Posts Tagged ‘Knitting’
Organize Your Needles with My Needle Keeper Idea
March 27, 2012 | 
Author I have lots of straight knitting needles, and a few bent ones. Keeping track of the mates for them was hard for a while, as I didn’t have a needle organizer. I was going to make one, but I never bothered enough to find a good pattern. Being a cheap yankee and a compulsively creative sort I came up with these little gems. They keep needle sets together in pairs or sets of pairs. If I just want to take one pair with me, the individual keepers keep them together in my bag.
When you are using the needles you can leave the Keeper on one of the needles (for individual Keepers).
Use your imagination. I just made these up.
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Posted in Projects, Uncategorized | 
Tags: crochet, crochet projects, Knitting, knitting needles, needle keepers, needle organizers | 
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Understanding Eastern Knitting and Western Knitting Styles and Knitting Faster
Understanding Eastern Knitting and Western Knitting Styles and Knitting Fast
In this article I will explain the difference between the Eastern and Western styles of knitting and how not to get confused. There will be some instruction in how to do them, yet while this is not so much a knitting lesson, what you learn here may be of great use to the beginner or transitioner. Read the rest of this entry »
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Fast Knit “Manly” Geometric Hat and Scarf but She Likes It, Too – Free Pattern
This is easy and relatively fast to knit and looks good on both sides, so it’s basically reversible. When I finished the scarf (at work) a couple of people wanted one, including women, so it’s not just for men. I designed it for a male friend of mine and he clearly liked it. The pattern deters curling edges, and the extra thick yarn and simple pattern makes it fast to knit. I used Lion Brand Woolease Thick and Quick in Charcoal color.
The pattern is a geometric grid that has narrow parts alternating with wider parts, both vertically and horizontally. I if you know something about knitting you can use this as a basis for other designs with this thickness yarn. I am using it to do some cabled hats for gifts to match scarves I made last year. Be aware that cables pull in more side to side and make a piece a little smaller.
This hat I designed to go with the scarf fits me “not tight” and I have a large head and almost covers my ears. If you need a hat smaller, take out 8 stitches around leaving 48 loops for a smaller hat, and remove 5-8 rows for a shorter hat.
For a variation of this hat with faux cables see the picture and link below. It looks nice also.
Materials and tools:
Scarf: 10.5 straight needles.
Yarn: two skeins Lion Brand Woolease Thick and Quick (106 yd/97 m), or equivalent size 6 yarn.
Hat: 10.5 circular needles, 24 -36 inch length or whatever works for you.
Yarn: Less than one skein of the above selected yarn.
7 or 8 stitch markers. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Patterns | Tags: hat, knit, knitted hat, Knitting, Lion Brand, man's hat, man's scarf, scarf, Thick and Quick | No Comments »
The ‘How Many…?’ Knitting Tool
I found this online tool for planning a knitted piece. I hope it helps you. Uses:
- If I want to decrease 14 stitches over 6 inches – how many rows should I work between decreases?
- My pattern needs me to increase 13 stitches evenly over a row – how often do I increase?
- I want to knit something 13 inches wide – how many stitches do I cast on?
- I want to knit a piece 22.5 inches long – how many rows do I work?
http://quirm.net/blog-extra/how-many/
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Make Felted Bulky Yarn Yourself
Do you have some worsted weight or other yarn you aren’t crazy about, or don’t want to use for projects at that yarn weight? You can convert it to a bulky or super bulky yarn with a bit of elbow grease. Combine colors along the full length or create colorways as you go along, or just make one color, and the yarn will have new characteristics for unique projects.
While fiddling around with yarn I needed some matching cord for a knitted/fulled/felted sporran I was making for my kilt so I took some of the same fishermans yarn by Lion Brand and crocheted up about five feet of chain in this yarn, then went to work felting it in a sink full of hot soapy water, just rubbing it all in a ball and every half minute or so pulling it all apart so the strand didn’t felt onto itself. After about five minutes the squishiness of the yarn mass pretty much disappeared, indicating the felting/fulling had pretty much completed. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Techniques | Tags: bulky yarn, crochet, felt, felted, felted projects, felted yarn, fulling, how to make felted yarn, kilt, knitted cord, Knitting, make your own sporran, make your own yarn, scotland, spinning, sporran, super bulky yarn | No Comments »
Amazing Knitted Skeleton.
