Follow along and discover your next inspiration as we cast on for projects we love, explore new techniques, and dish about the latest and greatest from Knit Picks.
Meet the team »
As
the jury duty continues, I’ve been getting more practice in with my
crochet hooks! I wanted a simple project that I could pretty easily pick
up and put down between sessions, and I also wanted a chance to try
working with Reverie ever since I saw Jenny’s delightful Francis Revisted sweater. I found Brittney Waterhouse’s In Bloom Beret and Cap pattern and thought it looked like the perfect project for Reverie.
Hey there! Welcome to “Customer Question of the Week”, a new weekly blog feature wherein our crack team of experts (okay, it’s the KP staff) answers your most pressing fiber-crafting queries. Have a ponderance or problem you need solved? Email us at customerquestion@knitpicks.com. Even though we won’t be able to respond to every person, your question may be chosen for this feature!
Our first question comes from no one person in particular—but a chorus of customers over the years. Kudos to our wonderful Multimedia Manger, Jenny K., for tackling this one.
Q: “I love colorwork, but not wool! What can I use?”
A: If wool isn’t your fiber of choice and just the idea of using 100% wool for a sweater starts to make your skin itch, don’t despair – you still have options when it comes to colorwork.
Known for its fine crimp and low micron count (which determines softness), Merino wool is certainly a fiber that will have you thinking twice about using wool. If you’re looking for a yarn with an extra soft touch, the Stroll yarn family blends superwash merino wool (75%) together with a touch of nylon (25%) – making it a wonderful choice for those with sensitive skin. Stroll Fingering substitutes beautifully in place of Palette in most cases, and it boasts a wonderful selection of solids and complicated heathers to make your next colorwork project picture-perfect.
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One of the many joys of my Knit Picks life is making treasured friends through our mutual love of fiber art. A couple of years ago, I received a package containing a delightfully colorful pair of socks. They were accompanied by a note from Frances Fisher explaining that she is a fan of Knit Picks and these socks were a gift of what she calls her Hodgepodge socks.
Read more »In this week’s episode, Kelley talks with Frances Fisher – a knitter
from North Carolina who is 87 years young and has over 200 pairs of
socks to her name! Back in early 2011, Frances sent one of her
“hodgepodge socks” to Kelley as a gift. Having kept in touch over paper
mail and email, Kelley and Frances have become friends with a shared
obsession over all things yarn. Kelley chats with Frances about her
unique take on socks and what her process is for creating her
“hodgepodge socks.”
Frances was kind enough to share a few photos of her creations! Below is a picture of her socks that were framed in a shadow box as a gift which Kelley and Frances refer to in the podcast. Click on the picture to see a gallery that shows off more of Frances’s colorful socks!
Hodgepodge Socks, knitted by Frances Fisher
3 easy …
Moving from a drop spindle to a spinning wheel can be a fun and exciting change – but if you are completely new to spinning wheels, it can also feel a bit overwhelming. Not only are you changing from a small, portable tool to one that is larger and more stationary – but there is also a whole new world of terminology to learn.
Although there are different styles and variations, the main parts
and mechanics of a spinning wheel remain fairly consistent. So if you’re new to scotch tension, break bands, and mother-of-alls; we’ve made a video tutorial that shows just how easy it is to assemble the Kromski Sonata spinning wheel.
Hi folks—first, thanks to everyone that participated in the 24/7 Bag giveaway! Although I must say, after reading through your comments, you’re all vastly underestimating your abilities to look awesome/British. Moving on!
Congratulations to Ana Huron, Barb Blumke and Sidra Goldsmit, our randomly selected winners. Here’s how they employ reuseable bags:
“I love taking reuseables to flea markets! And to the beach for wet clothes…..” – Ana Huron
“When I was working I used a leather messenger bag stuffed with knitting, lunch and whatnot. At home I use reusable bags for books shoes yarn needles. For my work in progress I use a plastic grocery bag to keep my fur babies out of mischief.” – Barb Blumke
“The first time I ever came across reusable bags was when we were in Holland in the mid-90’s. I still have the bag that we purchased there (it was a MONSTER bag). However, I invariably forget my bags in the trunk of my car and have to run out to get them (or send my husband). It would be nice to have something small in my purse (which is purposely not large) to be with me at all times. We are starting to see more & more cities/counties that require the customer to supply their own bags either for just groceries or all stores.” – Sidra Goldsmit
If you didn’t win this time, never fear: We will continue to do giveaways as often as possible. Have a neat Tuesday!
Read more »Did you see? We now carry beads for you to add to your knitting!
Beads add a wonderful element to knitted items. They add sparkle and
drape to lace shawls, fancy highlights to handbags, and they stand out
against plainer items to create something special. With this in mind, I
wrote the Starry Stole pattern!
This free pattern features a pattern of beads in a starry field on a background of simple stockinette stitch.
Read more »This week’s marks the opening of the About.com 2013 Readers Choice Awards!
From now until February 11th, you can nominate your favorite blogs, designers, books, yarn company, and needle brand for the award! We look forward to this every year so I thought I’d show you some of my suggestions – you can nominate up to 3 for each category!
Read more »I’ll start this giveaway post with an important story that will most likely bore you: Do you love satchels? I do. For Christmas I received (which is to say, “purchased with great selfishness”) a small black satchel which DOES make me look like an awesome British schoolteacher, but DOESN’T actually hold much. Prior to this, I used a gigantic old clunker a la Mary Poppins’s carpetbag; it held everything your mind could imagine and substantially more, it defied laws of nature, and it always had an extra reusable bag tucked in there somewhere.
Moving along: I live in Portland and, as anyone who has seen the critically-acclaimed documentary Portlandia knows, it’s particularly vital that I keep reusable bags in my life. How to continue looking awesome and British while still being environmentally responsible?
Most of my reusable bags are of the general, folding variety—with the oft-lost plastic bit for base support and vaguely awkward shape for storage. Thankfully, our new 24/7 Bags from Flip & Tumble are nothing like that, quite literally reducing to the size of a peach; in fact, there’s my on-the-fly slogan for this bag: “More portable than an apple!”
Additionally, they’re quite strong (comprised of ripstop nylon) and roomier than they ought to be (2x the size of a plastic grocery bag). Yes, these bags are essentially my valentine this year—and now all you lucky folks have a chance to win one of your very own!
Read more »
I
have Jury Duty… for the next 30 DAYS! Once the shock wore off, I
started to plan some projects to work on during the down time. I had
already been thinking about trying to tackle a crochet toy and the note
that I could only bring crochet hooks, not knitting needles past the
courthouse security sealed the deal. I hunted through my Ravelry
queue for something challenging enough to be interesting but easy
enough to learn and remember where I was each time I was called up. I
settled on Nekoyama’s Amineko Crocheted Cat, he was just the right size and had such a sweet little face!
