The T-shirt design is in, and the shirts are on sale now! The last day for orders is Nov. 8, so don't wait.
Just click this link and place your order now!
Becki
New members, welcome.
This blog is set up for you to post questions, comments, and conversations! Use it to your full advantage. To sign up for posting, email me at TwstdStitches@aim.com.
Becki
Hi guys,
I hope your summer is going well. I just thought we should start planning for quad day. I believe quad day is the 21st (the tuesday before classes start). I was just wondering who whould be willing to take a shift. :)
i know how much free time we all have, but the following was sent to me by a coworker... i was thinking we should do something for it next year (even if i'm not around... *tear*):-
For all you knitters out there, here's a simple project that you can make that
would make a homeless kitty very happy.
Instructions for making mats for the cats at the Humane Society.
Mats may vary in size and shape from 6" square to 20" square, or
rectangular or whatever shape. Yarn must be machine washable and
machine dryable (no wool). The mats may be knitted or crocheted, any
color, any number of mistakes (!), any pattern. A lady from my quilt
guild uses a garter stitch with a small needle to make the mats firm
and thick.
There is a continuing need for mats.
--think about it... you can try out a new pattern or idea before jumping into a whole complicated project, and feel good about yourself when you donate it
Hi everyone,
Just throwing this one out there. If anyone has drawings/photos/phrases, post 'em!
I figure this would be on the back, and then "Knitting Illini" would be on the front small at the top.
Thoughts, questions, suggestions, just comment.
Becki
PS-- Also, if you go to www.cafepress.com and search "knit", there are a lot of ideas there.
As requested, I'm putting the pattern for the K.I. pins up so people can start making them for Quad Day in August.
You can use scrap yarn, or you can buy a skein and make a whole bunch out of it.
For mine, I used a leftover skein of sportweight yarn on US 2 needles.
Materials:
few yards Sport Weight Yarn
1 set US 2 needles
1 extra large safety pin
needlepoint needle (yarn needles work too)
contrasting color embroidery floss (or another color yarn, Sport)
CO 15 sts.
K 20 rows st st.
BO 1 st. and weave in end, leaving sts. on needles.
Take a large (almost diaper pin sized) safety pin and carefully unwind the metal so the loop is open. Slide the sts onto the safety (all the way around to the other side) and then rewind the loop. (It's okay if it doesn't look as perfect as before you unwound it.) Close pin.
For the KI, you'll need to thread the embroidery floss onto your needle and attach the yarn to the back side of the knitting. Stitch the letters on and secure the ends.
Viola! Knitting Illini Pins! If you need help figuring out the KI part, just ask, and I'll help you out, but I'm confident you all can figure it out! Good luck!
Binding Off.
Becki
Since I have no life, and I feel like doing Nicole a favor, I've copied her Facebook pictures of her Grandma's blanket and put them here for everyone to see.
(NOTE: This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Nicole doesn't usually get around to posting things online... ever... heehee, what can I say, I like to tease!)
Binding Off
Becki
Here is the blanket that I finished..I already gave it to my Grandma but I thought you guys might want to see it so here are some pictures!
I hope you like it :)
I always leave our meetings with this feeling like the world isn't such a bad place after all. Warm and fuzzy- that's all I can describe it as! You guys are great-- good people, with great stories and a sense of humor to match my own, and I'm glad to call you all my friends.
Enough of the mushy-gushy stuff, I have a pattern that some of you may be interested in. It's nothing fancy, but the yarn used is divine and they look really cool, too! (Yea, I mentioned them at Guiliani's) My sister has put up the pattern for her elbow length arm warmers. It can be found at PixiePurl, accompanied by a very beautiful photograph of the armwarmers. The sunlight hits them just so, and its-- well, it's incredibly artistic. And the kicker is that it was taken by my four-year-old niece! That girl never ceases to amaze me...
Anywho, I'll be getting the magazine with the Arwen sweater from home this weekend and shall come prepared with copies of the pattern for those interested next meeting. If you're that impatient (I would be), email me at TwstdStitches@aim.com and let me know. I'll email it to you so you can get a jump start on it.
Farewell for now! See you all soon.
Binding Off~~~ Becki
Hope everyone is having a great Spring Break!
Just a reminder, knitting classes start up the weekend after break ends, so if you know anyone or are planning to show up, email me at TwstdStitches@aim.com or Rschnei3@uiuc.edu. 
My friend Lori, modelling her Wanderlust Hoodie-- yay!
Don't forget to knit this week!
