Holla Knits Fall/Winter 2012

Our friends at Holla Knits! have a new collection out!

All of us here were big fans of the first Holla Knits! collection and couldn’t wait to see what Allyson Dykhuizen would come up with next. And we were not disappointed! Once again, the Holla Knits! designers show two different versions of each pattern, one in an indie yarn and one in Knit Picks yarn. We are so excited to be part of these wonderful collections and delighted to be included on their blog tour!

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Let’s take a trip…

…through Scandinavia!

My newest collection, Northern Lights, is out – just in time for fall
knitting. The six patterns in this collection were inspired by the
amazing knitting traditions of Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark
and the Faroe Islands.

The beautiful 8-pointed rose common in Norwegian designs becomes the highlight of the Aesa Pullover

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Tempest Time!

Oh man, there’s nothing better than a fully finished project! Blocked and everything! It’s a rare thing at my house so when a project actually makes it through all the steps and winds up actually wearable, it’s time for a little celebration. My Tempest cardigan just became one of those sought-after treasures.

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How to Block a Sweater

After investing a great deal of time into knitting a sweater, you want to give it a beautiful finish. This often involves blocking the sweater to the proper dimensions. When you block a sweater, you are setting the stitches and evening out the fabric in addition to preserving the correct sizing. Generally, sweaters can be wet blocked (good for cotton and linen), spray blocked (good for wool and alpaca) or steam blocked (good for wool and alpaca) depending on their fiber
content.

And to make sure that your first sweater blocking session is a success, we have a handy video tutorial that walks you through all of the steps! The video also shows you what to do for the three different blocking methods (wet, spray and steam). That way you can match a blocking technique that is best suited for the fiber type of your sweater.

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Am I Regressing?

So all I want to knit at the moment is fingering weight garter stitch scarves:

Does that mean I’m regressing as a Knitter?

Well, in all honestly, they’re not like the garter stitch scarves I made when I was first learning to knit – these all have a unique construction, which makes them much more entertaining to work on. I’ve made all three of these over the past couple of months (and this doesn’t include my Color Affection, also in garter stitch with unique construction that I also finished this summer!).

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Long weekend projects

Last weekend was a long weekend for us – I had all these plans to finish up some works in progress, especially my Graham Scarf, so I can start on some bigger projects. Instead, I ran out of the Stroll Tonal I was using on Friday afternoon (completely my fault, nothing to do with Erica‘s wonderful pattern.)  Luckily, Jenny is also working on a project in Goldrush & had some leftovers!  But this meant that I wouldn’t be able to work on it all weekend.  And none of my other projects just seemed to appeal to me and I just fell into a blah mood.

So I decided I needed cute quick projects to make me smile.

I got out the brightest Swish colors in my stash and my E hook & had some fun!

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Back to school, and back to fall knitting!

Well, as if the shortening days weren’t enough to tell us that summer
is nearing its end, school is beginning again! Before you know it,
there will be a chill in the morning air. Better get started on your
super warm fall accessories now!

If you really want to chase the chill away, why not try the Burdock Hat and Scarf kit?

This is a super-soft, machine washable, totally reversible set. The
pattern is inspired by the Burdock plant, a Scandinavian thistle, and
Fana stripes.

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Podcast Episode 195: Technology and Apps for Knitting Organization

Always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to use technology to organize her fiber life, Kelley shares her enthusiasm for a handful of knitting apps! Kelley reviews three apps for android users that help you stay on track throughout your knitting project and keep you connected to your Ravelry account – no matter where you might find yourself knitting! Kelley first reviews Ravulous, a handy app that links to your Ravelry account so you can manage your stash, search through patterns, and update your projects. Next, Kelley talks about the Ravelry Photo Uploader app that lets you snap a photo of your WIP and upload it to your Ravelry project page directly from your phone! That way you can be sure to keep your projects organized and up to date, no matter if you are at your local knit night or on the road. Both of the Ravelry …

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