I wish I could knit

My friend Mallory is really good at knitting. When I look through photographs of what she has knitted, I always feel so inspired, but then I remember that I am terrible with yarn. I have taught myself to knit and crochet more times than I can count, but I give up easily. When I took a fiber arts course, we were required to learn to crochet for one project and make something sculptural. It was such a challenge! I made bottles out of yarn. That is the only yarn project I have ever completed, though. I would really like to have the mad yarn skills that Mallory has one day!

Sometimes, we trade things, and Mallory knits me something awesome, like this rain cloud. But with the monster above, it was a complete surprise! Surprises from friends are the best. The pattern for the monster came from this book:

And you can read more about the yarn Mallory used and where to get it right here on her Ravelry page. I think it is such a cute monster! He's on display in my living room currently.

Do you knit or crochet? Do you have any tips for beginners? I can handle the basic stitches, but am no good at keeping my rows even or following a pattern. If there are any resources or techniques out there that could be of some help, I would love to be acquainted with them!

Finally, I wanted to mention my new photo shop! I have tried to sell photos on Etsy in the past but I do not feel that is the best market for them (in most cases). I've set up a new little shop where I'll be selling prints from some of my newest fine art photos at least until I'm done with grad school. Get them while you can! I even have a set of c-prints for sale which I printed in the color darkroom!