The Knit Picks Staff Knitting Blog

by Stacey on September 5, 2013

When I was a nerdy little kid (as opposed the nerdy adult I am now), I LOVED the Choose Your Own Adventures books! Remember those? You are the protagonist of the story and determine the outcome by making decisions every few pages or so. I ate these up in my elementary and Jr High years and was excited to learn that my nephew loves them too so I could pass them along to the younger generation!

Well, obviously, I’m not the only one who loved these books, as one of my favorite designers Lee Meredith has a brand new eBook based on them!

4 Comments

Tags: eBooks, Finished Objects, Independent Designer Partnership, Patterns

Classic Color by Glenna C.

by Kelley on September 4, 2013

If you look at Glenna C.’s page in Ravelry, you will see that she lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Then, when you look at her knitwear designs in Classic Color, you will appreciate the undercurrent of functionality.

0 Comments

Tags: Inspiration

Blinging my tatting shuttle

by Kelley on September 3, 2013

I know! I have completely gone over the deep end! But, as I was immersing myself in the beautiful world of tatting, I discovered that tatters like to “bling” their shuttles.

2 Comments

Tags: Inspiration, tatting

Sooo Close!

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.

18 Comments

Tags: color, Works in Progress, Yarn

Podcast 222: Interview with Kate Haxell

by Knit Picks Podcast on August 29, 2013

This week, Kelley had the pleasure of chatting with designer Kate Haxell, author of the book The Knitter’s Palette. A wonderful resource filled with absolutely functional inspiration, Kate chats about her process for creating the book as well as her fascination with color, yarn and texture. Follow along with Kelley as she talks through each chapter with Kate and learn more about her fascinating take on color and fiber. And if Kate’s charming enthusiasm doesn’t inspire you, her wonderful tips and insights are sure to have you looking at your stash in a completely new way.

The Knitter’s Palette by Kate Haxell

3 easy ways to listen…

0 Comments

Tags: Books, interview, Podcast

My Favorite Independent Designer Photos

by Hannah on August 28, 2013

Some of my favorite days at work are photo shoot days. Every catalog cycle we log anywhere between 1-4 location shoots and 2-5 in-house studio days where we shoot tools, garments, yarn, books and all sorts of other things that crop up along the way. Each kind of shoot has this moment when everything just clicks and Amy and I can get that “perfect shot” that was exactly what we had in mind. Every once in a while we have a shot that totally exceeds our expectations and makes me actually clap my hands and gasp when I see the image on the screen.

I wanted to take a minute and shine the spotlight on some of my favorite photos that we’ve taken recently that maybe didn’t make it into the catalog or are Independent Designer’s patterns that I’m especially proud of. Enjoy!

0 Comments

Tags: crochet, favorite patterns, Independent Designer Partnership, Inspiration

Choosing Color Palettes

by Heidi on August 26, 2013

My very favorite aspect of crocheting & knitting is choosing a color palette (followed closely by the keen anticipation of waiting for yarn to arrive at my doorstep). A tasteful color scheme is crucial, as it will make or break a project. There is an endless sea of brilliant color combinations to choose from … you just have to know where to look!

First, I set up a Pinterest board to store my color palette images. Next, I start compiling images with lovely color schemes. There are quite a few sites that make this a breeze. My favorite is Design Seeds, which is updated daily with gorgeous color palettes pulled from photos.

Here’s an example of a yarn color scheme in our wool line Palette that I extracted from a Design Seeds image:

12 Comments

Tags: color, crochet

It’s back to school time – don’t forget your Geometry!

by Knit Picks Staff on August 23, 2013

Well, the days of summer are drawing to a close – it’s time to go back to school. My favorite subjects in school were science, art and math – all of which are reflected in my latest collection, Geometric!

This is a 6-pattern collection that draws upon ideals from geometry, modern art and architecture. Each pattern features a graphic detail that stands out against otherwise simple knitting.

0 Comments

Tags: Books, colorwork, eBooks, New Products

Tatting learning curve

by Kelley on August 22, 2013

Wow! I had an interesting weekend with my balls of Curio and tatting instruction books. My hands might remember the motions for tatting but my mind has certainly filed away the technical understanding way back in a mental file drawer. I’m not looking for excuses for my high learning curve but I have to say the tatting world is a bit complicit.

3 Comments

Tags: Inspiration, New Products, tatting

Tatting! The adventure begins!

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.

12 Comments

Tags: Office Gossip, tatting, Works in Progress

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