Monthly Archives: September 2013

The Big New Thing

And I do mean big!
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Getting into crochet has been a great spark for me. I love learning and trying new things and experimenting. I love to push my own boundaries, too – so when I kept seeing amazing images of arm-knitting and arm-crocheting, I needed to try it!

Basically, arm-knitting and crocheting is when the material you’re working with is so large that your arms become the needles or hook (or, if you’re really crafty, you make the tools yourself!). This larger-than-life technique isn’t new – it’s been a perennial favorite of installation artists who work with everything from fiberglass to 1,000 strands of yarn at once. But it is new to me.

I had a wad of plain Wool of the Andes roving sitting around, and on a whim I grabbed it, split it into two halves lengthwise, and tested what could be done with it as yarn. The sample didn’t look like much, but it was promising. So, in my typical go-big-or-go-home fashion, I ordered 20 hanks of Full Circle roving in quarry and set out to make…something!

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Podcast Episode 224: Interview with Blogger Lynne of Island and North Country Life

This week, Kelley gets a chance to catch up with her long-distance knitting friend Lynne, author of the blog Island and North Country Life. Lynne leads an extremely interesting and unique life – traveling the world as a lighthouse caretaker, all the while knitting and spinning no matter where she is headed to next. Kelley talks with Lynne about her fascinating journeys as she recounts her past visits to Deal Island in Tasmania, Australia and more recently, Five Finger Island which is located off the coast of Alaska. Each fall, Lynne returns to return to her home base lighthouse at Seguin Island, ME. Leading a life where change is a constant, Lynne shares her practical approach to knitting, organization, trip preparation and more!

Five Finger Lighthouse

Lynne’s last adventure at Five Finger Lighthouse in Alaska

 

You can find Lynne’s blog here:
Island and North Country Life

And you can read more about her lighthouse adventures here:
Lighthouse Caretaking
Deal Island, Tasmania

3 easy ways to listen…

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6 Ways to Wear the Capra Collection

The vision of the Capra collection is heirloom-knitting, creating the types of pieces that will have just as much place in your wardrobe today as it will a decade from now (or a decade ago!). Since we’re the sorts to get the inspirational ball rolling, we’ve assembled six looks using three different pieces from the collection: A lovely cabled cardigan, a classic scarf and a cleanly-bold pullover.

Dianthe Cardigan by Kathryn McNaughton
Worked from the bottom-up in uncomplicated stitches, the Dianthe Cardigan gets special elevation from diamond cables that run along the body and sleeve.
dianthe

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My Rainy Day Blanket

The soft gray days have rolled in, and with them my crochet color palette has taken a gentler hue. Typically one with a penchant for bold color combinations, I decided to craft a blanket in the neutral and lovely Wool of the Andes Dove Heather. Its misty tweediness is so apt to usher in autumn.
Wool of the Andes blanket

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Learn to Crochet: the puff stitch

Over the past year, I have been shifting my crafting energies from knitting everywhere, all the time to focus on expanding my crochet skills. And I have to say, I finally feel as though my efforts have been paying off! With practice, a few basic stitches eventually transformed into granny squares which grew into giant granny square blankets. So what has been captivating my crochet sensibilities lately? Textured stitches!

Once I got the hang of how to work bobbles to my crochet, I couldn’t help but learn a few more textures to add to my crochet repertoire. After bobbles, the next stitch on my list of things to tackle was the puff stitch.

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Bringing Nature Home

I’m a huge fan of nature, as I’m sure those of you who have read my other blogs will know! Walking through a sunny field or a lush forest is an experience that I treasure.

But during the colder months, it’s hard to really enjoy too much of the outdoors before getting chilly. That’s why in my latest collection, Hearth and Home, I bring the beauty of nature indoors!

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City Tweed Collection

As the coordinator of our IDP collections, the biggest “problem” with my job is the fact that I am constantly surrounded by patterns I want to make RIGHT NOW. Case in point: last month we released Reclaimed (where I immediately cast on for Addison – I’m about halfway through the body) and the Wool of the Andes Collection (where I have the yarn already for Insulate). Now we’ve come out with probably my favorite collection to date – I want to knit everything!

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