copyright Sixth and Spring Books

What constitutes a good hat?

Ah! Well….

now that

depends on

so many things….

First of all,

if you’re a

knitter,

then a good hat

is one you

knitted yourself.

A good hat is fun to knit.

And what makes it fun to knit?

Lots of things: Great design- meaning that there is  a sense of adventure in combining the sculptural, textural and color elements of the hat.

Whimsy is important too, in winter hats- Winter is bleak to miserable at times, so a good hat can punctuate the grey dreariness and hold the bitter cold at bay.

That’s a lot to ask of a hat…. luckily, Cathy Carron has come through with flying colors in her new book:

hattitude: Knits for every mood, published by Sixth and Spring Books. (ordering info)

There are 40 hats in the book, with levels of difficulty ranging from beginner to expert knitting.

The styles are diverse- there are headbands, hoods, toques, cloches, fedoras, berets, caps, tams and even a headscarf.

The approaches vary from nostalgic and retro to oh so hip. There are hats in ‘hattitude’ that are definitely only for the young, and there are hats that are great for all ages.

So, whether you are a very adventurous knitter or prefer to stay with more traditional approaches…. you’ll find it all in ‘hattitude’.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Have you ever MADE a snowflake?  I have!   I am willing to bet that you have, too!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I was thinking about making snowflakes,

and it struck me that I could use

copper wire to make snowflakes.

So, of course, I had to give it a try.

What do you need to make

a wire snowflake?

Copper wire , a piece of foam,

straight pins

needle nose plyers with a cutting notch

graph paper,

a compass

a ruler,

and a pen or a pencil.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Draw a circle with

a 1 inch (2.5 cm) radius.

Work your way

around the

circumference

of the circle,

with the compass,

intersecting

the circle 6 times.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Draw a line from point to

point across the circle 3 times.

Draw a 1/2 inch line 1/4 inch from

the end of each line.

Stick a pin

at each point

on the circumference,

and

1 at the center.

Twist a loop

in the wire

for a hanger.

Stick  a pin

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

in at the end

of each of the ‘T’s

and wrap loops

of wire  around

each of  them.

Work your way

around

the arms of

the snowflake.

Go back to

the center

before moving on

to the next arm.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

When you have got

all 6 branches

of the snowflake

wrapped with

a little cloverleaf,

then pull the pins

out.

Wrap the tails

of wire

around the branches

of the snowflake

to secure them.

Pinch and squeeze

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

the wire

to shape the

snowflake

any way

that appeals.

After you have

finished wrapping

it, you can pound it

with a hammer if you’d like.

You could make

your snowflake

larger or smaller-

feel free to experiment!

Happy Snowflake making!

I thought that it would be fun to find some links for making snowflakes and came up with these ones: (Have fun!)

Clip art: snowflake-clipart

Paper: How-to-Make-6-Pointed-Paper-Snowflakes/

Make-a-3D-Paper-Snowflake

Crocheted:  tons of crocheted snowflakes

Knitted: knitted snowflake motif

http://tiajudy.com/SnowStar.htm

bead weaving: http://www.sandradhalpenny.com/9451.html

Felt: http://www.purlbee.com/felt-christmas-stocking/2008/12/13/super-easy-snowflake-stocking.html

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Yesterday,

I cut the body length

tube of knitting

from the original

mile or so of knitted tube.

I gathered the ends and

stuffed it,

tied off the neck,

stitched the ears

and legs, and

made the arms.

Sew on the arms,

stitching them really securely to the body.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And, now to

embroider the features:

I did 2 versions of the face-

one with an ‘x’ mouth/nose,

and one with a ‘u’ or ‘v’

smile.

Start by bringing

the needle with

black yarn

through the head,

and out  at the

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

first eye. (half way down the face).

Stitch over one

horizontal bar

of the face

4 or 5 times,

leaving the

yarn end

inside the head.

Then,

take the needle back

inside the head.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

To make the ‘v’ mouth:

Bring it out at the corner of

the mouth.

Then, take it back inside the

head,  at the

other corner of the

mouth.

