Welcome!

Greetings to all of you who have stumbled across my humble blog, I hope you enjoy it.  I've decided to take the leap into blog-dom because 1) I have a bit more time on my hands lately; b) I'd like to share my ideas with all of you; III) I may even be able to learn a thing or two from you out there; and 5) I couldn't think of a decent #4.

Allow me to start off by letting you know a little about me:

My friends have been calling me Dizzy since high school.  For those of you who have seen Starship Troopers in all of it's horrible glory, you may understand.  For those that haven't, imagine your typical red-head with attitude, extra guts-and-glory on the side -- you'll start to get the picture.  Also, go watch Starship Troopers.

My grandmother taught me to knit when I was maybe seven?  Just simple garter stitch, nothing fancy -- I'm not sure if I was a bad student, or she was a bad teacher, but I never quite got past the basics.  Pretty much the only thing I could make was scarves, as evidenced by my collection.

I honestly own more scarves than any normal, sane person should.  Maybe that tells you something else about me...

My foster-Mom used to do needlepoint, and I remember she used to let me "help" when I was little by organizing her threads by color.  I used to watch her work, but I don't remember ever really learning.  In fact, I never even thought about taking it up myself.

So basically, growing up, I was a non-skilled knitter with no other real crafty-like inclinations.  Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked...or no, wait, that was something else.  Actually, a couple of years ago I discovered a few of my friends were really into knitting, and it prompted me to pick up the needles again.  Suddenly, knitting isn't just for grannies anymore!  (Okay, I may have thought this at one point...)

When I found out last fall that I was expecting, I suddenly had an excuse to get crafty.  I finally moved past the basics, thanks to a good friend of mine -- and a stranger on the train, who taught me to purl.  I learned some new stitches and skills -- and made up what I couldn't find a how-to guide for on Google -- and managed to knit up a darling blanket for my little girl.  And it turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so.

Since then, I just can't get enough.  It's become an addiction.  I'm constantly trying new things with my knitting, pushing myself to pick up new skills.  When I found some super-cute crochet patterns online, I taught myself to crochet, too.  And, I even picked up needlepoint, because it reminds me so much of my foster-Mom (she passed away a couple of years ago).  Suddenly, I'm a crafting fiend!  Nothing in the 'verse can stop me!

Anyways, the reason I've started this blog is not just to show off what I've made (which would be rather self-centered, in my opinion), but to walk through how it was made -- any difficulties I had, any tips and tricks I picked up -- to pass on to someone else who might be trying to learn, too.  I'm still figuring a lot of this out for myself, and learning is always more fun when you share it with others.

Enjoy, and safe stitching!