NiseyKnits

As a new knitter, I used to hear that swatching is important before casting on for a new knitting project. :) I frankly thought they were a waste of my time. I mean, I was ready to start on my new project with my newly purchased scrumptious yarn, and then I read "Take time to check your gauge". Grrr!! Suffice it to say that I went for a few years as a knitter without ever knitting a gauge swatch. Gauge Swatch for my Wrapped in Clouds Shawl pattern Then I started designing. And that's when I realized how important making a gauge swatch is. It isn't just a waste of time and yarn. It's like a little mini-prototype of whatever project you will be working on. And that little square of knitting gives a lot of information. How so? Well, let's say I'm designing a simple scarf using worsted weight yarn. I cast on between 20-30 stitches and work about 20-30 rows of the pattern I'm going to be using. Then I block the swatch like I would the real scarf -...

One of our very close friends and former roommate is visiting for a couple of weeks and staying with us. The only room we have is my unofficial craft studio, which meant that I had to do a bit of spring cleaning. But that was a blessing in disguise because it gave me the chance to reorganize and make more space in the room. As usual, I made a mountain out of a molehill with this project, or as the hubster would say , "you make a big project out of a small task." My initial idea was to sort all my yarn by weight and then by color, photograph each one, and record it in an inventory spreadsheet. The first step in this "awesome" plan was to sort the yarn out. We have a lot of Pampers boxes lying around the house so those became sorting boxes for my yarn lovelies. I labeled the boxes with the yarn weights and got to sorting, carefully unloading them from the bookcases where they've been residing for the past year. The whole room was in flux. I moved som...

I just thought I'd share this quick post about some fun mitts I've just enjoyed knitting. I think I've made four of them so far, but I only have pictures of two of them. The pattern is the Lacefield Mitts by Adrienne Krey. I first came across the Blue Leaf Headband , also by Adrienne, and clicked through to the mitts. They are extremely quick to knit (I knit the most recent one within two hours on a plane ride) and the results are fantastic. NOTE: I've knit 6 of the headbands too, but I don't have any pictures of those yet. I'll put them up as soon as I do. They are as addictive to knit as the mitts. So far, I've knit three of them in Classic Elite Waterlily (I love this yarn!) in a golden yellow, green and rust red colors, and one in Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Cadmium Colorway. The pictures below are of the rust red and Malabrigo Mitts. As usual, thanks to Zeina Newman for being a willing model. First, the dark red/rust red one: And the pa...

You all know that I'm psyched, over the moon, and thrilled silly to be in this inaugural issue of Knitscene Accessories . I thought I'd share with you some of the patterns that made me want to pick up my needles and pull a knitting all-nighter (in addition to mine that is, hehehe). However, just like with clothing and accessories you would see in a store, you might think something is gorgeous but it might not be your style. So this list is not meant to offend or belittle any design that's not mentioned here. I seriously LOVE all of them, but I know I won't be able to ever knit them all. Or will I? (maybe a challenge to knit all the accessories in this magazine might be fun!) Here goes. I've been on a recent fingerless mitts binge so that the Reservoir Mitts by Allyson Dykhuizen caught my eye at first glance. I was immediately drawn to the interplay of pink and brown in an entrelac dance and thought "I want a pair in those same exact colors!" Reser...