Bring it  out

at the center of the

mouth and take a couple of tiny

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

stitches to anchor it.

To make the ‘x’

nose/mouth,

bring the needle

out at the upper

right hand side

of the ‘x’.

Go back in at

the lower left.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Bring it out at the

upper left and

go back in at the lower

right hand side

of the ‘x’.

Take the needle

out at the

left eye,

and stitch in place

5 times, then

take the needle

inside the head.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Take the needle back

through the head,

and come out

at the back of the neck.

Trim the end close

to the body.

This photo shows

both versions of the

‘v’ and the ‘x’ mouth.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

To finish:

Thread any loose

yarn ends into the

teddy’s body.

Tug hard on the

arms to make sure

that they are sewn

on really sturdily.

And, there you

have it-  a terribly sweet

little amigurumi teddy

designed by me for the love of children everywhere.

Please feel free to make them for your favorite charities and to give as gifts, but please don’t sell them.

That is not what they are intended for.

And, may you feel joy in the making and in the giving- I hope that they will bring delight those that craft them and comfort and feelings of being loved to those who receive them!

(Please remember that this tutorial was a HUGE amount of work to create, so please DO NOT copy or post it to another blog or website, but please do feel free to share the link far and wide! Thanks so much!

Original design by Noreen Crone-Findlay, copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

This year,

I decided

to have fun

with my

vintage Mattel knitter.

I love this funky

old gadget!

It’s a little finicky,

but still, oh, so much fun!

I wanted to design an

amigurumi pocket teddy bear

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

that  I could make

using the knitted tube made

with sport weight yarn

and the Mattel knitter.

(Note: It has 16 pegs, and

makes a tube that’s a couple of

inches wide, so any spool knitter

that has 15 to 20 pegs would work,

if you don’t have a Mattel knitter.)

If you have a Mattel Knitter, or

a similar round crank style knitter,

knit up a few feet of  cord with it,

to be able to make a bunch of bears.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

BODY AND HEAD:

You will need to separate a section of

knitted tube that is 5 inches/12.5 cm long.

To cut off a length from the

cord, snip a stitch from a row or 2

above the desired length.

If you want a taller bear,

cut a longer piece.

Pull up hard on one end of the cut yarn.

Keep pulling until the yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

tightens up, and it gathers in.

Now,  look closely at the

pulled in stitches, and snip

the horizontal yarn,

close to the original

snipped stitch.

When you tug on it,

a length of yarn will be

released,

by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and the 2 pieces of knitting

will come apart.

Thread the end

of the cut off piece

of yarn into a

craft needle,

and take it through all the

stitches on one end of the

Body/Head piece of knitting.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Pull up to gather the end,

and tie the ends in a tight knot.

Stuff with polyester stuffing &

gather the other end.

Tie it off and knot tightly.

Wrap yarn around the neck 2 times.

Tie and knot tightly.

Pinch an ear at each side of the head

and stitch across the base of

each ear, stitching in place

to anchor.

To shape the legs,

stitch vertically

half way up the body.

Mattel-knitter-teddy- photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Stitch the leg line several times

to make it really secure.

For the first few bears that

I made, I spool knitted

cords to use as the arms

and legs and ears.

I wasn’t happy with this,

as I wanted the entire bear

to be made from the tube.

So, I twigged to pinching the ears,

and doing the stitched legs.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The arms were more of a challenge.

I solved this dilemma by

cutting short lengths of tube (approx. 5 rows)

for the  arms.

I picked up the stitches on the top

of the short length of

tube, and gathered them.

Then, I picked up the stitches on

the other end of the tube,

and gathered them, too.

This makes a poofy little piece,

which I then folded in half

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and stitched lengthwise.

Because it is now 4 layers

of knitting,

the arm does not

need to be stuffed.

And, because this tutorial is

getting to be so long,

I am going to

finish it up tomorrow,

so come back tomorrow

for the rest of the tutorial…..

