Monthly Archives: October 2012

Holla Knits – Accessories

This time of year, I always start stressing out over gifts I want to make for the holidays – I, like many knitters I know, love to make handmade gifts for loved ones. But around the end of October, I discover my time management skills are pretty poor and there’s no way I can make elaborate cabled sweaters for everyone on my list so I start looking for smaller items to knit. Well, thank goodness for the new Holla Knits Accessories eBook – 6 little patterns that I’m sure will work for several people on my list!

Read more »


Enjoy color with the Hue Shift Afghan!

Now that it’s cuddle-up-on-the-couch season, it’s just the right time
for a new afghan. Add a little splash of color to your decor with the Hue Shift Aghan!

This afghan is knit in Garter stitch mitered squares. The squares are
picked up and knit off of each other in four large segments, so that
the only seam required is to stitch the four segments together. Because
of this, it makes an easy travel project, because no one section is very
large.

The 10 colors in the patterning of the afghan are arranged in such a
way that they create a wash of 100 slightly different, shifting shades.
This pattern is available in two colorways as a ready-to-knit kit: Rainbow and Decor. But, if you want to create your own colorful masterpiece, get the downloadable version and choose your own palette. With a little imagination, the color possibilities are much greater!

For instance, if you wanted a rich, jewel-toned blanket, try these colors…

Read more »


Podcast Episode 200: Celebrating Our 200th Podcast!

In honor of the 200th Knit Picks podcast, Kelley revisits one of her favorite episodes from the very beginning – deserted island knitting. Back in 2007, Kelley used this idea of being stranded on a deserted island to create her list of must-have knitting supplies. To start, Kelley shares two of her favorite blogs whose stories come awfully close to Kelley’s deserted island scenario. Both The Sailing Knitter and Island and North Country Life are blogs that follow the lives of two women traveling the high seas with knitting by their sides. Inspired by their stories, Kelley begins on her own list of must-have knitting supplies. Although there are some similarities to her list from 2007, Kelley’s focus is on drop spindling this time around with her cherished spindles from Golding Spindles being on top of her list. Along with plenty of fiber and silk hankies, Kelley also adds a …

Read more »


To Do List

Oh goodness, my holiday knitting queue just keeps getting larger! I spend a
little bit of time every day trawling Ravelry and our library here for
good patterns to knit (or crochet now!) up for everyone on my list and I
thought I’d share a few of my favorites today.

Read more »


A Bit of Fall Color

 

The leaves aren’t changing colors yet, but I can share some of the fall yarn colors with you!

I’m particularly excited about our fall yarn colors, I got to help pick them at my first color selection meeting!  This seems crazy, but it takes a really long time to plan a yarn line.  When we pick new colors, we love customer suggestions and feedback, we look at upcoming trends, and we try to round out colors that are missing in yarn lines.  The Knit Picks staff loves a really diverse range of colors.  When we opened the box, everyone clamored for their favorite colors! 

 

 

Read more »


Design a Sweater, lesson 6: Working the Yoke

The yoke is the most complicated part of a raglan sweater, but I think you’ll find that if you take it slow and work
carefully, it is not very hard at all! The trickiest thing is that the raglan decreases and neckline shaping will be worked
at the same time.This is also the most exciting part of the sweater–we are
nearing the finish line and for the first time, you’ll get to see your work really start to come together. Pun intended.
Let’s get started!

Read on for the videos and worksheet:

Read more »


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.

Read more »


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.

Read more »


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.

Read more »


Design A Sweater, Lesson 5: Planning the Neckline

I am not usually a monogamous knitter, and the recent heat has made my
wosted-wool sweater project even less appealing. So I am a little
behind myself and I suspect some of you are, too! In the next phase of
our sweater designing, we will work the yoke and neckline, which means
two sets of calculations that must be worked at the same time! To make
that a little easier on everyone,and to give you all some time to catch
up, I’ve divided this section into two lessons. This week’s video
covers the basic shaping and construction o fthe neckline, and gives
ideas for how to decide what knid of neckline you want.

Watch the videos below:

Read more »