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by Knit Picks Staff on August 30, 2013
I'm getting really close to finishing my Chroma blanket! Out of 120 5" squares, I've crocheted over 100 of them. I only have three more rows of squares to attach, and then it's on to the border! It's already big enough to provide some serious warmth. |
Category Archives: Works in Progress
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by Knit Picks Staff on August 21, 2013
A very long time ago I made an attempt to learn to tat. I'm typically a self-taught crafter, and the internet wasn't around at that time. Needless to say, I gave up almost as quickly as I started! Moving forward to 2 weeks ago, (yes, only two weeks!!!) I gave needle tatting a try. Now there are great books and you-tube videos to help you learn. So along with those sources and a tatting needle, I found it so quick to pick up! I know there are shuttle tatting people and there are needle tatting people. I now fall in the latter group. |
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by Stacey on August 19, 2013
So excited to see all the entries – I wish I had more copies to give away! This was our first giveaway on the lovely new blog so I’m excited to announce our three winners! First up is Amanda, who chose 3 favorite patterns! She wrote: Can I pick three? Is that cheating? 😉 I love the Addison dress but I’m not sure I’d have the patience to knit that much stockinette. Swarm of Bees is beautiful and from my experience so far, I get a lot of use out of short-sleeve sweaters. I’m also totally crushing on that particular shade of gold. I also love the Belt Cardi – totally fits my style and it would be oh-so-useful day to day. Next is Kristine, who wrote I have to agree that usually knitted dresses just aren’t my thing but the Addison Dress caught my eye too. I’m seriously thinking of bumping something in my ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on August 2, 2013
When I went back to visit family on the east coast a few months ago, I had the opportunity to grab some hand-me-downs from my granny's house. I was able to go back in time and send myself an entire box of my great-grandmother's linens! What amazes and inspires me about the treasure trove of table dressings I now possess is not just the quality of the work, but the quality of the care shown by my great grandmother and my granny over the last 75-100 years. |
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by Heidi on July 30, 2013
I have the fastidious skin of a princess, and can't stand most wool yarn. That is, until I met City Tweed. The blend of Merino wool and superfine alpaca gives the Donegal tweed a buttery soft texture, while still maintaining its traditional textured appeal. I'm crocheting a blanket that will be primarily the dark charcoal City Tweed DK Obsidian, with three white stripes of contrast in the center. I can't help but be transported to misty Scottish Highlands when I think of snuggling beneath this hearty blanket. It makes me hungry for fall: toasty sweaters, crackling fires and steaming hot apple cider! |
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by Knit Picks Staff on July 26, 2013
As you may have noticed in my last crochet post, I'm hard at work on another monstrous crochet project. I've taken a break from the wee stitches of doilies and settled in with some repetitive Circled Squares in Chroma! Finny isn't the only one who is rather smitten with this afghan-in-progress. My other little guy has been seeking out any part of it - loose squares and all - to nestle in to. But most of the time it's draped across the couch - I'm already using it, even though it's not even halfway assembled yet! |
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by Knit Picks Staff on June 14, 2013
I've never been one to shy away from public crafting. In fact, if my hands aren't busy all the time, I basically just fuss and fidget and drive myself nuts. So, it's no surprise that many of the folks at the fine coffee and food establishments I frequent are well enough acquainted with me to ask much more specific questions than "Is that called yarning?" In fact, one barista was surprised when the sweater I'd been working on for some time wasn't with me for a few weeks, when she knew it wasn't finished. Well, there's a good reason for that, I explained, as I was busy crocheting a doily. I messed up! |
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by Knit Picks Staff on June 10, 2013
To begin, I’d like to share an exchange that occurred in a waiting room last year: Young boy: HEY! What are you doing? Me: Oh, hey there. You mean this? I’m crocheting a scarf. Young boy: CROW-saying? Me: Right, close! I’m crocheting. See, you use this hook to make loops with the yarn. Young boy: (yells across room) MOM, LOOK AT WHAT THIS GIRL IS SEWING. Young boy’s mother: Honey, that’s not sewing. She’s knitting. Public crafting—like anything you do that’s not “staring blankly at the ground”—opens you (and your work) up to an immediate and directed dialogue with strangers; as most of you have experienced, this is both good and bad! In honor of “Knit & Crochet in Public Week” (which kicked off last Saturday), I’d like to present the best stranger comments I’ve heard over the last couple of weeks (from parks to cafes), all in relation to the same in-progress Brava blanket pictured above |
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by Kelley on May 15, 2013
Image from Timpani Ravelry pattern page. Hah! You thought it was going to be a pair of socks!! I recently spoke with Jen Lucas about her new book Sock-Yarn Shawls for an upcoming podcast. I loved the book and Jen’s enthusiasm got me excited to decide on one of her shawls for our trip to the east coast this weekend. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 3, 2013
When you consider the time involved in writing a pattern, knitting the item, photographing it and getting a pattern ready for publication, it’s no wonder we work months and months ahead. It tends to create a strange creative dissonance for me; right now I’m finishing up some patterns for November, yet it’s 75 degrees out today and I’m wearing a tank top. It’s really hard to get in the right frame of mind for what would be cozy in winter when all I can think about are flip flops! But, working in advance can have some really great advantages: lots of time to dream and mess up before you have to get it right. I’ve recently laid out my plan for 2014, and have started dreaming up all of the concepts for ... |