(Please remember that this tutorial was a HUGE amount of work to create, so please DO NOT copy or post it to another blog or website, but please do feel free to share the link far and wide! Thanks so much! Original design by Noreen Crone-Findlay, copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

copyright Vogue Knitting Sixth&Spring Books

From the beginning of time,

people have wrapped themselves

in simple shapes -

probably first in flattened hides,

and then in twisted, twined and

woven lengths of cloth.

They kept themselves warm

and they also created ceremonial

garb with these simple shapes.

Today, shawls still create a sense of

refuge, comfort and drama.

Shawls have never gone out of style.

This book will help to make sure that they don’t!

Vogue Knitting’s new book: Shawls and Wraps is a gorgeous book (but, what else would you expect from Vogue Knitting?) filled with shawls and wraps of every description- from quick and easy basic shawls to complex masterpieces of intricate lacework or exquisite colorplay.

This collection of superb designs for shawls and wraps  will become an enduring legacy- they really won’t go out of style and  some of the shawls will most assuredly become heirlooms.

The shawls and wraps in the book will look great on virtually any figure shape or size. How often can you say that about a garment?

There are a huge range of techniques used in VK Shawls and Wraps. I love that- it turns the book into a treasure chest of learning curves.

This is a compendium of 40 designs that were originally published in Vogue Knitting magazine- what a bargain to get them all in one book! To order the book,  click this link: Sixth&Spring (no profit in my giving the link).

Legal note: The publisher supplied me with a review copy of the book. I only post reviews of books that I like, because, as an author and designer myself, I KNOW how much effort goes into creating a book, so I have absolutely no interest in posting a negative review.

If I don’t like a book or a product, I simply won’t post about it. It leads to painful conversations sometimes, in having to explain that, but, like my mom always said: If you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all!

So, if you wonder why I seem to only write rave reviews, this is why.  If I write about it, it’s because I like it. In this case, I write about it because I love it. And, there you have it.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Check out her website: Nicky Epstein

copyright Sixth and Spring Books

If you are already a fan of Nicky Epstein,

you are going to be thrilled with

Knitting a Kiss In Every  Stitch:

Creating Gifts for the People You Love

And, if you weren’t a fan before,

you most certainly will be

after you see this lovely,

delight filled treasure of a book.

This is a book that is

all about love:

The love of knitting,

the love of great, and inspiring

designs, and the pleasures of  putting love into action by making wonderful gifts.

It’s a beautiful book, built on an excellent concept, and filled with gorgeous photos of inspiring projects.

Here’s A knitting tip from Nicky Epstein: Update With Embellishments
“Make knitted flowers, leaves, tassels, balls, pom-poms or corkscrews to add interest to pieces that you have already made, such as baby sweaters, hats, bags, socks and slippers—or you can even add them to purchased items such as handbags, shoes, scarves, socks or sweaters. Also, you can use them on gift-wrappings or as luggage identification.”

Here’s a link to order Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch: Sixth and Spring (The publisher supplied the review copy, but I do not profit in any way by listing the link to them)

Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch is a winner, and will be a perenial favorite.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

copyright Sixth and Spring books

Are you familiar with Kristin Nicolas’s work?

Check out her website: Kristin

And, now, prepare yourself for a treat!

Color by Kristin: How to design your own beautiful knits

by Kristin Nicholas has just been released and it is gorgeous beyond belief!

It’s a gloriously, deliciously inspiring book by master knitter and designer, Kristin Nicholas.

Do yourself a favour and buy yourself a copy of this book- call it a holiday present for yourself, because you’ll be transported by the beauty of the photographs. That’s a very inexpensive holiday, isn’t it? Open the book, get swept away? Sounds good to me!

Besides, you will want to make almost everything in the book as gifts for your loved ones, and okay, you’re going to want to make at least 3/4 of them for yourself, too….

The designs range in difficulty from entry level right up to advanced level knitting. There is everything from the world’s neatest knitted slippers (The Shepherd socks- ohhhhhhhhhhh I have to find time to knit some of those……..)

Recently, I asked Kristin a few questions about her work.

