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by Stacey on May 25, 2010
The past few months I’ve pretty much just working on projects for other people & last week I decided I needed to do something quick for myself…which turned into 2 quick projects, which turned into 3! All were slouchy hats – I think I may need an intervention! 🙂 First was Ysolda Teague’s Ripley pattern (Ravelry link) Took just a little bit over one hank of Swish Bulky in Garnet Heather. Man, this yarn is so soft & fun to knit with. I changed up the pattern a bit – I did just a regular 2×2 rib band instead of the band called for in the pattern…mostly out of laziness. I went down to a size 8 needle & I’m very pleased with the fit…not to mention the warmth! Then I had some leftover Gloss HW in Jade from a scarf for my guy’s mom & decided I needed another ... |
Category Archives: Inspiration
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
Now that the holidays are over and my sisters’ birthday has passed (they’re twins), I can finally blog about what I’ve been knitting since last summer! When I cast on, I had no clue that my mom’s socks would take longer to knit than my dad’s Harry Potter scarf. That was my first project on size 0 needles (and probably my last!). Mom saw the yoga socks in a magazine and wanted a pair to wear with her flip flops now that she’s moved from sunny Florida to North Carolina. Like a good daughter I obliged. Yoga Socks in Make Believe Stroll Handpainted Sock Yarn Dad is a huge Harry Potter fan, so he got a Wool of the Andes Gryffindor scarf. The kitties all got felted toys this year. Alison taught me how to make little felted balls using roving ... |
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
Maybe the holiday season is hectic so that we appreciate the quiet that follows. Time to ponder plans for the New Year, as I have been doing. Lots and lots of rain combined with a fire in the fireplace makes for a productive weekend. Sorry, Linda, but it was raining so hard on Friday that I didn’t want to go out to find a Hot Chocolate Pot. But, it will be a priority for next week! Let’s play the “Remember This?” game! From Ann Budd’s absolutely fantastic book! Well I am ready to felt it!!! I’m using my copy of Emma as a “before and after” size reference. The trick is to just barely felt it leaving some flexibility. I’m working on the 3 1/2 yards of i-cord for the bridle while I wait for Bob ... |
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
….and my color selection. I know you are familiar with my choice of Kenai (Merino Style) as the scarf color. Particularly since I had to knit it twice due to my not paying attention to Erica’s very clear instructions in her Independent Designer pattern. But, I’ve been holding back on my selection of colors for the patch pockets. Erica’s instructions call for you to knit the colorwork patches first and then the scarf. But, given the hustle/bustle of the holidays, I chose to enjoy the easy knitting of the scarf body. Well, even easier the second time! 🙂 My colorwork choices are Masala, Asparagus and Bare DK. I was thrilled to see that heavy rain is forecast for this weekend. I am going to have a very lazy weekend in celebration of the holidays being behind me. Whew! A fire in ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
Hi Everyone! We have been working on improving our tutorials, reorganizing them in a logical way, making them easy to search and navigate, and adding more content. Now if you click on the tutorial tab in the Knitting Community, you will be redirected to the new tutorial site. Here is a link. We now have over 100 tutorials, and I have tried to curate them so you can find exactly what you need in categories. Just starting out? Check out the Beginner category, which will show you all of the techniques that you need to get started, without overwhelming you with more specialized or advanced techniques that you don’t need quite yet. Or if you are working on a specific project, like your first sweater or hat, click on the Projects category and you will find all tutorials you need that are related to that specific project. Working on ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
I went home to Northern California for Christmas, and although I’ve been back for a week, I haven’t had a chance to blog about it until now! While in Northern California, I took a day trip to San Francisco to visit friends from college and to check out some art museums. I know that there is quite a bit of debate within the knitting community about what is art and what is craft and whether knitting should be recognized as an art. Still, I kept seeing folk art and traditional crafts in art museums all over and over again! I thought that you might be interested in what I saw. I started out in Berkeley, and literally stumbled upon Lacis Museum of Lace and Textile by accident. This place is an amazing resource for all things lace. Knitted, crocheted, tatted, bobbin, woven…they were all represented at Lacis. There were antique lace ... |
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
I was chatting with a friend yesterday and she had discovered a mistake in the ribbing of her current project. I loved her solution to this knitting disaster. As she said, “You can’t really go back and fix ribbing easily. So, I slipped my Julie/Julia DVD into the machine and laughed my way through 10 inches of ribbing ripping!” That got me thinking. When I had to rip out my Shiver Scarf, I chose to wait until we were out to dinner with friends so it wouldn’t hurt so much. Then I starting wondering which movies I would watch while ripping. I know the actual ripping doesn’t take long but I am including getting started again so that you have your project back on track. As much as I admired my friend’s choice to laugh as she ripped, I have to admit that sometimes I could do with a good cry. It may ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
You know what I find myself wanting most at this time of year, when the grey Northwestern winter feels like it will never end? Color! This is the New Traditions Afghan, which I designed hoping to soothe the post-holiday winter blues. At this time of year, I always need a little bit of extra cheerfulness and a shot of color is a surefire way to provide that! The geometric blocks themselves, which borrow their star motifs from traditional quilt blocks, are bright and colorful, while the borders between them are worked log- cabin style (which is another quilting technique that has long been used by knitters–or did quilters borrow it from us??) in a neutral palette. I loved designing a piece that owes debts to two different craft traditions, and I loved that I got to use my math background in working out the geometry of the quilt blocks! ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
I finished it. If I wasn’t making it for my mom I would have never finished it. It was great travel knitting. It went with me to Austria, Germany, Italy, Yellowstone for New Years, and lots and lots of meetings at work. The pattern is the Shoulder Shawl out of Victorian Lace Today. I used Shimmer Lace Weight Yarn in Sherry . It has several errors. I had to fix no less than 5 dropped stitches once it was done. Luckily the hand dyed color hides errors and Alison helped me block it which really brought out its beauty. I’m happy I finished it, but I can’t promise you’ll ever see me work with lace weight yarn again. I’m the one that likes to double strand WOTA Bulky. Now where did I leave that Twinkle book and my size 17 needles… ... |
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by Stacey on May 25, 2010
I don’t think anyone who’s seen me posting on here will be shocked that I started the Toy KAL (have you joined yet? Join & show Angela & me some new toy patterns to squee over). I love making toys – funny I guess because I pretty much only make them for myself, usually to guard my desk. I’ve blogged about my office buddies before. Now there’s a new one to add to that group I haven’t thought of a name for him yet – any suggestions? In any case, I used the new Wiener Dog pattern by Cheezombie from our new Independent Designer Program. In fact, I have the original sample here too: The Original Wiener Dog is only visiting for a bit longer, then he goes home to cheezombie. I’ll miss him but at least I got my new guy to watch over things. Also, I’m ... |
