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by Jenny K on February 21, 2011
Thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway! We had some really fun comments and everyone seemed really inspired by all of the sock love thanks to Cookie A’s wonderful designs. Unfortunately, we were only able to pick three winners. To select our winners, we used a random number generator that chose our winners based on the number of their comment. Our winners! #22 – Julie H. I would love this book! #566 – Debby I think her socks are amazing and I would love to win this book! Thanks for the opportunity to try to win. #1306 – Nicole I. I LOVE Cookie’s socks, the patterns are written so well that it feels almost like I am getting a lesson on sock knitting! I chose one of her patterns for my first socks actually, and saw it through to completion with total success. This book features a drop dead beautiful collection and it would find a loving home ... |
Category Archives: Fun
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by Knit Picks Staff on February 7, 2011
When I took this job at Knit Picks, I knew pretty instantly that knitting was going to quickly become one of my new favorite hobbies. Since completing my first hat a couple of weeks ago, I have already made another one and started on a third. The first two were just my way of testing my skills and trying out new stitches. Because they are a little too big for my head, I have decided to donate them to charity in hopes that they will keep someone else's slightly larger head warm in this winter weather. The one that I am working on now is the first one that I am using a pattern on and I am really excited to see the end result. In case you didn't see a picture of my first hat on our Facebook page, here's what it looked like: I unfortunately haven't captured a good picture of my second hat yet but here is what it looked like in the process: My third hat is a cloche pattern that I got from Ravelry. The pattern link is here: Cloche Hat So far, I have just completed the brim section but I hope to get a good start on the body of it tonight. My new-found love for knitting is starting to rub off on others in the office and a couple of people have even stepped up and finished projects that they were working on for quite some time now... |
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by Kelley on February 3, 2011
I know I am going out on a limb because each knitter has his or her own set of parameters. But, as I finished my Lace Ribbon Scarf I realized it was one of my absolutely perfect projects. Here is my checklist - 1) Easily obtainable instructions - right from Ravelry. I was able to use my Google Documents app to make the PDF file show up on my phone whenever I wanted to check the lace pattern 2) Memorizable pattern - it didn't take long for me to be able to read my previously knit stitches to tell where I was in the pattern. 3) High quality yarn - our Chroma yarn is delightfully soft as it flows through your fingers, it makes a fabric that is decadently soft and the color play as the lace pattern travels back and forth was mesmerizing. 4) Quick to knit - don't get me wrong, I love challenging projects like lace shawls or colorwork sweaters. But, those don't fall under my category of "absolutely perfect". 5) Easy to give away - that's right! A friend was admiring this scarf as I was knitting it. I loved that I didn't hesitate for a moment before I offered it to her as a gift. I enjoyed knitting it and I knew she would love it day after day after day. 6) My fingers are itching to cast on another potentially "absolutely perfect" project - and I think I've found it. Using my other ball of Chroma Fingering weight yarn in Sunrise. And, I will only need one ball because it has nearly 400 yards in the 100 gram ball. The pattern for this shawlette. |
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by Kelley on January 25, 2011
Our Knit Picks Drop Spindle is an affordable introduction to drop spindling. Notice how I didn't say, 'introduction to spinning'. Thanks to Abby Franquemont's book, Respect the Spindle, drop spindling is no longer considered to be a 'training exercise' or 'a first step towards real spinning on a spinning wheel'. More about spinning wheels later. After you become comfortable spinning yarn with your first drop spindle, you will want to collect more spindles. Abby explains that there are practical, as well as esthetic, reasons for expanding your spindle collection. Between the two, I can justify nearly any spindle purchase. Practical reasons usually involve your wanting to spin different weights of yarns. My Golding is perfect for DK/Worsted weight yarn. But, if I want to spin anything lighter, I definitely need to use a smaller spindle. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on January 17, 2011
