The Win Your Wish List Contest is Back!

We have great news!  We have decided to bring our Win Your Wish List
contest back this year and, instead of just having one winner like we
did last year, this year we will have THREE!  That’s right, three lucky
people will take home $50 worth of goodies from their wish lists. 
(Insert SQUEEEEs)

Entering is super easy and can be done in just a few easy steps. 

Click “read more” for more details on how to enter.

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Advanced Cabling Techniques: Intarsia Cables

In the second installment of our Advanced Cabling Techniques video series, we add color to our cables! In last week’s video, we highlighted how to create multiple crossing cables, which are cables with a three dimensional appearance that makes it look as though you are creating interlocking rings.

This week, we shine the spotlight on intarsia cables! These eye-catching cables are combined with the colorwork technique known as intarsia, allowing one section of the cable to be in a different color than the rest of your knitting. The best part is, with only the help of a highlighter or marker, you can easily transform any cable chart into your very own cabled, colorwork creation.

Check out the second Advanced Cabling Techniques video to start adding intarsia cables to your projects!

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Adventures in Dyeing

dye_03

The idea that a simple walk down the street or through a park can take
you past a dozen different plants able to color your yarn in a stunning
range of shades has piqued my interest since I was gifted a guide to
natural dyes two years ago. Since then I have tried onions, indigo,
coreopsis, goldenrod and scotch broom to dye my handspun.

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Give your holiday knitting a Finishing Touch

Now that winter is nipping at our heels and the holiday knitting
season is in full swing, it’s about time to think about quick, warm
knits. What better than fingerless mitts? They’re versatile, quick to
knit, and make great gifts.

If that sounds like a good idea to you, why not try the Finishing Touches Fingerless Mitts Kit?

This set comes with the patterns and enough yarn for five pair of
coordinating fingerless mitts. Each of the five pair is a little
different…

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My First Weaving Project

My very first weaving project is done! Just yesterday afternoon, I took a bit of time to put the finishing touches on my weaving project by braiding the ends and tying them off. Although my edges aren’t quite even and there are a few flubs here and there, I have to say I am quite pleased with my first attempt at weaving with a rigid heddle loom. And the colors are simply stunning, I love the way there are bright pops of teal and lime green, but overall, the colors seem so well balanced.

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An unofficial survey (with a giveaway!)

Thanks for all of your suggestions!  Comments are now closed – we’ll announce the winners soon!


Over the past couple years,  I would say that the majority of my personal knitting projects are from downloaded patterns. The popularity of downloadable patterns has been growing every year – for instance, we have almost 1400 patterns in our Independent Designers program, not to mention our popular in-house designs, free patterns, eBooks and book patterns available for download as well.

I get requests from the IDP designers a lot, asking me what kind of patterns they should be working on.  Well, we know what we like & what we think would be popular with our customers but I thought I’d ask our blog readers – what kind of patterns would you like to see more of?  Sweaters? Socks? Hats? Easy patterns?  Challenging patterns?  Leave a comment below & let us know!

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Advanced Cabling Techniques: Multiple Crossing Cables Video

In keeping with the theme of last week’s Race to Wrapped, this week’s video tutorial continues our exploration of cables! Since we focused on introducing simple cables and twists to new knitters last week, we thought it might be fun to do an entire series that shows off unique and interesting cables for more advanced knitters.

Check out part 1 of our Advanced Cabling Techniques video series, which shows you how to create multiple crossing cables! These unique cables have a three dimensional appearance that makes it look as though you are creating interlocking rings.

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