BLOG: Knitting

Self-Striping Sock Yarn

October 2, 2014

If you watched my most recent Coffee with Stacey, you’ll know that I absolutely love knitting socks from self-striping yarn.

My go-to sock yarn, Knit Picks Felici (shown above), has been discontinued. Self-striping yarn is hard to find… it’s difficult to dye and some beautiful ones are stunning but not suitable for socks.

So I thought it would be fun to post a list of delicious self-striping sock yarn!

Can you tell I’m shopping?

Have you tried any of these?

Or have a favorite to recommend? I want to hear it!

If you love beautiful rainbow-y socks, you’ll probably also want to follow Susan B. Anderson’s blog… she does lots of lovely knitting!

Video: How to knit socks on 9" circulars

June 23, 2014

If you read this blog, you may know that the 9″ circular is my favorite way to knit socks.

They’re compact and great for traveling.

But, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how it actually works when knitting, particularly with the heel flap. So I made you a video!

Book Review: Woodland Knits

November 18, 2013

I adore Stephanie Dosen’s (aka Tiny Owl Knits) designs. She designs whimsical and fun knitting patterns… so I was really excited to see her book, Woodland Knits.

The book contains 21 adorable patterns, 10 of which are new designs for the book. The remaining 11 designs are well-loved favorites, like the deer with antlers hat, bo peep scarf and fawn poncho.

The book contains cute little notes and helpful tips throughout, but no introductory material. It’s 21 lovely patterns bound together in a book.

I was surprised to see that all of the patterns in the book are available for individual purchase as pdf downloads. At around $5 a piece, if you’d like to make a few, then $20 for the book is a great deal!

Besides the discount over purchasing 21 individual patterns, though, you don’t get much additional content to the book. So, I would recommend having a peek at the included designs (which is tricky, since only the new 10 designs are listed as patterns in the book on Ravelry), and deciding whether there are a few you’d like to knit.

The patterns are cute and the book is very pretty… so if you can find a few, then I’d say go for it!

Do you knit two at a time?

November 6, 2013

Have you ever knit two at a time?

I originally learned to knit two socks at a time using Antje Gillingham’s book Knitting Circles around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles… but now I use the technique for all kinds of things!

What does it mean to knit two at a time?

It’s just what it sounds like! Using two separate balls of yarn, you’ll knit round one of the first sock, then round one of the second sock. Then, you’ll move onto round two of the second sock…

It’s a great technique for ensuring that two pieces are exactly the same!

Once I got the hang of socks, I moved onto knitting other pieces this way, like these monster arms:

knitting monster arms two at a time

And now…

Do you remember when I told you I’d started knitting a Charleston Tee?

When it came time to knit the sleeves, I thought, ‘hey! I should do them both at once!’

knitting sleeves two at a time

(I apologize for the late-at-night photo… I’m busy knitting!)

This way, the sleeves would be exactly identical, and I’d only have to read through the directions once! Hooray!

Because the sleeves are knitted flat (instead of in the round), I only need one needle instead of two.

It’s almost finished… fingers crossed it’s ready for me to wear at Stitches East!

That’s what I’ve been up to this week… how about you? I hope you have an awesome Wednesday, and get some great knitting/crocheting done this week!

If you want to check out more Work-In-Progress posts, please check out Tami’s Ami’s Blog, who’s been organizing a great WIP Wednesday blog theme! And, don’t forget to come back for FO (Finished Object) Friday!

Book Review: So You Want to be A Knitting Designer…

September 26, 2013

Being a knitting/crochet designer is kind of a weird job. Being successful means being part designer, part webmaster, part marketer and part photographer. And you can’t go to school for it. (okay, you can go to school to learn to design, but not do all the other stuff!)

I learned it through the grapevine…

Most of what I know about ‘the biz’, I learned from other designers. Chatting on online forums. Talking in person at trades shows. It took me years to feel like I really got what was going on.

That’s me and Space Cadet pausing for a photo during a chat-session!I can’t tell you how much I learned about marketing and my brand by chatting late into the night with other designers at conferences!

But now… the Reference Guide!

If you’re a newbie designer, you’re coming in at a great time! You don’t have to spend big bucks traveling to conferences to find out about the ins and outs of the industry… there’s a book about it!

Alex Tinsley (designer behind Dull Roar and also Designer Liason with Malabrigo) has just written an ebook that tells you (basically) everything you need to know to be a knitting or crochet designer.

I just read it. It’s awesome.

Not only is Alex hilarious, but the information in the book is dead-on. She gave me permission to post a looky-loo at the table of contents:

So You Want to Be A Knitting Designer covers how to write patterns, hiring a tech editor, photography, self-publishing, how to work with magazines, marketing, what to do if your idea is stolen, how to wholesale to yarn stores… you name it!

