Knitting Tips For Beginners

Never in my life did I think that I would learn, much less love, knitting. My mother taught my sister and I how to embroider and crochet when we were about 6 or 7, but I was always the messy one. I loved to cross stitch, but my work was never very neat, and I never got beyond crocheting small, ugly doilies. Knitting always seemed much cooler and more practical, but there was no way I could ever do it. No one in my family knew how to knit,and it looked even more complicated. When the kids were born, my mother in law knitted sweaters and blankets, but it all looked way too difficult for me.

This year, I finally decided to teach myself to knit, and I'm loving it! It's definitely shaping up to be a hobby that helps me relax and get away from obsessing over politics on Facebook. Right now I'm in that honeymoon phase where I'm knitting every day, and I fully expect to taper off to two or three times a week. But even if I end up knitting just two or three times a year, I'm happy to have learned a new skill. I don't know why I ever thought it was so difficult!  If you want to try out knitting (hand knitted things are sooo hipster) but don't think you can do it, take it from me and take the plunge. I learned how to knit simply from watching videos, and if I can do it, anyone can. I've put together some tips for beginners to make it even easier. Happy knitting!

Start with chunky yarn and needles
In the beginning, your hands will feel huge and clumsy. It only makes sense to avoid the baby-fine yarn and skinny knitting needles! I would start with size US 13 (9.0 mm) needles and bulky yarn (#5). You'll have a lot more yarn to hold on to, and you'll be be able to see your stitches more clearly because they'll be larger. As an added bonus, you will need to do less stitches to complete a project than if you use fine yarn, so you'll be able to complete your first project sooner!

Start with the basics
You don't need to learn how to cable knit right from the start. In fact, the only four skills you need to start knitting most projects are casting on (getting yarn on the needle), knit stitch, purl stitch, and casting off (getting the yarn off the needle and completing your project). In a pinch, you can leave the purl stitch for later and just cast on, knit, and cast off. There are tons of videos online that will teach you these four skills, and within 30 minutes, you'll be off and knitting.

Read entire Knitting TIps For Beginners where it was originally published.

Seasonal Wedding Themes And Ideas

A couple's preference for setting their wedding date might be dependent on a favourite time of year or season. Perhaps you are dreaming of a white winter wedding in the snow, or a bright and sunny ceremony on the sand.

Once you have decided on the when, it makes perfect sense to design your wedding theme to suit your personalities and the time of year! Here are a few tips for your favourite wedding season;

Summer Wedding Ideas
Summer is the most popular season for a wedding, when the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful! Make sure that you book your venue well in advance to avoid any 'Bride Wars' style shenanigans!

For a relaxed and casual style beach wedding, choose a long flowing sun dress, kick off your heels and go naturally barefoot to your ceremony. Make sure that your invite states that 'thongs' and sandals are welcome and that you have plenty of water bottles in an ice filled bucket on hand at your hot beach location.

Provide some sun shades for your guests - grab individual umbrellas or parasols, these are available in a wide range of colours so you should be able to find something to match in with your colour scheme.

Make sure that you wear a foundation with SPF and keep your wedding make-up light and natural for that 'beachy' look. Don't forget to wear SPF lip balm under your lipgloss too or the Cancer Council offer their own range of lipsticks and glosses that carry a SPF 30.

Provide personalised sunscreen for your guests, buy your own bottles of a brand that you trust and then have labels or bottle wraps made up with your names and the date, all in line with your colour and theme.

Try to stay out of the sun before your wedding, that way you will avoid embarrassing red skin or strap marks on your big day. If you are after a bronzed look, consider getting a spray tan a couple of days before your wedding - make sure that you have a trial a few months earlier so that you know you are going to like the way that it looks.

Provide personalised sunscreen for your guests, buy your own bottles of a brand that you trust and then have labels or bottle wraps made up with your names and the date, all in line with your colour and theme. You can also give your bridesmaids personalized hand painted wine glasses, learn more about them from here.

Try to stay out of the sun before your wedding, that way you will avoid embarrassing red skin or strap marks on your big day. If you are after a bronzed look, consider getting a spray tan a couple of days before your wedding - make sure that you have a trial a few months earlier so that you know you are going to like the way that it looks.

When choosing your flowers make sure you consider types that can withstand the heat, like orchids or Calla Lilies or perhaps you could go for a seashell bouquet.

When choosing your summer wedding menu, consider the summer produce available, fresh fruit platters are a great idea and provide plenty of colour. When making your wedding cake choice, think light, rich chocolate cakes have become very popular in recent years, but lighter flavours will be best for summer.

Read entire Seasonal Wedding Themes And Ideas where it was originally published.