Here are my questions in green and  her responses:

I suppose it is the need to be creative. Somehow, someway, I try to be creative every day. It isn’t always about knitting or textiles. Some days it may be taking photos for my blog, cooking a good meal, rearranging stuff, sewing a shirt or pants. I think it is the act of creation that I like the most (including writing blog posts and photographing things for my blog).

I like to work on big projects that take a long time (i.e. a book, redecorating a house). Even though it seems that no progress is being made, eventually the whole thing is done and it is time to start something else. A book is a very cool thing because you have something that you can hold in your hand. I can look at it and say “I made that” and it feels good (usually).

2] What do you feel is the most delicious thing that is capturing your attention for future design work?

I am still in a color crazed knitting mood at the moment. I have people asking me to do my old stand-by’s “cabled designs but I am resisting. I am so much loving the color thing. I can’t get enough of mixing colors together whether it be striping, Fair-Isling, embroidering or painting my house.

3] Do you have any stumbling blocks in your work that tend to trip you up? AND- are there any ’saving graces’ that get you out of design dilemmas?

Procrastination – that is my worst stumbling block. I leave everything to the last minute and then panic about the deadline.

As for Saving Grace – Deadlines!

If I didn’t have a deadline, I never would get anything done.

4] Does where you live have an impact on you as a designer?

I live on a sheep farm in rural New England about two hours from Boston and 3 hours from New York City. It surely isn’t the fashion capital of the world. Our house is very old (for the US, that is). It was built in 1751 and parts of it are rather drafty and down-right cold. All winter long, the three of us are covered in woolens – sweaters, hats, afghans, throws, winter wooly coats, hats, mittens, gloves. You get the picture.

There is also about 6 months of gray when all the leaves are off the trees, there is snow, rain, or sleet outside. Our dirt road is made of a gravel in a neutral gray color. All winter long I have to find color other places. Color makes me feel happy and safe and warm. My family and I are surrounded with color everywhere we look and we all love it. And so, that is why I knit with color all winter long.

5] You are obviously passionate about color. What else do you savor and focus on in your design work?

I live on a farm at the end of a dirt road and natural materials abound. I like working with natural fibers whether they are wool, cashmere, mohair, alpaca, and cotton in my fiber/knitting/embroidery life.

But in my other life (my husband and I are sheep farmers), I love all the natural materials including seeds, the dirt, sunflowers, hay, leaves, raw dirty fleece. I love how natural things feel and sound when you work with them or just plain observe them – snapping twigs, leaves crunching underfoot, corn shucks twisting and folding, the wind whipping through the trees. I like to do flower arranging, gardening, interior decorating and use authentic things in those works.

(A couple of Christmases ago I did a tutorial on my blog on little birch houses and I still get numerous hits from it each week.)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

copyright Taunton Books

I hopped up and down,

pointing at this totally

awesome book that I

bought more than 15 years ago.

Luckily,

Hand Manipulated Stitches

for Machine Knitters

by Susan Guagliumi,

published by Taunton Press,

in 1990, is still available.

This book is stuffed full of

useful ways of maximizing

the creative possibilities of working with knitting machines.

It’s one of those ‘foundation’ books that you just have to have if you are going to be using the knitting machine as a tool in your fiber arts.

I am soooooooooo glad that it is still in print, and I hope that it will stay in print for a long long time…. this book is an excellent textbook on making gorgeous, complex fabrics on  the knitting machine. The secret is in  using simple tools that you use to move the stitches around in logical and fascinating sequences.

I’ve been working with knitting machines for decades. I actually bought my first knitting machine when I was 15 years old.

I have owned many different knitting machines over the years, and at this point, am down to just one- a rather simple bulky style machine that doesn’t read cards, but still allows me to make all manner of fun stuff.

