Tilework Afghan
by Stacey on August 24, 2012
This week’s Freebie Friday is a gorgeous pattern by our own Kerin:
This is the Tilework Afghan, a cozy and warm blanket, perfect for chilly fall days.
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Henry’s Rabbit
by Hannah on August 22, 2012
I discovered a stray ball of Brava Sport under my desk (oh, fancy that!) in Camel Heather just about the same time that I stumbled upon the Henry’s Rabbit
pattern on Ravelry. Well, I just couldn’t say no to that delightful
combination and in a thrice I had a plump little football-shaped body
ready for some ears, eyes, nose and arms!
The Provisional Cast On
by Jenny K on August 22, 2012
The provisional cast on is a technique where a piece of scrap or waste yarn is used to create a cast on that can be easily undone later on to expose live stitches. These stitches are then picked up and allow you to seamlessly knit in the opposite direction. It also allows you to easily graft the new live stitches onto another knitted piece. And I have to admit that for the longest time, the provisional cast on was the most elusive cast on method to me. No matter how many times I practiced this only to rip it out and try again, I never quite got mine to work quite right. Instead of easily pulling back my waste yarn to neatly unzip my stitches from the cast on, my attempts always ended up taking quite a bit of time as I calmly tried to sort through the mess I made of my stitches.
Yet no matter how hard I tried, the universe was dead set on keeping this technique in my knitting. Project after project, the provisional cast on kept showing up in patterns I was working on. I loved what this temporary cast on allowed me to do; I just didn’t love the process so much.
So in my quest to find a provisional cast on that even I could master, I turned to Kerin. Of course she had just the thing I was looking for, so we put together a video tutorial to help you master the crocheted provisional cast on as well! In addition to your yarn and needles, you’ll just need a piece of waste yarn and a crochet hook to get started.
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Exclusive Collections – Twentieth Century Graphic
by Stacey on August 20, 2012
Ann Weaver has long been a favorite at Knit Picks – from her Knitty work to her Weaverknits designs and her IDP patterns. In recent years, she has published several eBooks and we’re so excited to release her newest collection – Twentieth Century Graphic!
This collection features 6 striking designs influenced by modern art and architecture.
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Exclusive Collections – Modern Sophisticate
by Stacey on August 20, 2012
This catalog was particularly exciting for me, as something we’ve been working on for quite awhile is finally available for all of you to see! Several months ago, Alison and I were chatting about IDP and since our eBooks have been popular, we thought it would be great if we could work with some of our favorite designers to create a collection of new patterns, complete with the beautiful photography that Hannah, Heidi and our photography team has been coming up with. Well, fast forward a few months (and a lot of work!) and our first 2 IDP exclusive collections are live – Twentieth Century Graphic by Ann Weaver (which I’ll discuss in my next blogpost) and Modern Sophisticate by Erica Jackofsky.
Erica has been one of my favorite designers since I started at Knit Picks – I love her designs (in fact, I’ve made several of them; many of them more than once). But still, when I talked to her about doing an exclusive collection, I was still amazed with what she had come up with.
Modern Sophisticate is a gorgeous collection of 6 patterns, each a classic piece with fun details. Including both garments and accessories, each pattern has a timeless simple silhouette with wonderful extra details that make Erica’s patterns so much fun to knit as well as to wear.
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Podcast Episode 194: New Fall Yarns 2012
by Knit Picks Podcast on August 16, 2012
This week, Kelley and Alison sit down to chat about all of the exciting new things
that have been happening here around the office – in particular, all of the
wonderful new yarns available for fall! First up is Palette, our
fingering weight colorwork yarn that is now up to 150 colors! A staple
yarn of the Knit Picks family, Kelley reminisces about the debut of
Palette and how it first began with a selection of 30 colors. Next, Kelley and Alison
introduce a yarn line new to Knit Picks this fall – Galileo! Hear all
about this amazing Merino wool and bamboo blend in addition to some
great projects that Kelley and Alison have in mind that would be perfect
for this new yarn. Next up is another new yarn line by the name of Reverie, which is a blend of baby alpaca and acrylic! Kelley
and Alison chat about this super soft brushed yarn, its unique …
Some Quick Projects
by Hannah on August 15, 2012
All this hot weather hasn’t stopped my needles, but it has put
a size limit on what I’m working on. That means no blankets, sweaters
or scarves until the temperature drops below 75! It’s just too hot and
sticky to be hauling around projects that large, let along having them
in my lap as I work on them. NO thank you.
Instead, I’ve been delving into my stash of quick projects. Over the last three days I started and finished a pair of Matilde Skår’s Abra Alba Wrist Warmers, made a Teeny Tiny Knitted Toys white bunny to go with my little vegetable garden from two weeks ago and cast on some nice, plain black Capretta fingerless mittens from the Knitting Venture’s Leap! pattern. And it’s only Wednesday!
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Meet Reverie!
by Jenny K on August 14, 2012
August has really been off to quite the start. With everything from new fall yarns to Sunstruck needles and limited-edition crochet hooks making their appearance, it’s hard to know what to gush about first. And since I always seem to bit a bit cold, I have to say that it has been quite difficult to contain my excitement for one of our newest yarn lines – Reverie!
This light and fluffy blend of 80% baby alpaca and 20% acrylic is just the thing for that perfect weekend sweater. I already have a picture in my mind of a cozy Reverie sweater that I can wear instead of a light jacket as the weather transitions to the chilly autumn air. The soft halo and lofty quality of Reverie totally embodies comfort to me and is just the thing for a relaxed, weekend sweater or dramatic, billowing cowls and scarves. Just add a cup of hot cider to that scene, and I’m a happy camper!
And our in-house designer Kerin was actually one of the first lucky people to try out Reverie – watch her video review to hear more about Reverie!
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Fresh Picked Colors
by Knit Picks Staff on August 10, 2012
I always love choosing new colors for our yarns, but it’s no secret that Palette
is my ‘baby’. So, when we decided that it was time to make the big move
to 150 colors, I set out to not just ‘fill in’, but add a whole set
that not only complements the existing colors but is evocative in
itself. And so I am super excited to present our new Palette colors for 2012!
The set was inpired by so many things: new growth, delicacy, and the hints of colors that lie at the edges of grey.
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Summer Stripes Felted Water Bottle Holder
by Stacey on August 10, 2012
Since much of the US is in the midst of the dog days of summer, we thought it would be a good time to show off this week’s Freebie Friday pattern.
This is IDP designer Mara Jessup‘s Summer Stripes Felted Water Bottle Holder. During the summer months, I’m chugging water like there’s no tomorrow and having a cute holder to carry my bottles around in is a no brainer.
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