Some of you may have seen the video of me getting a seed stitch lesson from Kerin during our lunch break last week. In the video, I was working on what ultimately became a long swatch of different stitch types. After realizing that my swatch was never going to be a scarf that anyone would want to wear, I decided to try knitting a hat. On Friday night, I sat down with my 16" circulars and a ball of yarn and had my entire 2" band done before I noticed the part in the pattern that says "be careful not to twist your ring of stitches." Oops. At this point, my entire row had been twisted and turned close to 50 times and the whole thing looked like a hot mess. After getting confirmation from my mom over the weekend that there was no salvaging my work, I decided to start over. Now I'm curious: what are some of the trials and tribulations that you all have run into? Being such the beginner that I am, I could really use some tips from people who have knit up a few hats in their day. What specific things should one look out for? Do you have any (really easy) pattern suggestions? I'd love to hear any advice that you have. Thanks in advance for your help! -Alisha |
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by Knit Picks Staff on January 14, 2011
Thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway! We had some really fun comments and we always love reading all of them. Unfortunately, we were only able to pick three winners. To make our selections, we used a random number generator that chose our winners based on the number of their comment. Our winners! #29 - Katherine R. from Knightdale, NC #209 - Kris G. from Baltimore, MD #384 - Sarah B. from Bountiful, UT Our winners have each been sent an email and as soon as we hear back from them, we will ship them their prize. Hopefully Katherine, Kris and Sarah will make some really cute monsters and share pictures with us. If they do, we will be sure to post them! Thanks again everyone! |
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by Knit Picks Staff on January 10, 2011
This contest is closed! Thank you everyone for your participation. You can read about who won here: winners. Are you all ready for another giveaway contest? We've had so many great responses in recent contests that we thought we would give you a little something extra this time. Not only will the winners get a copy of this great book, Knitting Noro - The Magic of Knitting with Hand Dyed Yarns, they will also get a skein (weight and color of your choice) of Chroma! Between the amazing patterns in this book and the rich, gorgeous colors of Chroma, you are destined to make something absolutely stunning. |
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by Stacey on January 6, 2011
Chroma has been out for about 2 weeks now - have you tried it yet? I am honestly so in love with it. I can't stop knitting with it! First I tried the fingering weight for my Fishy Mitts that I already wrote about. But when I finished, I wanted to keep playing with it! Hats are one of my favorite things to knit (sadly, no one I know wears hats...so now I have a lot of them) so I decided to try out some different hat patterns with Chroma Worsted. First - I decided to do a Turn A Square by Jared Flood. I've actually never tried this pattern before, though I have done a few by Jared Flood. Alison has an addiction to this pattern so it seemed like a perfect time to try it out. |
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by Stacey on January 5, 2011
I love the beginning of the new year! There all sort of possibilities for fiber crafters - new projects, new resolutions, new techniques to learn! But I'm having problems trying to decide what I want to do for 2011. Maybe learn a new techniques? Maybe a sort of project a week or a month to do? I just don't know! Are you also feeling overwhelmed with choices? Well, we're here to help you with a brand new contest! Trafalgar Square Books and Accord Publishing have kindly provided prizes for our Fresh Start Contest - for 2 lucky winners, we have copies of both the brand new Debbie Bliss book The Knitter's Year as well as a copy of the 2011 Page a Day Knitting Calendar! |
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by Knit Picks Staff on December 28, 2010
Now that Christmas and Hanukkah are over and New Year's is just around the corner, it's that time of year when I always find myself making lists of all the things I want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Teaching myself to knit colorwork is at the top of my list for 2011, I've been inspired by all the beautiful colorwork patterns we see from IDP designers each week! I polled everyone else in the office to see what fiber-related resolutions they're making for 2011. Looks like we're going to have a busy year around here. Our resolutions run the whole gamut from ambitious to basic to what some might even call wishful thinking! "My number one goal is learning to weave - I'm taking a class at Madrona in February! I also want to learn the different dying techniques - hand paint, kettle dye, maybe play around with making natural dyes... And I also want to create more patterns..." Kim, merchandising manager "Weave a whole rug. Finish carding and spinning Cher the Sheep's fleece - I bought it at the Aurora Spinning Guild show over a year and a half ago! Shop more from my stash, it's starting to eat my entire house!" Alison, director of Knit Picks |
