Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, begins June 5, so I wanted to look around for some Islamic cross stitch patterns to share. Many of these sites are not in English, but the designs are beautiful and worth sharing.
Free Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids
An easy way to get kids active and learning outside is to go on a scavenger hunt. My daughter loves doing nature walks and observing things (here’s one we did in the fall that includes seeing, hearing and collecting items … Read More...
Facts about Knitting as Code and More
I’ve been seeing this old post from the Telegraph in my news feed over the past couple of days, and it is really interesting if you like knitting history.
We probably all know about Madame Defarge, the fictional knitter who … Read More...
Stitch a Rustic Heart for the Fourth of July
Holiday related stitching patterns are so much fun to make and to use to decorate your house or household items you use during the holiday season.
With the Fourth of July right around the corner, this pretty little rustic Fourth … Read More...
Review: Customize Your Knitting
Most knitting patterns for garments assume that most knitters are the same shape, and that shape is relatively rectangular.
The fact that knitting has standards for sizing makes it easier to write knitting patterns, but it doesn’t make it easy … Read More...
What is the Summer Slide and How to Stop it
My daughter is 6 and she’s been out of school for about a week already. This long summer — 12 weeks! — is great for lots of fun and time together, but it’s easy to see how all that time … Read More...
Are You a Patient Crafter?
If you’ve been a knitter, or done any kind of crafting in front of other people, for any length of time, you’ve probably had someone say something to you along the lines of “I wish I had the patience for … Read More...
Check out These Amazing Pom-Poms
OK, this really has nothing to do with knitting, but I think we can all appreciate yarn art in whatever form it takes, right?
And these animal pom-poms are definitely tiny works of art.
They’re made by Tsubasa Kuroda, who … Read More...
Giveaway: Wee Garter Stitch
The winner is Beverly.
Knitting for babies and toddlers is a lot of fun. The projects are usually pretty small and fast to knit, and kids universally look cute in a little knit something or wrapped up in a knit … Read More...
Make Your Cast On Looser for Knitting Success
Do you have trouble with your cast on edge being a lot tighter than the rest of your knitting? I still do sometimes (usually when I’m doing a long-tail cast on and I’m in a hurry so I fly through … Read More...
Review: Magical Shetland Lace Shawls to Knit
Sometimes books fall through the cracks for me a little bit and it takes me longer than it should to review them. I might lose the book somewhere in my office (happens more than I’d like to admit) or I … Read More...
Knit Summer Tops Perfect for the Beach
We’re still trying to work out what sort of vacation we’ll be able to take and when this summer, but our getaways usually involve the beach, so I’m thinking ahead by looking at some great knit tops perfect for covering … Read More...
Are You Ready for Some Football Knitting (Again)?
Do you remember the Scoreboard Knitalong from last year? Maybe you took part in it?
The idea was to knit a scarf or cowl in two colors throughout the football season, with each row representing a point scored either by … Read More...
Giveaway: The Knitting All Around Stitch Dictionary
Martha is the winner!
My love of stitch dictionaries is well documented. They’re so fun to look through, play with and get inspired by.
One of the potential problems with using stitch patterns in projects, though, is that they can … Read More...
Make a Trivet out of I-cord
We’ve talked before about I-cords, and whether you knit them with needles, use an I-cord maker (I just broke mine a couple of weeks ago!) or make them with a French knitter/spool knitter, they’re kind of fun and meditative … Read More...
Why You Should Wet Block Your Swatches
I’m guessing by now you know that you should knit swatches before embarking on large projects, especially garments that need to fit a particular person.
Not only is it important to know if you’re getting the same number of stitches … Read More...
Book Review: More Lovely Knitted Lace
Brooke Nico is skilled at taking simple shapes and reinterpreting them in the framework of lace knitting projects. Her books Lovely Knitted Lace and More Lovely Knitted Lace
start with basic geometric shapes, add lace and turn them into shawls, … Read More...
Knit Yourself a Can Cozy
It’s great when you can knit things you will use all the time, and one summertime essential that can easily be knit is a can cozy. These little sleeves keep condensation off your hands when your beverage gets sweaty, adn … Read More...
Knit a Fun Washcloth that Makes a Great Gift
I’ve probably said it, oh, about a million times, that I love knitting washcloths because they’re a great way to try out new stitch patterns but they are also infinitely useful and totally giftable.
That’s especially the case with Knot … Read More...
Giveaway: The Knitter’s Book of Knowledge
Congratulations, Terry!
A couple of weeks ago I told you about The Knitter’s Book of Knowledge, a huge and detailed volume covering a whole bunch of knitting techniques from Debbie Bliss.
This book would be great for a newish … Read More...