We all get our curiosities over what we can make with knitting. That’s part of creative obsession. Amiguri is an interesting
aspect of knitting and crochet. You make little animals and other small figures or caricatures of people with yarn and a bit of stuffing. Then there are those who go way beyond and take yarn crafts into the realm of art. This one doesn’t really qualify as amiguri, but maybe on a higher realm.
At THIS LINK you will find a sculpture of a complete human skeleton made with knitting. Construction details are not available. Imagine getting the pattern for this! And then working on it in the subway or such.
The work by Ben Cuevas is called “Transcending the Material” and was installed and exhibited at the Wassaic Project Summer Music and Arts Festival when he was in residency there.
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Posted in On The Web | Tags: amiguri, anatomy, art, arts festival, ben, Ben Cuevas, biology, Cuevas, exhibition, Fiber Arts, gender, hudson, hudson valley, human bones, human skeleton, installation, knit, knitted, knitted skeleton, knitted skull, Knitting, knitting as art, lotus, lotus position, meditation, music and arts festival, music festival, obsessed with knitting, ora mici, photography, screen printing, sculpture, skeleton, skull, Wassaic Project Summer Music and Arts Festival, Wassic, Wassic Project, yarn | No Comments »
Needle Tip: Circular Knitting Needles with Clear Tubing Cables
A couple years ago I bought a bunch of bamboo needles direct from China, which you may have read here I had to sharpen as they were sloppily made. I got about 45 needles for about $40 US. Among these were two sets of circular knitting needles in two lengths, but I did like them because the clear vinyl tubing cables were sticky and the yarn would not slide on them easily.
Just solved that problem. I needed an unoccupied set of #3 us needles for a necktie I’m working on and grabbed one of these in desperation. Then it occurred to me to put a little oil from my forehead on the cable to occupy the tackiness with some molecules other than my yarn. It worked! I put on just a tiny bit and rubbed my fingers back and forth until they moved smoothly, and now as I knit the yarn doesn’t drag on the tubing. It doesn’t feel oily either.
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This May Be Why Knitting is Relaxing
We all know knitting is a great way to relax (except when you mess up or can’t figure out the pattern or you have to rip it all out AGAIN or ….). I know from my own experience I find myself sighing in relief after just a couple minutes of knitting. Well, scientists at the Institute for Knitting Research and Technology – just kidding, that doesn’t exist (yet). The following article at psychologytoday.com gives great insight into the different modes of the mind, and I believe the element of Read the rest of this entry »
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Solving Knitter’s Block: When Nothing Will Let You Knit It.
I stopped by Gail Knits, the LYS near my home looking for inspiration. I just finished by Christmas gift blitz of six scarves and two shawls in three weeks (all on superbulky yarn and or large needles, so don’t be that amazed) and want to knit something for myself. I’ve been eyeing a leaf lace pattern for a scarf, but try and try again I keep messing up, not liking the yarn, not liking the pattern, wanting to change the pattern and not getting it right, and ripping everything out about ten times by now. Something was wrong. I had what I’ll call “knitter’s block”. Nothing would cooperate: not my hands, not the yarn, not the pattern. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in The Knitting Experience | Tags: acrylic, acrylic yarn, alpaca, alpaca scarf, artificial yarn, being real, cascade yarn, chicken nuggets, christmas gifts, dying wool, eco alpaca, eco duo, fake yarn, Gail Knits, hand spun yarn, knitter's block, Knitting, knitting lace, lace, lace leaf pattern, las vegas, mdf, natural dyes, plastic flowers, real friends, real purpose, reversible cable scarf, reversible scarf, scarf, single ply yarn, vinyl flooring, wool blend, wool yarn, yarn | No Comments »
Update for the Leafy Lace Scarf
I’ve been doing another of that great scarf pattern but I’m starting to realize I don’t like the look of the double decrease, which is supposed to mirror the sk2p (slip one, knit two together, pass slipped stitch over). It doesn’t look as nicely defined as the sk2p. I’m going to try k3tog instead, which is supposed to lean right, as well as my own concoction: k2, slip new loop back to left, pass next unworked loop to the right and drop off left needle, then slip new loop back to the right. I haven’t had time to try this yet, but wanted to post it here in case you are trying the pattern and want to see if it looks better before I can get back to you on it. Happy Knitting….
By the way, I’m also adding a 2+2 cable crossover in the middle for added vine effects.
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Posted in Techniques | Tags: double decrease, knit three together, Knitting, knitting decreases, lace, lace leaves, lace pattern, lace scarf, sk2p | No Comments »
