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 »
Have you ever seen a book and there’s only a couple of
patterns in it that you would really like?
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just purchase just the one or two patterns?
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Amy
Duncan joined us early on in IDP and I couldn’t be more delighted
to have her in the program. Her patterns are all fantastic fun projects
and give us a glimpse of her personality through them – can I just say
I’m in love with her Laodice
Shawl? I have the sample here & I like to wear it around the
office. Though it does looks better on her:
It
been great to get to know Amy (we both share a deep love for The
Amazing Race) and I’m so excited to share my interview with her!
I was feeling fairly confident when I choose my crochet project for
the summer. I’ve crocheted a hat and a scarf before, how hard can
expanding on those basics really be, right? Um, wrong.
I’d bookmarked a tutorial for how to make gorgeous crocheted lamps months and months ago from resurrection fern, and I decided this summer was the perfect time to make a pair for my porch. I picked out my Cotlin colors, chained 5 and away I went.
First mistake- using the wrong size crochet hook.
I started out with an F which made sense for the Dk weight yarn, but
not for the lacey, stretchy fabric I wanted to make. This is much too
dense-
I know it’s a bit strange to think about summer knitting just as winter has begun. But, when I saw the photo samples of these Lantern Moon knitting bags, all I could think was, “Yes! Bags I can use in the summer!”
Have you every noticed that summer purses tend to be small? Or, a bit gaudy? Or, made out of fabric with no support underneath so everything sags into the middle?
You can begin to understand why I love these Lauren bags. The neutral colors mean that I can keep a knitting project in one and not have to worry about moving it to another bag that goes with my outfit. The size is large enough for a decently sized project but small enough to look “light” for summer. I can fold it up to fit in a suitcase for trips. The lining makes these “safe” woven bags because my needles won’t poke out of the sides. The sturdy base means that the bag will stand up nicely on the ground while I eat outside at a restaurant, look at art during our First Thursday art walk or chat with a friend in the park.
You may be holding a mug of hot chocolate in your hands right now, but a Lauren Bag will fill your mind with dreams of summer knitting.
Read more »You may have noticed that since the introduction of crochet patterns by
indie designers through IDP, we’ve been slowly expanding our selection of
crochet hooks and books. In addition to the Clover hooks we’ve had, we’ve added
Susan Bates and Boye hooks, a pretty set of rainbow acrylic Clover Reflections
hooks, ergonomics, and a few new complete sets.
With all these crochet hooks floating around the office, some us have
gotten curious about what to do with them! Kim and three of our wonderful
customer service representatives, Lori, Georgianna, and Jeanine are our in
house experts, but since we have a slew of employees interesting in learning,
we thought we’d ask you for help. Come teach Knit Picks how to crochet this
summer in our first crochet along!
One of the more confusing parts of sleeves-inward shrugs is the
shoulders. The obvious choice is to eliminate shaping, having the
sleeves perpendicular to the body. I don’t find that that shape fits me
well, so despite the fact that this is lace, I decided to do short
rows.
Wow, a lot of you love to knit with variegated yarns! We received 854 entries to this contest, but I used the random number generator to pick 5 winners.
The winners are:
748 Patricia Gallagher
800 Wannietta
419 Claire
21 Judy Eidick
66 Kristina T
I will email each winner and mail a copy of The Knitter’s Guide to Hand-Dyed & Variegated Yarns and their favorite color of Wool of the Andes Bulky Hand Dyed to them!
I love variegated yarns. They look so pretty in the skein! But sometimes, the colors distribute unexpectedly when you knit them up, and they can pool. Lorna Miser, the founder of Lorna’s Laces yarns, has many ideas for how to knit with hand-dyed yarns. The Knitter’s Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn is brimming with stitch patterns to redistribute colors and fun patterns to highlight the best qualities of hand-painted yarns.
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By now you know how I feel about Cathy Carron’s book, Cowlgirls. But, “Don’t leave!” I’m using Cowlgirls as a seque to a topic I think you will find very helpful.
Cowlgirls is appealing to me because of the variety of designs, the practicality of the “cowls” and how quickly each project knits up.
Now, think about the challenges many of us face when we begin to knit gifts for Christmas. What to make for whom? Something that will actually be worn. And, a definite lack of time! The secret to making a dent in your knitting list, or even finishing it, is to choose portable and easy projects.
I began to realize that Cathy’s book would be the perfect source for my gift knitting! Being in a building full of knitters, I began to wonder what books other holiday knitters were using. And, …
This is my first project published in a magazine! It is Love of Knitting – Fall 2010. I have always loved how Suri Dream knits up into a light, airy, surprisingly warm throw or wrap.
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