Hello,
I finally remembered that I had a blog that I had abandoned for way too long.  It is funny how our lives change and evolve and sometimes in the chaos, good things get left behind and forgotten.  Suddenly life throws things at you that get you all revved up again and so here I am.  Now that is said, I am ready to share a great way to get FREE patterns and info on knitting.

Do you have an E-reader?  A NookColor is my reader of choice but Kindles are great too.  Kindle e-books are sold on Amazon.com.  I have recently found some great FREE knitting books that you can download (yes you can download them for free).  

You say you don't have a Kindle?  Neither do I and my NookColor is not compatible with the Amazon e-files (bummer).  But that hasn't stopped me from taking advantage of getting free e-books.  You can download for FREE (I love that word),  the Kindle reader for PC and other devices>  Free Kindle Reading Apps
Download and read Kindle books on your favorite device--no Kindle required.
Kindle Reading Apps: Kindle Cloud Reader | PC | Mac | Android | iPhone | BlackBerry | iPad |Windows Phone 7

I have the reading app for PC, but if I had a smart phone or iPad I would definitely download the reader onto them too.  I take my knitting and knitting patterns every where with me.  With my laptop and the PC Kindle reader, I can read off line when ever I don't have WiFi (yes I actually go places and spend time away from my WiFi, it isn't easy but if I plan ahead, I don't miss it too much).  That is the reason that I stick with the PC reader and don't go to the Kindle Cloud Reader.  But they are all good and you can choose the one that works best for you.  Now what you've been waiting for....the rest of the FREE STUFF!

Start your search at Amazon.com and in the search box at the top of their page choose the Kindle store from the little drop down box, then plug in the word knitting.  Another drop box will come down with lots of choices so click on the one you are most interested in.  I just left the word knitting in the search box and clicked go...that brought up a lot of choices.  The next thing you want to do to find the free stuff is look to the right of the page and find the "Sort by" drop down box.  Click it and choose the filter "Price: Low to High".  This brings up all the things that are FREE first.

Prepare to be amazed!  There are quite a few patterns that are absolutely free.  If you love very old patterns you will really LOVE LOVE LOVE this because there are a lot of them for free.  Be aware though that the method that they use to change the printed book to the e-book form has a few little quirks that you have to look past or figure out.  Also the really old patterns have language and abbreviations that you might find hard to understand...but hey, it's FREE and could be a great learning experience (it is for me, I enjoy the challenge).  If you don't find something you like for free, there are also some for very low prices.  Also you might enjoy some mysteries written by and about knitters, I enjoy them too.

You can also go to Barns and Noble.com and start the process all over again and see what they have for free.  They are the one that sells the NookColor reader.  I don't think they have the free reader app downloads like Amazon but if you have a reader that you can download PDF or EPUB files you should be able to download the free books.  That is why my NookColor was my choice over buying a Kindle,  because you can download any PDF or EPUB files and read them on your Nook.   With a Kindle I think you can only download books from Amazon.  The way technology changes so fast, that might not still be true so always do your research.

Your local public library is also a good source of free patterns.  Have you checked out (no pun intended) your library's electronic books?  My library has books that download for Kindles and also books that are PDF and EPUB files that I can download to my NookColor.  

There are lots of great ways to find FREE patterns...just "google" for free knitting patterns online or go "yard sale-ing" for hard coppies and pick up a box of magazines for a dollar (that's almost free).  If you want to read them on your e-reader, you can scan them and save the file as a PDF then download to your e-reader.  

Life is a challenge sometimes to be able to have things that I love without spending money that I don't have.  The electronic age is making this a lot easier now with all the things you can find on-line.  Also the lack of space used to be a problem for me but now I can store soooooooooo many patterns on a flash drive and be able to find them with an easy file system.  Boy is that a life saver!

Oh I almost forgot to mention a new craze out there on the web... PINTEREST.

If you would like to follow me on Pinterest you can find me as Sue Solana.  

Done for Easter!!

This may be a first so mark this date.... well maybe not a first but I don't do it very often. What am I talking about, you ask? Finishing a project on time, actually two days to spare. The In the Green Sweater that I started on March 23rd, yes of this year, is finished, completely, even sewn together (sometimes things will sit in wait to be sewn together because I dread it soooo much)



In the Green Sweater pattern from Creative Knitting Magazine July 2008

I am very pleased with the finished project.  This pattern has taught me more than I expected.  I like to learn new things but I was surprised that one simple pattern could teach me so much.

