I remember the first time I brought home yarn in a hank. It was a disaster. I laid it out nice and flat on the couch next to me and started to knit. Wow. You can guess what happened next. So I went to the yarn shop and asked about […]
book review - journal
Beginning Knitting Book Round Up!
My first beginning knitting class is coming to a conclusion and I want to make sure to give these new knitters some great resources to take with them into their future knitting adventure. I know I would recommend Stitch N’ Bitch for sure, it has great illustrations and tips for […]
journal
What yarn? What hook? What needle?
One of the things that many of us take for granted is how to know what hook or needles for the yarn you have. This is especially important if you are making up your own project as you go along or if you are altering a pattern you already have.
crochet - knitting - patterns & tutorials
The Black Swan :: Free Crochet Hat Pattern!
I’m really growing fond of combining crochet and knitting together. It is the perfect coupling of techniques. Crochet is organic and thick and has a much different drape than any knit fabric. While knitting has stretch and give and is wonderful for so many garment structures – you can do ribbing with knitting that is perfect for keeping caps on tight. I named this beret the black swan because, just like a black swan it’s all black with a few flecks of white.
patterns & tutorials
ReReleasing to the Wild:: Coffee Sweater!
So the coffee sweater is this month’s Craft Leftovers Monthly Kit. I did a run through with it to make sure it would work with fingering weight yarn. Welllll, it does…. but then while knitting through it I found that just about ever row, except the “knit all” rows, was […]
journal
How To :: Purling!
Purling defied my understanding for quite some time when I first learned to knit. mainly because I was twisting all my stitches. One thing that helped was to think of it as going over the top of the needle counter clockwise and with knits going around clockwise. I’ve remembered it […]
patterns & tutorials - stitching school
Stitching School: Cable Cast On
I use this cast on all the time. It’s my default, if it’s not specified in the pattern cast on to use. It’s also the best cast on to show in training knitters. The thing is, the cast on method is pretty much the same as knitting a knit stitch. […]
journal
Cherry Loves Honey in the Shop!
I am happy to announce two new kits and a redo of an older kit today! It’s been a long time coming because the before mentioned errors in the Cherry Chirp Pattern, but no more waiting, they are now available in the shop! The Cherry Loves Honey kit (two pattern […]
journal
Re-Releasing to the Wild :: Cherry Chirp :: Free Knitting Pattern!
Quite some time ago I first wrote and posted the pattern for the Cherry Chirp Bird. I love this pattern and think it came out really cute. Standing about 8 inches tall, 4 inches wide, and 8 inches long they are a quick knit and takes a mere 40gram of […]
journal - knitting
Coffee Sweater :: Free Knitting Pattern!
I was pretty put off by all the leather sleeves on my coffee mugs and at one point I had finally just had enough. I just didn’t like the idea of it. So I knit a new cozy for my coffee mug from the no kill alternative – wool. And best of all, you can also use this sleeve on those paper coffee cups instead of using the card board ones or double cupping. Perfect!
journal
The Weekend Before Christmas…
…and all through the house, there were piles of craft supplies and disenchanted sighs… ‘oh why, oh why did I not start these projects in July!?’ Here are some of my Favorite Craft Leftovers Patterns that can all be made up in a snap and would be great gifts to […]
knitting - patterns & tutorials
Knit Sock Rockin’ :: Free Knit Ornament Pattern!
My friend Carolyn has been knitting up little mini sock ornaments like a whirlwind of crafty goodness. And I have been envious. They are just so cute! So i decided that this was just the perfect thing for leftover sock yarn and wrote up my own litlte pattern for using up this bit and rockin’ around the christmas and jazzing it up a bit with little mini replicas of socks you’ve knit over the year. And best of all, it’s a sock you can finish in just 2 hours or so! and no need to worry about second sock syndrome because you only need to make one to be done with your project instead of two.
journal - patterns & tutorials - stitching school
Stitching School :: Counting Rows
I was so happy to get a How To request over on my FaceBook wall from an old classmate of mine: “Hey kristin, I LEARNED HOW TO KNIT ! AND HOW TO PURL! AND HOW TO DO CABLES! all from youtube! I’m so excited because now i can make really […]
journal
Knitting like a Knitting Machine
Knitting Machines have interested me ever since learning to knit. The speed, the ease, the speed. Is it really easy though? And is it really actually fast? Well both of those things depend on two things. What you are making and what machine you are making it on. Jason in […]
journal
How to :: Saving my Knitting :: Part II :: Picking up Dropped Stitches – Fast.
Knitting experiences, especially early on, are scared by all sorts of odd ball issues. During my year and a half (or so) at the Yarn Exchange I came to realize that dropped stitches were the number one culprit of all time. They would stop knitters dead in their tracks. And […]
journal - patterns & tutorials
Hattery Round Up
Thinking of Christmas Crafting lately? I know I sure am. I see many many hats and scarves in my future, haha. I’ve been trying to find hat patterns that I like that would be quick to knit, that are good for stash and leftover yarn, and look super nice that […]
howto
How to :: Saving my Knitting :: Part I :: Life Lines
I’m not sure why I never thought about writing about this before, but today as I was ripping back 8+ rows for the 1 millionth time I did. I worked at a yarn shop for almost 2 years (just ending this past May when I moved to Ames) and helped […]
crochet - journal - knitting - patterns & tutorials
Switchy Swatchy Swap
While working at the yarn shop I mostly came into “knitting” questions and troubleshooting so that increased my progress exponentially when compared to crochet. So I make little swatches. Sometimes from a stitch dictionary, sometimes from my head. Then I put a border around it. I try to do a different stitch and a different border each time. Or if I have a hard time with a particular technique, I do it again and again until I get it right. It has helped so much and I highly recommend this practice for anyone trying to get comfortable with new techniques. Mix and match crochet and knit borders to get an idea on how to work with the two techniques. My knit/crochet version of a sampler.
knitting - patterns & tutorials
Seedy Diner Placemat!
Oh the seedy diners, I do love them. Late at night. All the characters that you see there. The greasy hash browns and coffee late at night to keep the creative juices flowing. I remember eating plate of hash browns with katsup and about 8 cups of coffee, then going back to the studio and working until of 4am or so. Anyway, so I was making a place mat, a smaller one for just a bowl and cup because I don’t have enough room for a full place mat on my desk where I keep my laptop, but kind of like having a place mat, not sure why, just do. So I needed a smaller bowl/cup sized one.
profile
Artist Profile: Mitch and Susan Fox!
I found this lovely pair of artist’s shop while cruising around etsy. After reading the shop profile so many questions filled my head! First off the work is amazing, and the back story turned out to be just as interesting. You can check out their shop and all of their […]