Is this book for you?

Alright, so let’s talk about what this book does and doesn’t do.

This book:

gives you real, authentic help for becoming a designer: including a pattern template, sample emails for sticky situations and advice about submitting proposals that you really need for real design life.
gives you a comprehensive list of resources for finding tech editors, hiring photographers and chatting with other designers.
walks you through the basics of the industry (including the dos and don’ts of asking for yarn support!) in a friendly and honest manner… from someone who’s worked in lots of different parts of the industry.
leaves you feeling confident about doing knitting design as a career (it’s hard, but not mysterious!)

Although the book has ‘knitting’ in the title, it’s equally applicable to crochet designers, too!

This book is intended to helping someone who’s seriously thinking of designing navigate the industry, and already has some knitting experience. It doesn’t contain lessons on how to design, detailed help with taking photographs or address the financial/tax/contract aspects of beginning a business.

Get it!

I would really recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a designer (whether it’s part or full-time).

Visit Alex’s website to grab your copy of So You Want to Be A Knitting Designer…!

Not only does it distill lots of information that’s available in thousands of posts online into one fun & readable document, but it also contains a little bit of extra information that many designers aren’t always willing to post in a public forum (such as how much tech editors are usually paid and examples of email templates in sticky situations).

I’m so happy Alex wrote a book like this… the industry really needed one!

Which way should my knitting go?

September 3, 2013

You put down your knitting in the middle of a row, and then… how can you tell which way you were going? Has this ever happened to you?

No worries! I’m here to help. I’ll show you how to pick up your knitting and keep going without confusion!

For today’s blog post, I’m assuming you knit right-to-left (the way most right-handed and some left-handed knitters knit). If you knit the other way… then reverse the right/left instructions!

Check your yarn (left/right)

When you pick up your work, look at where the piece is attached to the yarn.

You want the yarn to be attached to the right needle:

See how the yarn is coming out of the last stitch on the right needle? That’s what you want!

If the yarn coming out of a stitch on the left needle… just turn your work around!

Putting your yarn in its place (front/back)

You know that your yarn should be in the back for knitting and the front for purling… but what were you doing?

Have a look at the last stitch on the right needle. You want there to just be one piece of yarn in that stitch:

Here, I was knitting, and holding the yarn in the back is the right way to go.

Does it look like you have two yarns in your stitch? Check this out:

This means that you are holding the yarn on the wrong side of the needles. Just move it to the other side!

August Photo Contest Winner

The winner of August’s photo contest is Chloe, with her awesome back-to-school squid!

Congrats, Chloe!

My Derecho!

August 16, 2013

Remember how I frogged my Color Affection and then started Derecho? And kept working on it?

Now it’s done… and I couldn’t be happier! It’s beautiful!

The lime green yarn from Candy Skein really makes the whole project pop, don’t you think?

I had such a blast knitting this… and the best part is that it’s totally wearable. You can even still see the design when I’m wearing it! Love that.

This one’s a keeper!

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

If you want to see more great finished items… make sure to visit Tami’s Amis blog, the organizer of this great FO Friday theme!

I hope you have an awesome and craft-filled weekend!

My mom and step-father are visiting this weekend, so I’m going to be getting into some semi-crafty house updating projects!

My favorite tool: a 9" circular knitting needle

April 27, 2013

Hi there folks! Welcome to day 6 of Knitting and Crochet Blogging Week!

Today’s topic is ‘a tool to covet’… so I’m going to talk about my favorite tool: my 9″ circular knitting needle!

Why a 9″?

Most people think I’m crazy when I say that my favorite knitting needle is a 9″ circular. But I can’t help it. I’m in love.

I’ve already chatted about how I like knitting socks… and 9″ circular needles are a fabulous way to knit them! When you knit with other techniques (double point needles, two circulars or magic loop), there’s always a join that creates the potential for laddering (those icky loose stitches) as well as costs you some time maneuvering them around.

With the 9″ circular, there’s none of that! You just knit around and around!

My favorite one is the *Hiya Hiya 9″, because the tips of the needles aren’t too pointy. Clover makes a 9″ needle that’s made from bamboo with pointier tips. It’s just a matter of personal preference which one you choose.

What are the downsides?

I can’t report many… I love not losing a double point needle under an airline seat (oy, what a mess!) and not having to worry about finding multiple needles to get a sock done.

However… the 9″ is small… and too small for a number of people.

The only way to know if a 9″ will work for you is to give one a try.

