Naming this kit sent me into a spiraling downfall of tongue twisters! Super Speedy Stroll Sport Socks:

I love to knit socks no matter what, but I love to wear hand knit socks, too, and sometimes the demand for hand knit socks in my household surpasses my ability to produce them! So I was really excited when we introduced our Stroll Sport yarn–it makes thicker warmer socks in a fraction of the time as fingering weight. In fact, when I was working on this pattern, I knit an entire sock (for my partner’s rather large foot!) in only a bit more time than it usually takes me to swatch!
I wanted to highlight the quick-knit possibilities of this yarn, so I designed this pattern to be easy, intuitive, and modular, which means that once you get the hang of it, you can adjust it for any gauge and …

I have a new design out! Introducing, the Tilt-a-Whirl Spiral Kit! (in Blue or Brown!)

Spiral knitting is a simple trick that produces jog-less stripes which twist and spiral up the piece like a barber pole! It can be worked on DPNs or circular needles, and in this project is used for socks, fingerless mitts, and a slouchy beret. I got to use some of my favorite colors of Stroll Hand Paints in this kit, and the resulting pieces are lightweight, fun to knit, and easy to wear.

Trying to name this kit was a challenge, but we all loved the fun colors so much, we decided to go with something that we had (mostly) fun memories of:

Read more »

Spring is here! It’s a gorgeous sunny spring day in the Pacific Northwest. The sun is shining, my flowers in my garden are still alive (I have a black thumb). I’m not even wearing a coat today!

Speaking of flowers, have you seen our new spring kits that we introduced today? I’m excited about the Backyard Garden kit. I’m much better at knitting flowers than growing them, and these flowers will bloom all year! Kerin is both an amazing gardener and the designer of this kit, and all of the bugs and blooms in this kit are incredibly detailed and realistic looking. Each insect, leaf, or flower in this kit is quite small, only a few inches across, so you can knit a couple of them in an evening.

It was really fun to think of things to embellish with the Backyard Garden kit. Headbands, wreaths, magnets, crib mobiles, …

We are throwing ourselves a little party in Portland to celebrate our new spring yarns – and you’re invited!

If you are in the Portland OR/Vancouver WA area on April 7th, please come join us at the Ecotrust building from 7-9 in downtown Portland!
We are going to have samples of our new yarns available to play with (so bring your needles & hooks!). All attendees will be entered in a raffle for fun Knit Picks’ products (new yarns, kits, needles sets) and, while we won’t be selling products at the event, the first 200 guests will receive a coupon good for 10% off of their next online yarn purchase. We are also going to have a panel discussion with local area designers, moderated by Kelley!
Plus you can meet all us crazy Knit Picks people in person!
It’s going to be a lot of fun & we hope to …

In my previous job life as a bookstore girl (where I lovingly took care of the knitting section), I remember when Toni Carr‘s book Knockdown Knits was released. I immediately snapped it up – it was so much fun to read & such great projects, even for those who aren’t roller girls like Toni. (With my incredible clumsiness, I would be a danger to myself & to others!)
Imagine my delight when I started working on IDP and discovered that Toni was already a part of it! Of course I had to do an interview!
How long have you been knitting? I started seriously knitting about 9 years ago.
What motivated you to learn to knit?
In all honesty, my Grandmother lived all by herself, way out in the country. I knew she was lonely and could use some company, but the fact that she is deaf caused a communication …