Secret Pal Exchange

I've joined the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange with my friend Beth. I thought that it would keep my knitting interest up over the summer without being too demanding.

The premise is simple. You get paired with a secret pal. In the month of June, you send your pal a single skein of yarn with an explanation of why you chose it. Do the same in July. In August, send your secret pal something you knitted or crocheted with a single skein of yarn. In turn, your pal will do the same for you.

It is rather inexpensive (you will only purchase 3 skeins total) and you will receive 3 skeins in return. It will be like Christmas in summer receiving all that *secret* yarn!

I may work from the book, Oneskein, making alterations to existing patterns, but perhaps once I learn more about my secret pal, I will decide differently. My secret pal is from California, by the way. I am looking forward to the fab things we will exchange!

I've stolen Beth's copy and already made a pair of "footies" from it, which are essentially 'slipper socks'. They were my first ever completed socks, and I am so proud. I promise to post pics soon!

Double Moss Stitch

Cast on 36 stitches
(this version of moss stitch requires a multiple of 4 stitches)

Row 1: K2, P2 all the way to the end
Row 2: P2, K2 all the way to the end
Row 3: P2, K2 all the way to the end
Row 4: K2, P2 all the way to the end

Repeat rows 1-4

Good practice for:

• remembering to bring your yarn to the front when switching from knit to purl stitch
• remembering to bring your yarn to the back when switching from purl to knit stitch
• keeping track of rows
• reading stitches (knowing when to knit or purl without counting)

Double moss stitch looks like:

Knitting Against Cancer

This is not my idea, but was brought to the group by Lisa.

Lisa's Mim knits squares to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society. The Cancer Society then uses them to make blankets as comfort items to give to cancer patients.

While our group has not really contributed yet, this might be a good time to start. It would be a really good way to do good in the community as well as improving our knitting skills.

Here are the rules:

• Knit your square with #7 needles (4 1/2 mm).

• Square must be 35 stitches wide and 35 rows long.

We can post interesting patterns and new stitches to learn in this section of the blog for others to use.

Other Charitable Knitting:

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation: Knit for the Cure

Humble beginnings

Thanks to Debbie Stoller's icebreaking "Stitch 'n Bitch," social knitting has not only become acceptable, but dare I say "cool."

Combined with trendy blogging, knitting is cooler than ever. But we're not in it for the prestige. Sharing, learning, bragging, bitching. These are our mandates.