Buying a gift card is a bitter sweet activity for me. On one hand, I’m giving a gift that gives in two ways–you get it as a gift, then they get to go shop with it, so it kinda doubles the enjoyment. Also, of course, they get exactly what they want.
On the other hand, it’s kind of impersonal and can carry that negative connotation that I didn’t put much thought into it.
The designers at Knit Picks have saved the day.

The little sweaters in the Tidings of Joy kit are designed to fit a gift card! Now you can give a gift card inside it’s own little hand knit sweater. You get to give a hand knit treat (doubles as a holiday ornament for their tree) along with the very practical gift card. It’s a win, win, win. …

I don’t know about you, but when I catch that first whiff of fall, all I can think is COLORWORK!

There’s just something about the changing seasons that makes me want to sit back with a cup of coffee and several richly colored yarns and make some knitted art. I’ve started my very own Corrie Vest, though I’ll have to admit to taking a few liberties with the color – hey, designer’s prerogative, right?

I’m not that far into it yet, but I’m really looking forward to wearing this all winter. I’m a total geek for sweater vests, but I only have one. Just one! It is so hard to find one that’s short enough for me. With that in mind, I wrote the pattern for Petite, Average and Tall heights. I’m definitely knitting the Petite size! 😉
Since this is totally colorwork season, we …

If you haven’t checked out the new fall issue of Knitty, here is the link. It’s OK, I’ll wait until you’re done.
Now that you’ve looked at everything, let’s talk about the patterns!

These are the Zozo toys which were knit out of Swish Superwash.
There have been so many good sweater patterns released this fall. I’ve queued up several things from Knit Scene, but I was waiting for the fall Knitty to arrive before I figured out what I was going to knit next. And I’m glad that I waited, because I really love the patterns that Amy Singer selected.

My absolute favorite sweater is Girl Friday, designed by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark. I enjoy knitting lace, but most lace patterns don’t fit my style, they’re just too fancy for me! This folding diamond lace pattern is bold, geometric, and full of texture. Also, I love cardigans and shawl …

For some reason, I’m rebelling against my summer knitting.

Last weekend, I didn’t want to work on my socks, or my lace, or my cotton tshirt projects. They all require concentration that I didn’t have, and trying to work on them just felt tedious and frustrating. So I cast on for a Daybreak shawl, with one of our rejected Stroll samples and a color-changing sock yarn I went out and bought instead of going to the Sock Summit (I know, bad designer!) I love the graphic elements of this pattern, and with the simple stripes and slipped stitches on a background of plain stockinette, it is turning out to be the perfect antidote to the knitterly temper tantrum I was having!
So I brought my progress into work today, and learned that Kate is not only knitting the same pattern (in ultra-gorgeous sock yarn that …

It’s been a busy few weeks for me, let me tell you, and I’m not even talking about the Sock Summit craziness. The September catalog is still in the printing & mailing process, while at the same time we’re shooting the photos for the October catalog and planning projects for the Winter catalog. Whew! I wanted to take some brief time to show you a glimpse of one of our October photoshoots, and to introduce you to your new KP catalog manager/designer, Christina.

I got this candid photo of Christina during our location shoot at Hopworks Urban Brewery in SE Portland. Hopworks is Portland’s first Eco-Brewpub, offering organic beer in an awesome sustainable building that is a darn cool setting for photos. (Not only that, but they have amazing homemade rootbeer, which I sampled with lunch after the shoot.)

The …

Lots of you have probably already noticed the new Lace Samplers that have appeared on our website. They come in 4 rich, pretty colorways and each sampler comes with the pattern to knit both the Chinook Shawl (pictures above in the “Deep Sea” colorway) and the Pyrifera Scarf. (Click “more images” on the product page to see more pictures of these!) Well, today Tina launched our Lace Knit Along and I graciously agreed to go on the record, as the designer of the Chinook shawl, to give you all an idea of how it came to be:

Neat, eh? Anyone can join the KAL, you don’t have to be working this particular pattern to do so, so come on by! I’d love to see a good mix of seasoned and newer lace knitters there, helping each other along. I’ll be there, answering questions about the …

Have you seen Handknit Heroes yet? It’s the first graphic novel for knitters, and it’s pretty awesome. Not only did the first issue feature twins with superhuman powers and a mom who is secretly working to invent bullet proof fibers, it also included a pattern for the POW! Hooded Scarf, designed by Erssie Major.
Stephanie Bryant, the comic’s author, took a few minutes to answer some of our nagging questions about what it’s like to write a graphic novel for fiber enthusiasts.
Q. What inspired you to create a graphic novel for knitters?
A. Like all great inspiration, I came up with the idea at a SnB knitting night at my local yarn shop. We were talking about how much fun the comic-inspired knits like Wonder Woman wristlets are, and I had this idea that you could do an entire knitted superhero costume pattern, with various colorways …