I spend more time on knitting than on anything else these days, so I thought it would be useful to keep track of the things I do and find.
New Courses
Knitting lessons – The Homemade Mama teaches many different skills for knitters with skills from beginners to more knowledgeable. All materials and patterns are provided and the cost for 2.5 hours is only £15.
New sites
Knitty – a free online knitting magazine
Verena Stricken – A German knitting magazine with some out-of-the-ordinary designs and patterns.
Stickpodden – A Swedish podcast about knitting which I discovered from someone knitting a hat on instagram (see below for Kirstin Kurbitz hat). It is so great it makes me want to learn Swedish just to understand it.
Stitchlinks – In my cyclical wonderings about whether I’ll ever study for a PhD, mostly led by my love of university libraries and nostalgia at exploring the American Literature shelves, I Googled PhD in knitting.
One link was for some Doctoral work in the therapeutic value of knitting, with funding secured by Stitchlinks. There is information about the benefits of knitting, or more accurately, about the benefits inherent in the externalities of knitting, i.e. the side affects, as such.
Ravelry is a large and rich community for all types of knitters and commuters so this is a firm favourite. The new thing I discovered this week was the Patterns forum.
New patterns / techniques
Knitting with dental floss – beading: http://chaosvortex.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/i-try-beading-with-dental-floss.html
Rib and welt pattern: http://www.yarnspirations.com/stitch-gallery-rib-and-welt-pattern
http://heknitsnspins.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/spiral-mitten-pattern/
New yarns
Colour Adventures George DK
Self striping sock yarns from Eaden Yarns
New projects
I discovered the pattern for Karin’s Kurbitz hat from Stormblomma who I follow on Instagram.
Works in progress
My “cute cable socks” went from an unfinished beginning to a complete single sock which fits only with a lot of effort.
Still, that’s progress, and it’s a real sock.
Mersina’s scarf in neon bright orange Boston from Schachenmayr, my new favourite yarn for scarves.
I cast on 16 stitches and am doing it in K1 P1 rib. I like it. The yarn is soft and lovely and thick and warm.
Finished projects
I finished the shawl for the Follow Your Arrow Knit-a-long.
My final pattern choices were AAAAA but turns out I didn’t love the initial A so I’ve started a new shawl and am beginning with B.
Let’s see how this one goes.