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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 |
Category Archives: Office Gossip
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by Knit Picks Staff on January 6, 2011
I’m very excited because Alison and I are escaping from Vancouver’s cloudy grey skies for a couple of days to hit the TNNA trade show in Long Beach, CA this weekend. I’ve never been to TNNA, so I’m looking forward to checking out all the booths and groping lots and LOTS of yarn. You may have heard that Knit Picks is now offering our needles at whole sale prices to select local yarn stores.You can see a list of shops that are currently carrying our needles here. If you don’t see your favorite LYS, you can e-mail wholesale@knitpicks.com to suggest a retailer. We’re going to have a booth at TNNA so that local yarn store owners can see our needles in person, ask us questions about the new program, and sign up for whole sale accounts. If you’re going to be at TNNA, be sure to stop by the booth and ... |
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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 |
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by Knit Picks Staff on November 9, 2010
You may have noticed that since the introduction of crochet patterns by indie designers through IDP, we've been slowly expanding our selection of crochet hooks and books. In addition to the Clover hooks we've had, we've added Susan Bates and Boye hooks, a pretty set of rainbow acrylic Clover Reflections hooks, ergonomics, and a few new complete sets. With all these crochet hooks floating around the office, some us have gotten curious about what to do with them! Kim and three of our wonderful customer service representatives, Lori, Georgianna, and Jeanine are our in house experts, but since we have a slew of employees interesting in learning, we thought we'd ask you for help. Come teach Knit Picks how to crochet this summer in our first crochet along! |
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by Knit Picks Staff on August 10, 2010
Last night I spent hours very carefully sewing up one side of my cardigan and then sewing back down the other side to reinforce it before I cut my steek. I stitched it twice, once with a running stitch and then again with a backstitch. I've been working on my CLC off and on for over a year, so I definitely didn't want it to unravel. I brought it into the office this morning to show Alison my progress. Kelley caught a glimpse of it too and decided there was no time like the present to go ahead and steek it! Eek! One of the best things about working at a knitting company is all the help I get when I'm working on a project. Everyone piled into Alison's office to provide moral support. And of course, they video taped it... |
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by Kelley on July 27, 2010
Who has filled my world with so many colorful temptations? |
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by Kelley on July 16, 2010
One of the benefits of blogging, at least for me, is a certain element of accountability. I feel like I need to keep you up to date on my fiber adventures. That keeps me relatively focused. I've had a bit of a lace revision of plans. I can't explain it but the Gail shawl just never captured my heart. I kept picking it up, knitting a bit and then setting it down for days. Once I finally accepted the fact that I needed to "let it go", I went for a bit of a wander in Ravelry and found a new pattern for my beloved Alpaca Cloud in Smoke Heather. |
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by Kelley on July 14, 2010
I love my Motorola Droid! It's taken a couple of weeks but I feel like I have apps that will allow me to leave my iTouch behind. I've become completely dependent on my little droid. It is always with me! Now that I'm settled, I want to learn how to take great shots using my Droid camera. This is my first blog photo and I can see that I have a lot to learn. How to focus, for one thing. Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to be sharing my photo adventures with you. Ideally, I would like to become comfortable and savvy enough to pop off shots whenever I want. |
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by Kelley on July 13, 2010
This is the first sock I have made from Camille Chang's wonderful collection of sock patterns. Camille is a member of our Independent Designer Program. The short repeat in these Tic Tac Toe socks is easy to memorize, or figure out from the row below. That is why these have become my Go To project. Today is a perfect example. Bob didn't inform me that we were going out to dinner tonight until we were heading out to the garage this morning. No worries! I did a quick turn-around, went to the living room and grabbed the small Knitting Project Bag holding my socks and accessories. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having this kind of project always ready. Maybe I should change the name to "Marriage Saving" project. |
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by Kelley on July 9, 2010
Most people would call it a "Mental Health Day". I am lucky enough to have knitting in my job description so I can take "a day" and still be working. I can't explain it but every once in awhile I need to just sit and knit and knit and knit for hours. The urge is irresistible. I have a nice little picnic basket in my office. I am going to take it across the street and settle down on the grass of the office park, in the shade of a big tree and knit. I will take along some water, a new audio book and Xena. My goal is to get into a nice rythmn with my Gail Shawl. I am at that awkward stage where I am still learning the repeat. I have to think a lot, my hands feel big and clumsy with the fine lace yarn, the bit of fabric is so small and insubstantial that it is almost annoying. The annoying part could just be my mood. I really need to go knit now! |