Becki @~~~}
PS- anyone who wants the Arwen sweater pattern, email me at one of the above addresses and I'll send it that way. Otherwise it's likely I'll forget again.
Ok, so I won't lie to you. I'm mostly making this post to see if my technologically-challenged self can actually make this work. But I'm also doing this to let you guys know that the new issue of Knitty is out! Yay! For those of you who don't know... shame on you... It's a free internet magazine (Webzine? maybe there's a snazzy name for it, I don't know) with all sorts of great patterns. Check it out. It's address is www.knitty.com
Also, anyone who wants to make me the space invaders socks is more than welcome. :)
I was talking about this idea I had at KI tonight, and Allison prodded me to share it with those of you who were absent for various reasons. The idea was this:
Next semester, or whenever new members join, we have them design a 12x12 (or some such measurement) square to knit up. Then, when we have enough of them, we can stitch them together and make a KI blanket, which we can add too over the years, or whatever. If you like the idea, post a comment and let me know! I just thought it would be a neat little initiation type thing for newcomers. Existing members would be welcome to make their own as well, of course!
Something else that came up in knitting was the request for the Cardigan for Arwen sweater pattern. Now, as I'm pretty sure it would be a major faux pas to put it on the internet, I will make copies for those who are interested and bring them to the next meeting. If you're interested, there is a Knit-A-Long especially for this sweater. There is a link to it on my blog- ThreeTwistedStitches- on the sidebar. It's the one with the picture of Arwen- you may not be able to read the font, but it says Arwen KAL on it. It's a really nice sweater, with a double cable on it, and its a lot of fun. The only challenge on the original pattern is the cabling, and that is simple enough once you get the hang of it. I'm adding a tree pattern on the back because straight st st (stockinette stitch) just kills me. If you are interested in getting a copy of the pattern, please leave a comment and let me know. That way next week I come prepared.
I just started this sweater, so if people decide that they want to do it, we can coach eachother along the way and fix any problems that creep up. See you all next week!
Becki
PS- for those who were at knitting, the font type that I used on this blog was "trebuchet." I thought it was fitting, no? Haha!
This Friday is the opening of the movie 300--- anyone who is interested in going can find out information and showtimes at www.fandango.com. If you'd like to join us, let us know what showtimes would work best for you!
<----------As you can see, I added a few new things to the sidebar. The WIP links (Works in Progress) can be linked to photos of the projects people are working on. If you have a photobucket account, or know how to upload through imageshack.us, it's simple. If you're still figuring out the controls of Blogger, you can email me the link to the photo (or the photo itself, and I can upload it) along with your name and the name of the project. I will put up a link on that side bar, and when they are finished, we can take photos of the completed projects and post them in the other new addition: Finished Projects.
You might have noticed that my name appears A LOT on this page. Don't worry, I'm not that full of myself. As soon as people start posting their own pictures on here, the blog will look more like a group blog rather than solely mine- so join! Post! Enjoy!
See you at Guiliani's!
Becki
Hello All! It is a wonderful, class-free snow day! It is a day to go down in history. Did you know that this is the first declared snow-day for UIUC since 1977?! Whew! You'll never believe what I just saw out my window... there was a pick-up truck, pulling behind them a person sitting on a sled! Ha! Man, that would be so much fun...
I was thinking about starting up some knitting classes for those to wish to learn, or for those who already know how to knit, but want to learn more advanced techniques (intarsia and cabling, for example). I'd do it for free for the current KI members. Others would be $12-$15 per hour (I haven't decided which yet), plus the cost of supplies (yarn, needles, etc.)
At the moment, location is in my building in the downstairs lounge. If anyone is interested in either learning new techniques or helping out w/ teaching, email me. So far I have a few interested parties, and hopefully they will come through.
I will see some of you on Wednesday! Brave the snow- coffee and knitting takes away the chills!
Becki
PS: Here's a few pictures of those members who showed up at the last meeting!
Welcome to the Knitting Illini blog!
Becoming a member is simple, although you do have to sign up for a blogger account first.
If you're not interested in keeping up another blog, don't worry. You just have to create a blog and you can leave it inactive. This is simply so that you can join the Knitting Illini blog, and therefore add your own posts, etc.
To join, go to Blogger.com, and scroll down until you see the "create your blog" button. Follow the instructions. Then revisit this site and post a comment on this post requesting to be added.
Voila! Anyway, this is just getting started. I have my own knitting blog that you can visit, if you'd like. The template can be editted, and if any of you know more about html than I do (which isn't hard to do) you're welcome to work on it. Just let me know!
Hope to see you all soon!
Becki
