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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
Hey Portland Area Knitters! We are having a local event, and we would love to meet you all in person! Local author, Mary Scott Huff, is releasing a gorgeous new book, The New Stranded Colorwork, and we are so excited about it that we are organizing an author’s talk, trunk show, and book signing to celebrate. We have been fans of Mary Scott Huff’s designs for awhile. She designed several exclusive Knit Picks patterns such as the Selbu Blazer, the Lace-Rib Shrug, and the Empress Pullover. But The New Stranded Colorwork celebrates Fair Isle knitting. She has patterns for women, men, and children. There are both sweaters and accessories. And Mary Scott Huff’s signature is rethinking traditional techniques and motifs to create new, fresh, and whimsical designs that stand out in your mind until they end up on the top of your knitting queue. The event will begin with Mary ... |
Category Archives: Inspiration
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
As you know, I went a bit crazy at the Sock Summit this summer! I am industriously knitting my way through the collection of yarns I could not resist! Gail Smith from Windsor Farms Rabbitry is an evil woman! Her booth at Sock Summit had skeins and skeins of lovely angora yarns just hanging around begging to be pet. But, that is just the bait to draw you into Gail’s clutches. Once you get close enough, she pounces and thrusts a hand knit sock into your hands. You think, “Not that special”. Oh, you poor innocent creature! Little do you know that you are trapped! Gail then gives you an identical replica of the first sock but this one has been hand-washed and air dried. Wow! So soft!! Of course, I immediately asked, “Can the yarn be machine washed?” Her comes Gail’s wicked smile as ... |
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by Stacey on May 25, 2010
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for me and my brain cannot seem to handle complicated long term projects. Not to mention my usual “I must knit everyone a gift for Christmas” mindset. Luckily I’ve recently discovered the wonderful patterns by Danger Crafts – mostly from reading these message boards! (thanks, NoKnitSherlock!). I love them – they are adorable & take little time for my poor distracted mind. Not to mention using up those random balls of yarn I seem to have! Here are some of my favorites: This is Crowley, made from Merino Style. He’s actually for me (oops, so much for those Christmas gifts!) The pattern I used is Frances but I made it a boy instead. 🙂 I named him after a character my one of my all time favorite books: He now sits on my desk with my other silly creatures – ... |
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
I’m ready to show you how to knit the heel flap, make the heel turn, pick up the gusset stitches, decrease the gusset and then head on down the foot! Next week I will show you how to decrease for the toe and do the Kitchener stitch. There are 6 videos in this segment because I wanted to be sure I presented everything in a clear, and empowering, way. Just like I did with the first videos, I am going to start a discussion for each video in our Sock KAL. Enjoy! < |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
Summer is definitely over here in the Northwest. The leaves are changing colors, the rain is starting up, and we’re dipping into the 40’s and 50’s at night. It doesn’t get super cold here in the winter, but I know I definitely wouldn’t want to spend the night out in the dampness, especially not without a scarf, hat, or gloves to ward off the chill. We’ve been stockpiling all the hats, scarves, socks, and mittens you’ve seen featured in our catalogs, and yesterday we dropped them off, along with some men’s sweaters, at Operation Nightwatch, a local group that “offers respect, dignity, and friendship to to the street population of downtown Portland”. We hope that the hand knits help keep someone in need a little warmer this winter. < |
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
I grabbed a few extra balls of Simply Cotton Worsted from our office stash a few days ago. I was determined to knit up a couple of washcloths for myself. I wandered around in Ravelry and found a few examples based on my beloved Log Cabin garter stitch pattern. Who knew that the Mason Dixon Knitters would have such a positive influence on the humble garter stitch. After a nice wash and dry, the cloths became wonderfully cushiony! If you want to give it a try, cast on 15 stitches and knit 14 garter ridges. Then work the strips with 7 garter ridges each. I am having a Knit Buddy giveaway to go along with my little bit of simple knitting. Just add a comment to this blog post and you will automatically be in the drawing. Next Thursday, October 29th, I will draw a name. ... |
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
When I saw all the Santa hats everyone here in the office knit with our new free pattern, I couldn’t resist trying them on. After I picked my favorite, I invited Sheldon, the Fosters, Lumpy, and all my other friends over for a little tea party. It was really fun…until Chaos showed up. He is so uncouth. < |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
When the weather turned chilly, I realized that Alice had outgrown all the hats she had as a newborn last winter. Knitting to the rescue! I’d had my eye on the Aviatrix Baby Hat pattern for a while, so that was an easy choice. Then I just had to go stash diving for the perfect yarn. I landed on Stroll Kettle Dyed in Gold. It’s my favorite of the kettle dyed colors, but I don’t wear yellow, so it was perfect to use for Alice, who looks great in yellow. The pattern calls for a DK weight, and, of course, Stroll is fingering weight, so I simply held the yarn doubled. The bonus to this was that the doubling broke up any pooling that the yarn may have wanted to do in the short-row constructed hat. The construction of the hat is just so cool, and it ... |
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by Brett on May 25, 2010
One advantage your LYS has always had over Knitpicks.com is ease of browsing. Just walk in the door and your eyes scan all the different colors they have to offer. Maybe one or two jumps out and catches your eye. Maybe you’re looking for that perfect shade of blue to compliment your nieces bright blue eyes or a funky purple that will match your favorite winter parka. In person, its easy to spot those colors, but online, you’re looking for a Palette Silver needle in a Swish Worsted Gold haystack. No more! We dug through our countless skeins of yarn and grouped them all by color for your browsing convenience. On the left-hand side of our Yarn pages, you’ll see a “Yarn Color” drop-down displaying every color of the rainbow plus grays, blacks, browns, multis and more! Underneath each color you’ll find the weight, fiber content, and price along with a link to ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
Buying a gift card is a bitter sweet activity for me. On one hand, I’m giving a gift that gives in two ways–you get it as a gift, then they get to go shop with it, so it kinda doubles the enjoyment. Also, of course, they get exactly what they want. On the other hand, it’s kind of impersonal and can carry that negative connotation that I didn’t put much thought into it. The designers at Knit Picks have saved the day. The little sweaters in the Tidings of Joy kit are designed to fit a gift card! Now you can give a gift card inside it’s own little hand knit sweater. You get to give a hand knit treat (doubles as a holiday ornament for their tree) along with the very practical gift card. It’s a win, win, win. ... |