Another downside is that they haven’t really ‘taken off’ yet, and they can be a bit difficult to find in stores. For example, even though big box stores carry the line of Clover needles, I’ve yet to see the 9″ available with his needle-buddies. Some LYSs carry them, so it’s worth giving your local shop a call to see if they have them!

Give ’em a try!

I’ll be honest, if you have big hands or like a lot of ‘space’ when you knit… the 9″ probably isn’t for you.

But if you like to knit socks, and are tired of losing a double point, getting ladders in your work or having trouble tossing your knitting into your bag and going… then you might love these guys! Try them!

Best,
Stacey

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My favorite relaxing knitting projects…

April 23, 2013

It’s day two of Knitting and Crochet Blogging week!

Today’s topic is to write about a project inspired by your mascot. If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll remember that I’m a Manatee, because I love to knit projects that are fairly simple and relaxing.

So today, I’m going to share with you some of my favorite patterns for relaxing knitting!

What is relaxing knitting?

Relaxing (or mindless) knitting usually means that you’re knitting slightly below your skill level. For example, if you just learned to do cables, then a cabled sweater isn’t going to be relaxing. However, if you’ve been knitting cables for 20 years, then a lovely cabled sweater might be very relaxing for you!

I’m accomplished at knitting cables and lace and sweaters… but with these skills, I still find myself checking the pattern often, so they aren’t relaxing to me, yet. Projects that are relaxing to me are typically ones with an easy-to-memorize pattern or repeat, simple colorwork or short rows are allowed.

For me, relaxing knitting doesn’t mean boring knitting. Sure, I could do a blanket in garter stitch… but what’s the fun in that? To be fun, a project needs a little bit of interest!

I’m going to show you some of my faves… feel free to check them out for yourself! Who knows… you might find these patterns either too complicated or boring… but I highly recommend that you find your own collection of relaxing patterns for yourself!

Wingspan

Wingspan by Maylin is a simple-to-memorize and beautiful shawl pattern. I’ve knit two!

Although the pattern is easy once you get it, you have to do a repeat or two to internalize it. I’ve written some tips for knitting Wingspan to help!

Stripe Study

I’ve knit three shawls from Stripe Study by Veera Valimaki… because it’s such a pleasure to knit!

The pattern uses simple colorwork (changing colors every couple of rows, with the yarn carried up the side), an easy-to-remember short row pattern and increasing (placed at stitch markers) to create this delightful shawl!

The main downside is that it’s asymmetrical, and so is tricky to wear. It’s the only thing that’s stopped me from knitting a fourth!

Pogona

Pogona by Stephen West is another fabulous shawl. I’ve knit two!

It’s a little bit of effort to start up (you’re placing quite a few stitch markers!), but once you get going, it’s just stockinette and reverse-stockinette with regular increases at the stitch markers. Love it!

Basic Sock

The Basic Sock by Churchmouse Yarns is my default knitting project. Take any sock yarn, and you’re guaranteed to get a great pair of socks!

A sock isn’t relaxing the first (or second time), but once you’ve knit a few pairs, you get the ‘formula’ of the sock. I cast on, knit the cuff for a while, check the pattern for the heel-turn instructions, knit the foot and then decrease for the toe. That’s a lot of relaxing knitting in there!

I’ve knit 6 pairs from this pattern!

$5 in Paris

$5 in Paris is a fabulous top-down sweater pattern… I’ve done two with plans for more!

A sweater isn’t usually very relaxing, because there’s lots of shaping and seaming, but this one is different! Starting at the neck, you increase regularly until it’s time to separate the sleeves, then the body is plain and simple knitting! The color changes of the stripes keep it from being mundane.

Because they’re 1/2-length sleeves, there isn’t even any shaping, there! Easy!

Citron

Citron by Hilary Smith Callis is another fabulous, but simple shawl. I’ve made two!

The cute little ruffles are made by increasing and decreasing quickly… and the remainder of the shawl is made by regularly-spaced increases. Cute and easy!

And you?

What are your faves? What’s your ‘go-to’ relaxing knitting project?

Any of my faves that you’re looking to try?

Simple wrist exercises for knitters and crocheters (video)

April 21, 2013

Simple Wrist Exercises for Knitters and Crocheters - a video from FreshStitches and Shiny Happy World

My wrist exercises for knitters and crocheters blog post has been super-popular… and some folks have asked me, “Can we see the exercises in action?”

Well, sure!

So, here’s a video of some little stretches and exercises you can do to keep your wrists happy!

Click ‘play’, then the rectangle in the lower right corner to see it big!

Here are handy links to all the crochet troubleshooting posts. . .

Return to the main table of contents for Let’s Learn to Crochet Amigurumi.

Happy stitching!