I learned the pattern stitch, wildflower knot, is a simple but very nice stitch result.
At first it reminded me of the bauble stitch but not near as puffy. Then as the pattern continues through the sweater it almost looks like a cable stitch from a distance.  Just a very pleasing effect indeed. 

Also I learned to crochet backwards.  Well that is what you do  but it is called reverse single crochet.  I had never heard of or seen this before but what a beautiful result.  It is the finish stitch on the neckline.



Reverse single crochet neck finish

It has a beaded or rope look to it.  I will definitely be using this stitch again. 

You may notice that the pattern has longer sleeves than my sweater.  I did alter the sleeves.  I knew when I started that I wanted the sleeves to be shorter so I did not follow the pattern sleeve directions.  Instead I just followed the armhole shaping directions after I had knit in ribbing and pattern stitch for the length I wanted the sleeve to be.

The only draw back to this sweater is that it is very heavy when finished.  I don't know what I expected but I swear it is heavier than the skeins of yarn that made it.  Is that possible???  That isn't a problem for most wearings of it but my first wearing was going to be for Easter Sunday and with the glorious HOT (90 degree) weather we are having hear in FL I might be a little warmish if I step out of the air-conditioning.

I learned one more thing from this project, not from the pattern itself but when it came time to sew it all together I went for help.  I have never enjoyed the hand sewing part of finishing a garment of any kind (one of the reasons that I never got into quilting).  It is was because I always made a mess of it.  I do many things well but hand sewing isn't one of them.  So I went for help this time, to my Tips and Tricks page and watched the video Seaming a set-in Sleeve.  It helped so much that I am never going to let something sit unfinished again just because I don't want to sew it together.

I really feel this is a simple pattern, very easy that anyone with the basics of knitting could do.  But it was also such a learning experience for me even though I consider myself an experienced knitter.  I learned that I can finish a project in a timely manor if I just apply myself, and I learned that one can always learn something new if we keep an open mind.

TTFN 

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Charity Projects Done

Today I finished the last of my charity crocheting projects.  I will probably start another project later in the year but for now I will concentrate on my WIP and start to think about Christmas gifts.

I started two projects last month that I feel are very worthy causes.  One is making baby blankets for Bernat Cares, and the other is making 6X6 or 12X12 squares for On-Line Angels.  The Bernat website has info and free patterns for all different charities for you to choose from.  I chose the Project LInus Blanket Drive.  The On-Line Angels information I got from SmoothFox Crochet and Knit blog where you can also choose from 3 patterns that she will send you if you join in on the project.  Right now On-Line Angels is also having a baby booties drive.

For the Bernat Cares/Project Linus Blanket Drive, I chose to use a simple continuous granny square pattern.  I used some scraps of leftover yarn that was all acrylic and had the little blanket (approximately 36 - 38 inches) done in no time. 



Granny Square Baby Blanket



The crochet squares for On-Line Angels are also made of scrap yarn that is also all acrylic.  They request that you use only acrylic because they take all the different squares and sew them together and make blankets.  What a job that would be.  I don't know why but I have never liked sewing all the squares together. I prefer to crochet them together as I go.  I loved just making the squares though it seemed so quick.  I just picked up a hook and some yarn when I got tired of knitting and made  two or three 6X6 squares  then I would go back to knitting.   Before I knew it I had 25 squares.  They have requested the squares be sent before the end of April so tomorrow I am sending them off to their new home to be joined with all the rest of the donated squares.



6X6 squares using the #3 pattern created by SmoothFox

I will also package up the baby blanket and send it off to the Linus Project. 

I have really enjoyed making these things.  As I sit and knit or crochet I always like to know that whatever object I am making has a purpose.  In doing these projects I can rest assured that someone, somewhere, will benifit from them and hopefully will be warmed inside and out by them and their heart touched so that they may make their own contirbutions to others, in their own way. 

I hope you will leave a comment and let me know what your charity projects are.

Colossians 3:12

 

Therefore, as Gods chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

 

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