Here are a few links to posts that I have written about  few knitting machine projects:

Working short rows to knit a round baby blanket: a-baby-blankie-for-fathers-day/
and here’s a quick tute on a super simple lace edging:
a-lace-edging-worked-on-a-knitting-machine

Using a knitting machine to make the edging for handwoven placemats: knitting-machine-edging-for-woven-placemats/

Knitting machines have much in common with looms, and many weavers are quite fluent on both knitting machines and looms. Both have so much potential for creating absolutely glorious fiber arts. Bliss. Pure bliss.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

How did

Small Dog

come to be

a Fan of Dr Who?

It’s the scarf.

Definitely the

lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng

and oh so cosy

scarf.

From Season 16.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

You see,

Beloved daughter in law

schmucked up her ankle

royally.

I mentioned that I

was volutold by the Dr

(Not Dr Who, Dr V)

that I was going to help put

on the cast.

Pardon the pun, but

that’s no mean feat!

See: Casting Call

Anyhow, since Beloved daughter in law has to stay off Mean Foot schmucked ankle, she’s taking the opportunity to knit like there’s no tomorrow.

A friend of hers asked her to knit him a Dr Who scarf. (I would have given him a pair of needles and a ‘how to knit’ book, but that’s another story).

So, she googled and found the pattern on the net. (There’s a pattern? Um, isn’t it just a mile of random stripes? Oh, yes, but this is the RIGHT and accurate arrangement of random perfectly correct stripes.)  Here’s the link: Dr Who Scarf Season 16

Now, back to why Small Dog is in love with Dr Who’s scarf.  Small Dog worships Beloved Daughter in Law. Shes in tune with dogs on an impressive level, and works with them.

Small Dog always has a couple of days in the autumn when he goes through a patch of feeling poorly.

Well, if you asked him he’d probably tell you he feels like a mouse who’s gone through  a fan belt. (Don’t ask me how I know about this… just trust me- it is not a nice experience. And, this IS the voice of experience).

The Vet says to keep Small Dog warm, love him madly and coddle him through his splats.

The stars were lined up perfectly for the poor little guy’s annual ‘I feel ooky’ day this time ’round…. oh bliss! to have the lap available of his precious knitting buddy was heavenly, and the fact that she had miles of scarf to wrap him in made it worth feeling crummy.

So yay for the healing power of knitting, and yay for the healing power of cuddles and coddles, and yay for Dr Who!

And, happily, Small Dog is on the mend. It must be the Dr Who scarf. I think I need to knit him one now……

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Even though the weather absolutely gorgeous today, I felt out of synch with the beauty of the day.

Today was a day of melancholy for me.

Perhaps it’s because it’s close to the anniversary of the death of one of my husband’s sisters.

Perhaps it’s because the other sisters have been here visiting and now they’ve gone  home and I miss them.

Perhaps it’s because the project that I have been wrestling with for days is refusing to set itself to rights and is a disappointment.

Perhaps it’s because I always feel sad when I cut down the glorious hollyhocks and sunflowers and put the yard to bed for the pending cold winter that comes so quickly and stays so long.

Anyhow…today was a melancholy day.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

But then….

I walked past

a group of

‘Blessed Bunny’

tatting shuttles

that I’d just finished

varnishing.

They stopped me

in my tracks and

just made my heart leap up

in delight…. Yes!

And then!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I turned around

and saw the

most

incredibly gorgeous

rainbow in the studio!

wow…..

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And, then,

I looked down

at my much worn

comfie old socks,

and saw that they

were in need of

darning.

So I poured myself

a cup of tea,

and sat down and

indulged myself

in one of the great

simple pleasures of all time.

I darned my sock.

And, decided that these three things  were pretty good metaphors as metaphors go….. sometimes, things get worn and threadbare, but they can be patched. And, there is much joy to be had in stopping to be touched by charming small things, and to feel blessed by a miracle of nature. But… it takes noticing. And, it takes courage to not run and hide from the melancholy.

I have set the unco-operative project aside, and I am darning another sock and sipping more tea, and feeling very grateful to live a life that is full of small, but sweet and simple pleasures. I am lucky and blessed indeed.

And, yes, melancholy is part of life at times, but there are ways of facing it and finding the blessings and coming home to joy….

Post from: Hankering for Yarn