Reflection 7: Spring Break

Over spring break I went on a VERY LONG car ride all the way down to Disney World. With the 20 hours I had stuck in a car i did a bunch of things and one of those things included knitting, a lot of knitting. With all this extra time I just made a brave decision to try and experiment with different stitches and patterns that just came to me. I mean this sounded like a great idea at first but it was very hard to come up with your own stitches off the top of your head. This served of great practice however I did make some pretty cool patterns. I didn't exactly make something, just a very long inconsistent piece of cloth. I'm having a hard time finish things just because of the amount of time each item takes, but when I do finish it, the feeling of accomplishment is pretty cool.

Reflection: Progress (reflection 2 photos)

1st photo: Second complete project week 2

2nd photo: First complete project week 1

reflection 5

This week I explored YouTube for new knitting advice and techniques. I came across a video that really helped me with joining 2 balls or yarn together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy__eVIDshE

After trying this over and over with the same colored yarn I tried to add a different color to my rectangle. While looking for patterns I came across a video that simplified a way to add beads to my project. I really want to try it and become more familiar with the technique because I feel like adding beads is a cute way to add my own style into what I'm doing. Although I'm not good at switching the yarn yet, I do feel as though this is an easier method to make my designs more me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izVWM2QA75Q

reflection 4

Last week for 20 percent time I showed progress in my knitting techniques. It is very hard for me to find others that knit in school so I took a trip down to Joann's Fabric Store and asked some of the workers there for advice. She told me to try using a thicker fabric and to make my stitches much wider. By doing this I should be able accomplish making a scarf. I still can't figure out how to add new yarn (as in a different color) to my started projects but YouTube has been a lot of help.

reflection 3

A week ago I attempted to make a blanket for my egg baby with the yarn that I already had. I am not sure if I just became extremely tired of looking at the same yarn or if it was just to big but it was not easy to do. After I was already irritated with the blanket, I decided to start over. I bought new yarn and started as I normally do. Mid way I tried to use a different color but hadn't practiced enough yet and dropped a few stitches. Being the perfectionist that I am, I started over again. People keep telling me to just finish and do it all the way till the end but I've come to realize that the more I start over the more practice I get and I kind of like that.

Reflection 2

Two weeks ago I learned how to cast off a stitch. Unlike casting on a stitch, this was a lot harder for me. The videos I was using on YouTube were of no help and were making me a lot more confused than I already was. Finally, I just decided to go to someone I know. I went over my aunts house last number and her mother, Nana, helped me and showed me different techniques I could use. I chose the one I liked the most and with her help I finished my headband. I also took the time out to look up different stitches such as a moss stitch. I wanted to get knew yarn and attempt to make a blanket for my egg baby project.

Reflection 1 semester 2

This semester I started to knit! After buying my supplies and watching a ton of youtube videos, I started out my trying to do something simple; just one long patch. I ran into problems quickly when I realized that I was adding more stitches than I needed and I was also dropping stitches. After continuing till it could go completely around my head (I was going to make it into a headband) I started fresh & began the entire process again. Because I had gained so much practice with my first one, the second one became a simple task and I barely made mistakes. Below are my first and second attempts and the difference is crazy..
 

Week 3: Reflection

This week I finally created my blog! Obviously I've been working on coming up with and writing down a bunch of new recipes that I thought were pretty cool. Unfortunately I also have some recipes I hated and decided to write those down too just incase someone out there is also thinking about trying these awful things. My goal is to add these recipes to my new blog and also add cool tricks and tips I've learned along the way. Lately I started noticing how much more organized my food journal has become and how much easier eating clean is getting. However, again, weekends are soooo hard for me to keep up because I work and go out with my friends. I'm making it a priority to find solutions to this problem.

Reflection: Week 2

Although I was not in class on Friday, I put my own time in for 20%. All last week I took down notes on my weaknesses and strengths. I also wrote down any questions I had throughout each day. During my 20% time I looked up every single one of these questions. I also researched tips again, because after starting my process I started understanding clean eating blogs more. I took down my own recipes and tips and am hopefully starting a blog of my own this upcoming week. After a productive trip to Costco I realized eating healthy isn't bad at all, I never actually get hungry because I always have something to eat however, I think working at the mall will be my biggest obstacle. There is so many more options at work that are gross and processed than healthy and natural. It'll take more effort out of me to start packing my own lunch for work getting used to a new routine. This is all about self control and adaptation, and I can do it!

Reflection: Week 1

Throughout the last week, I did as much research as I possibly could to familiarize myself with the actual meaning of "clean eating". I did as much internet surfing as I could and read up on a good number of blogs and took down as many tips for beginners as I could. I found that although clean eating is a change in lifestyle, you can take gradual steps to that change. I also found a lot of encouraging sites. At first I thought it would be best to plan out a menu for my week, but later I realized that I should take everything step by step and slowly start substituting certain foods for others. For my upcoming week I decided it would be best to start with wheat products since I think that's what I tend to eat the most of. I also decided (based on my research) that I need to cut off eating unhealthy food from restaurants completely. This will be my "task" for the week and all I can ask for is luck!