussets.

Knitting the Hand Springs Fingerless Mitts By Micol Day

Posted on July 13, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe
Knitting the Hand Springs Fingerless Mitts By Micol Day
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In knitting projects

Knitting notes on the Hand Springs Fingerless Mitts by Micol Day, a free fingerless glove pattern.

5 Shrug Knitting Pattern Ideas Free On the Net

Posted on June 21, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
5 Shrug Knitting Pattern Ideas Free On the Net
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for a shrug knitting pattern? These five are selected for their simple design and use of different textured stitches.

7 Free Knitting Patterns for Slippers

Posted on June 21, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
7 Free Knitting Patterns for Slippers
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for free knitting patterns for slippers? The first five slipper patterns use garter stitch because it produces a thick squishy texture.

How to Knit a Bunny with these 10 Knitting Patterns

Posted on June 21, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
How to Knit a Bunny with these 10 Knitting Patterns
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

How to knit a bunny you ask? Learn with these 10 free knitting patterns for rabbits.

Make Knitted Owls From These 7 Owl Knitting Patterns

Posted on June 21, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
Make Knitted Owls From These 7 Owl Knitting Patterns
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for knitted owls? These 7 owl knitting patterns are arranged from easy to advanced.

9 Dog Sweaters Knitting Patterns Free On The Internet

Posted on June 21, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
9 Dog Sweaters Knitting Patterns Free On The Internet
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for free dog sweaters knitting patterns? This collection is created either in a single piece or in 2 pieces: back and under-piece and then sewn together.

How to Knit Socks Successfully By Avoiding These 3 Mistakes

Posted on June 21, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
How to Knit Socks Successfully By Avoiding These 3 Mistakes
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Learn how to knit socks first before attempting your first sock knitting pattern. Avoid making the mistakes I did.

When is Knitting a Tension Square a Good Idea

Posted on June 21, 2020January 2, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
When is Knitting a Tension Square a Good Idea
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In knitting instructions

Knitting a tension square is quite a hassle so I want to find out why it is a good idea and how to do it easily.

How To Slip Slip Knit?

Posted on June 14, 2020January 2, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In knitting instructions

How to slip slip knit seems a straight forward question. Until I went digging around.

10 Balaclava Knitting Pattern Ideas from Children to Adults

Posted on June 14, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
10 Balaclava Knitting Pattern Ideas from Children to Adults
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for a balaclava knitting pattern? Find free patterns for children and adults. From purely functional to the quirky.

My Japanese Knot Bag Knitting Pattern Free and Easy!

Posted on June 7, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
My Japanese Knot Bag Knitting Pattern Free and Easy!
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In knitting designs

A Japanese knot bag is a small roundish bag with 2 handles. It is carried with one handle over the other to create an interesting asymmetry.

6 Baby Mittens Knitting Pattern Ideas Free on the Internet

Posted on May 30, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
6 Baby Mittens Knitting Pattern Ideas Free on the Internet
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In baby knitting patterns, free knitting patterns

Looking for a baby mittens knitting pattern? Here are 6 free ones.

5 Knit Diaper Cover Pattern Ideas Free on the Internet

Posted on May 24, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
5 Knit Diaper Cover Pattern Ideas Free on the Internet
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Looking for free knit diaper cover pattern ideas? Here are 5.

11 Free Poncho Knitting Patterns for Adults and Kids

Posted on May 24, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
11 Free Poncho Knitting Patterns for Adults and Kids
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

Compilation of poncho knitting patterns freely available on the Internet.

9 Cast Off Knitting Methods To Learn and Master

Posted on May 24, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
9 Cast Off Knitting Methods To Learn and Master
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In knitting instructions

How may cast off knitting methods are there? I found nine.

18 Knitting Cast On Methods To Learn and Master

Posted on May 24, 2020April 16, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
18 Knitting Cast On Methods To Learn and Master
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In knitting instructions

How many knitting cast on methods are there? I found 18.

How to Knit Baby Booties and 8 Cute Knitting Patterns

Posted on April 17, 2020January 1, 2021 by Phoebe Lim
How to Knit Baby Booties and 8 Cute Knitting Patterns
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In baby knitting patterns, free knitting patterns

How to knit baby booties you ask? By practising with these 8 knitting patterns.

How To Knit Flowers With These 10 Flower Knitting Patterns

Posted on July 20, 2018January 1, 2021 by Phoebe
How To Knit Flowers With These 10 Flower Knitting Patterns
Posted In My Knitting LibraryTagged In free knitting patterns

A guide on how to knit flowers with 10 flower knitting patterns.

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My Filing Cabinet

filing seemingly useless information, quietly waiting to be useful

My Knitting Designs

  • My Hobo Bag Knitting Pattern Free and Easy
  • My Japanese Knot Bag Knitting Pattern – Free and Easy
  • My Pretty Ring Bag Knitting Pattern
  • My Purse Knitting Pattern Using Sock Yarn
  • My Sturdy Cable Bag Knitting Pattern With Aran Cables

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