Crafting Injury

A few months ago, I developed tendinitis in my right wrist. Do you realize how frustrating this is for a crafter?!
It makes it hard to do any kind of crafting; knitting, crochet, scrapbooking, jewelry, even typing can be painful at times.
I finally had to put all my supplies away, so that they wouldn't be a temptation. On Monday, I got out a little bit of knitting, just to test out my wrist. It HAD been 2 months since I put the supplies away. But, after 5 minutes, I knew that I would be regretting my decision. So, it is back to nothing. I have been doing a lot of reading lately. Oh, well.
I am a little worried that this might mean the end of crafting as I know it. But the doctor keeps reassuring me that I need to give it 3-6 months. Okay.

Knitty.com's New Issue

One of my favorite knitting websites is Knitty.com. There are always great patterns and articles to read and try. Their site is easy to read and navigate. The patterns are created by the knitty community, so even you or I could contribute. I just love it.

Knitty just put out their new summer issue. There are some great patterns that will inspire you to get into the summer spirit. Happy Knitting!

Mighty Life: Things to Do Before I Go:

I recently read Maggie Mason's blog, Mighty Girl. On her blog, she has a list of things she wants to do yet in her life. It has inspired me to write my own list. My list is still in the beginning stages, but you can see what I wrote on the bottom right-hand side of my blog.

Maggie would love to read yours too. Make your own Mighty Life List, and send your URL to maggie@mightygirl.net with the subject "Mighty Life".

How to Knit

There are many resources on the internet on how to... I myself spent many hours searching and learned to knit and crochet from these. I thought that it would be a good idea to share my knowledge with all of you.

The first site I went to was Knitting.About.com. It gives detailed, but easy-to-understand instructions. They also have a wealth of free patterns to learn from.

Another one that was really helpful was FreePatterns.com. This one was great for all different types of crafts; like sewing, quilting, crochet, cross-stitch and tatting. Also, if you are looking for conversion charts or how to substitute yarn; this site is great, too.

Now, for learning the terms and abbreviations, go to knitting-crochet.com. What a lifesaver this one was for me.

So, now you know the techniques and terms and you want to start on your very first "real" project. Not just another scarf or potholder. Here is my list of favorite sites for free (but still quite trendy) patterns:

FreePatterns.com
Knitting.About.com
Berrocco.com
Lionbrand.com
Knitty.com
Bernat.com
Craftown.com
Michaels.com

I hope this information is helpful to you on your journey to learn how to knit. Knitting is definitely one of my favorite forms of crafting. Good luck.

BlogHer.com

I have joined a group of bloggers called BlogHer.com. BlogHer is the blogging community for women! We invite you to join us to gain additional exposure for your blogs and your ideas, (that's our mission). With more than 13,000 members and 10,000 blogs on our blog list, we're all working together to create a community that is fun, informative and supportive.

New Changes

I have been updating my blog. Thanks to Bloggrrl for all the great tips. I should have my blog updated in the next day or two. She posted about several different ways to drive traffic to your blog and update it.

http://bloggrrl.com/blog141/a-very-long-list-of-ways-to-get-blog-traffic/
http://bloggrrl.com/blog141/5-things-to-do-for-your-blog-in-5-minutes/