I love watching out for when the butterflies start heading back north in the spring. Every year I want to plant more flowers in the hope of drawing more butterflies to my yard. If it’s not yet time for butterflies … Read More...
Learning about Deaf History Month
Deaf History Month is recognized during the month of April, but as with other awareness and history months, it serves as a reminder that many of us could do a better job incorporating these stories throughout the year.
The original … Read More...
Twist Your Stitches for a Fun Vest Knitting Pattern
In the past few years I’ve developed an appreciation for vests that I never had before. I had knit a few, and I liked them OK, but I guess I just didn’t fully embrace the layering possibilities that they can … Read More...
Circular Knitting Machine FAQs
Lately I have been seeing a lot of interest in circular knitting machines and knitting patterns to use with the Addi and Sentro circular knitting machines. Whether you have one of these machines or are just thinking about getting one, … Read More...
Stitch Up a Pair of Comfy Pants
When it comes to knit garments, I think pants are probably the most overlooked project out there. Pants are a big project, much bigger than a sweater, and they will take a long time to knit.
But knit pants are … Read More...
Designer Spotlight: Little Dove Samplers
When I was casting about Etsy to find a designer to spotlight this week, I landed on Little Dove Samplers and felt like this might have been a designer that I showcased before. It turns out that I shares a … Read More...
Book Review: Hand Spinning
I don’t have a lot of experience with spinning yarn, and I don’t really think you could learn it from a book. There are so many variables and the learning curve is so much lower if someone who knows … Read More...
Anzac Day Activities for Kids
Anzac Day is basically the Australian and New Zealand equivalent of Memorial Day or Remembrance Day. Anzac stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, and it commemorates in particular the conflict at Gallipoli in World War I, though it’s generally … Read More...
Knit a Bouquet of Flowers
If you’re feeling impatient for real flowers to bloom, you can always knit your own! This collection of flower knitting patterns will bring color into your home that never fades. They make great gifts or decorations for gift bags, too.… Read More...
Review: Cross Stitch for the Earth
If you’re a fan of a nature theme or know a nature lover you want to stitch for, Cross Stitch for the Earth by Emma Congdon has some fun options for you.
The 20 projects in this book include pro-environment … Read More...
Upcycled Crafts to Make for Earth Day
Using upcycled materials in crafts and projects is a great idea any time of year, but it’s especially appropriate around Earth Day. (One of the most popular posts ever on my blog Our Daily Craft is a building challenge … Read More...
Bands of Colorwork Add Direction to This Sweater
Adding colorwork to a sweater is a great way to change the look and make simple stockinette look more interesting. You can easily make different looking sweaters from the same pattern by adding or removing colorwork or changing its placement.… Read More...
Houndstooth Knitting Patterns
One of my favorite basic colorwork patterns is houndstooth, and I’m honestly a little shocked I’ve never done a houndstooth knitting pattern roundup before. Now’s the time, thanks to my coming across the Rakish Shawl from The Lamb & Kid … Read More...
How to Pick Up Stitches for Knitting
Last month I told you a bit about the continuing saga of me knitting an argyle vest, which has given me lots of opportunities for writing tutorials about different skills that were used in making it.
That particular post was … Read More...
Earth Day Activities for Kids
I feel like I’ve written about Earth Day a lot, and that’s a good thing because it’s important to take some time to think about how humans are treating the earth and things we can do to help it.
We’ve … Read More...
Basic Triangle Shawl Knitting Pattern
A basic triangle shawl is a great project to have in your arsenal. If you’ve never done shaping before, you’ll get a lot of practice with increases (in this case, yarn overs). And once you understand how knitting a triangle … Read More...
Poppy Cross Stitch Patterns for Anzac Day
Anzac Day is marked each year on April 25 as a reminder of the battle of Gallipoli, a conflict against the Ottoman Turks in 1915 that resulted in the deaths of more than 8,000 Australian soldiers. Anzac is a nickname … Read More...
Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day
Poem in Your Pocket Day is April 18 (in 2024), and it’s a great time to bring some poetry into the classroom. I learned from the American Academy of Poets that the celebration began in New York City in 2002 … Read More...
Be Brave with Color Choices to Knit This Shawl
Helen Kennedy says her shawl pattern, Always Be Brave, came about because people shopping at a local yarn fair were drawn to heavily multicolored yarns but didn’t know what to do with them.
She designed the shawl to use a … Read More...
Review: The Sock Project
If you’re on Instagram and you knit, you’ve probably seen some of Summer Lee‘s colorful and fun socks. As you might imagine, when she wrote a book all about sock knitting, it, too, was colorful and fun.