Monthly Archives: December 2010

Free 3-Day Expedited Shipping Promotion!

We understand that holiday shopping can be quite the burden this time
of year.  If you’re like me, you still have a LONG list of presents
that need to be purchased and wrapped before Christmas gets here. 
Luckily, thanks to Knit Picks’ shipping promotion, I can get most of my
shopping done online, and I can rest assured that everything will arrive
with plenty of time to spare.  Right now, when you use promo code
FREE3DAY at checkout, Knit Picks is giving free 3-Day Expedited Shipping
on all orders over $75.00.
 

Hurry and take advantage of this deal now
because it ends on December 19th!

The rules: Offer expires at 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, 12/19/10. Limit one order per customer.  Online orders only.  Contiguous US only.

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My first IOU.

This year is the year. Every other year that I’ve committed to making
homemade gifts for friends and family, I’ve managed to finish in time.
But this year I’m going to have to accept defeat. My sister just told me
last week that her fiance wanted a pair of dark brown or black
fingerless gloves for Christmas. Last week. And I’d been planning on
just ordering him an Amazon gift card online. Oops.

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Book Giveaway – Knitting at Home

I think I’m just obsessed with coziness right now – I’m working on three different knit and crochet blankets, making throw pillows for our couch, and hunting around for the perfect pair of slippers.

I don’t know if you’ve seen Knitting at Home yet, but it’s perfect for fueling any Must Get Warm At Any Cost feelings you might be having this holiday season. Even when my kitchen sink is full of dirty party dishes and the laundry is out of control, this book allows me to escape into a world of snuggly throws, hot cups of tea, and afternoons curled up on the couch.

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Knitters want their gifts to be used

This is a very old, free pattern – which is exactly my point. I still have the original!

My intention was to make a long, narrow, easy to knit item that took advantage of the lightweight warmth of Suri Dream. I tell people that it is my Airplane Blanket. I deliberatly shaped it to fit an airplane seat. I can wrap one end around my feet and pull to rest all the way up over my shoulders. Once we arrive at our destination, I can use it as an evening shawl. If we are eating outside on a really chilly night (it happens frequently in Hawaii), I curl up on my chair and wrap the whole thing around me like a poncho. Snugly warm! I also use it in my hotel room as a nap blankie and I even lay it over the thin blanket on the bed for extra comfort while I sleep.

When knitters give handknit gifts, they want them to be used! Sometimes the item is so cherished that it never gets out of its cedar cocoon.  Sometimes, the gift doesn’t quite fit the recipient’s lifestly despite our best intentions.

My blankie/shawl has had a good life. When I’m not dragging it with me on trips, I use it as a throw when I’m reading or knitting. When I can get it away from Xena.

So, here is my question. What have you knit that has been well-used? Was it for you or did you give it away as a gift? How did you figure out what the recipient would wear or use a lot?

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Contest Winner – Modern Top-Down Knitting

It’s time to announce the three winners of our Modern Top-Down Knitting book giveaway!  I used a random number generator to pick winners from 1196 comments.
#634 – Sarah
#872 – Pam P
#57 – Anita
Congratulations!  We’ll be emailing the winners to get their addresses so we can mail these out.  Thanks to everyone who participated!

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Sometimes I just want to use DPNs

Just like nearly every knitter I know, I was thrilled when
inventive knitters began to find ingenious ways to use the flexibility
of circular needles to use instead of double pointed needles (DPNs).

For a while, I used only two circular needles or one long circular
needle (Magic Loop Method) whenever I knit something with a small
circumference – socks, mittens or hats. Now I’ve gotten so that I choose
between my options depending on what I’m knitting. 

As you know, I just finished my Tic Tac Toe Socks.
I always overcompensate when it comes to making sure I won’t run out of
yarn for a project. I ran out of yarn when I was first learning how to
knit. On a Pi Shawl, no less. I was traumatized! Now I always end up
with leftover yarn. I had a skein and most of a ball of Gloss to use for
“something”.

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The Bus is my muse

I am very excited because today I officially published my first pattern, Kitty Cat Paw Mitts and Hat, as an IDP designer, and I owe it all to my cat, The Bus (and Stacey!).

I’ve
blogged about The Bus before, he is my very charismatic and very surly
Siamese cat. He is mostly brown with little white feet. This year when I
was trying to pick a costume for Halloween, I was struck by a stroke of
genius and decided to dress up as my cat. I had Marshmallow, Dogwood
Heather, and Bittersweet Heather Simply Cotton
in my stash, so I whipped up a quick kitty hat and matching mitts and
dressed in all white and brown. I added some whiskers and a collar and
presto chango- instant Bus costume.

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Keeping Cozy

Ok, seriously, what is with this weather?! I bet no matter where you
are in the country, you’re saying the same thing. This winter has
already been rough, and it’s not even winter yet! (ok, I have been
wishing I was back in Syracuse the last few days, I really do miss the
snow!)

On top of all that, there are only a couple of knitting weeks till
the holidays are upon us once more. What to do? Well, for a fabulous,
easy and quick stocking stuffer, how about some Cheery Cup Cozies!

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Getting to Know You

Because I am so new to Knit Picks – and the knitting
community in general – I thought I would make it one of my first tasks to get
to know some of you who follow us on our blog, Twitter and Facebook. 
I recently reached out to some of my new Twitter friends
and asked them to share their projects with me and to
tell me a little bit about their experience with knitting. 

It was my honor to get to talk to these five ladies and I am really excited to share
some of their information with the rest of you!  They are
 each very talented and I encourage
you to get to know more about them through their pages on Ravelry, their Twitter
pages, Etsy pages, and through their blogs.
 

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