Recovery Knitting

Recovery knitting (or crocheting, I love both) is what you do in a desperate attempt to keep your hands busy and prevent yourself from doing things you shouldn't, like clean, pick up stuff, cook.... whatever your not suppose to do the second week after abdominal surgery. (If interested in that whole saga check out my other blog, Redplaid Time)

It is indulgent knitting; knitting only what you want, what fills your need for creativity and colour. For example: I should be knitting up the arms of Cheesy Love (from knitty.com), the orange, cotton sweater I started at the beginning of the summer. Instead I bought a fluffy, sparkly yarn, Red Heart Twinkle, in variegated orange, purple and yellow, broke out my precious Briggs and Little wool and knit up two little purses for my girls.

It is also free spirit knitting; no pattern, just making it up as you go and if you make a mistake, like pick up to many stitches or not enough you just say “I meant to do that” and carry on.

Purse one: knit with one strand of bright orange wool and one strand of Twinkle held together. I knit the bottom flat with just the wool and then picked up around the edges with the Twinkle added and knit up. Two rows shy of the top I added holes for a handle to be thread through. The holes are simple yarn over, knit two together stitches in each corner. I gave it a book-like shape; the front and back are wide and the sides very skinny. I added idiot cord around the top and washed it in hot water to felt it. The felting makes a purse with no little holes in it for pens and lip-gloss to leak out and the fuzzy yarn POPS.

Purse two: using the same principle as purse one and purple wool this one came out smaller and more square shaped. I didn’t bother with the idiot cord top and added a flap. I simply cast off on three sides and kept knitting up the forth side. After about 10 rows of stocking stitch I started knitting two together at each end until I had three stitches left, knit one, knit two together and slipped knit stitch over. I left a long end and cut the yarn. Didn’t bother with a closure, instead I threaded on some beads and tied it off. It is in the wash now. I hope the beads don’t catch in the knitting. This IS experimental. Fun stuff!