Welcome
I'm Shiela Dixon, peahen on Ravelry, I blog at Stitchin' Bints and Shiela Dixon on Facebook. Here you will find information, news and supplies for the hand knitter.
News
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May the Yarn be With You
If you use hand-dyed yarn you may wonder what inspires the dyer.
Here Lorena Haldeman reveals her inner nerd and shows us how her love for a certain trilogy has inspired some colour choices.
Apparently all sold but check through all the photos - I especially like the colours in her R2D2 and Slave Leia yarn.
10 Tips for Washing Your Handmade Items
Thanks to Lion Brand for this round-up of washing wisdom.
Most is common sense or common knowledge but well worth a read through.
Knitted Mayoral Candidates
Heather Brown has knitted these captivating caricatures of Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson, Brian Paddick and Jenny Jones, candidates for the forthcoming London mayoral election.
With thanks to the Knittyblog for sharing.
Graduated granny squares without variegated yarn
Thanks to The Creative Crochet Crew for sharing this post from Karen of Colour in a simple life.
Karen isn't keen on variegated yarns, she says "give me gorgeous, solid colours any day".
She has been experimenting with ways to change from one solid colour to another. It is a great way to use stash yarn which she has found addictive and exciting.
She gives us the pattern for this granny square blanket with a scalloped edge
Knitted wedding
Tanya likes to do things differently and her wedding day was just as she had dreamt.
Four weeks before the big day she finished this amazing skirt knitted with two strands of very fine cotton, in a complicated lace pattern.
With thanks to deramores.com for sharing
Wonderwool Wales
If you're within reach then one of the major events in the yarn year, Wonderwool Wales, is happening this Saturday and Sunday (28 and 29 April).
See yarn, fibre, fleece, sheep, equipment, demonstrations and products.
At the Royal Welsh Showground, Powys. Camping, free parking and on-site catering.
6 Facts About Working with Cotton
Cotton has been getting some attention in the blogosphere. Here Lion Brand compile some useful pros and cons and other considerations about knitting and crocheting with cotton.
Boobie yarnstorming
I keep saying no more yarnbombing stories, but this one raised a smile.
Last October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Knitty Attitude yarnbombed close to the Icelandic Cancer Society, appropriately and eye-catchingly attaching bright pink boobies to a lamp-post.
In a separate post, her crocheted breast pattern is here in both Icelandic and English: http://knittyattitude.com/2012/03/19/pink-breast/
Luxury Knitwear Inspired by Brains
Fashion designer Brooke Roberts has used x-ray calibration film and brain scans as inspiration for a line of knitwear.
Knitting The World Together
This is Bonnie Kate Wolf with her knitted map of the world. It's more than that though. Her project highlights the places that back art and artists.
with thanks to Craft magazine for sharing
Give your creations more 'sole'
To make crocheted boots or slippers more hardwearing and outdoor, Cleo shares this idea of using recycled beach shoe soles (I'm guessing flip-flop soles). Just make holes in the soles and crochet onto them.
http://cleothorpengata.blogspot.com.au/2010_05_01_archive.html
Hwaet! Beowulf socks
These socks feature the opening lines of Beowulf - the words flow from one sock to the other so that you can read the poem across them both.
The Verdant Gryphon has designed them and was inspired by the tradition of embroidering words onto a sampler.
http://www.verdantgryphon.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=3012
Create Your Own Icelandic Lopi Patterns
Many thanks to Cotton and Cloud for sharing this one.
Previously in Handknitter News I have mentioned Buhus knitting. The Icelandic Lopi style is similar, featuring a colourwork yoke.
Knittingpatterns.is is a sweater pattern designer, allowing you to design your own colourwork pattern. You can choose size, needle size and draw a pattern. The software then gives you a chart and pattern and it's all free!
The link below takes you to a tutorial (in English) which then links to the application itself.
Nike shoes made like socks
Earlier on we saw some hand crocheted boots and shoes with a commercial sole, and here Nike have had the same idea (I'd like to think that they went to one of Cleo's workshops and copied the idea).
They've used knitting techniques to make a comfy upper, which they hope will make a splash at the Olympics.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669098/nike-unveils-its-big-new-paradigm-shoes-knit-like-socks
Yeti Party
I do look forward to each new update on Anna's slightly mad miniature knitted world.
She makes knitting patterns for teeny tiny knitted characters. Here she has brought her yetis to life to show us how they have a great time at a party. Don't overlook the one in the background breakdancing by spinning on his head.
When you've had enough of the dancing, follow the link to the game of tag, and then explore the rest of her posts for lots more smiles.
In a post written on 29 Feb, she shows how she makes her stop-motion animations.
Crocheted Enterprise crew
As a gift for a fellow crocheter and Start Trek fan, janaford made this Next Generation crew based on a Ravelry pattern for Jean-Luc Pickard (which she links to).
She says that they really were fun to make and I can believe it!
With thanks to craftzine.com for sharing
Knitting Bummer: Joining New Yarn
I've always joined new yarn by tying a knot and later weaving in the ends (preferably at a seam) which is the way I was shown. How do you do it?
Kathleen Cubley of Knitting Daily has never been happy with the way her work looks when she joins a new ball of yarn.
"I've been joining new balls by knitting a stitch with both the new and old yarns and then dropping the old yarn, just like all of the directions say. But I always got what looked like a twisted stitch!" she says.
But with help from a favourite book she's worked out what she was doing wrong and in this blog post she gives illustrated instructions for an invisible join.
38 Ways to Light Up Your Lace
Last week we saw Solveig's crochet lampshade in progress and by coincidence the finds this week include a round-up of no less than 38 knit and crochet lampshade ideas gathered together by Lovely from A Lovely Thing.
Selvedges for seaming and raw edges
Seasoned knitters will know that slipping the first stitch of a row gives a neater edge (or selvedge).
In this article appearing on Lion Brand this week (you may need to register for free with the site before you can see it) Barbara Breiter explains when it might be appropriate to work all stitches and gives two variations on the slipped edge theme.
R2D2 intarsia hat
I'm not a fan of floaters on the inside of colourwork and prefer intarsia for that reason.
Kathleen from Knitting Daily took on this project but wasn't prepared for the large number of working ends. At one stage it resembles a plate of droid-coloured spaghetti.
As we can see, some perseverance paid off and her nephew Harry loves the hat.
Knitwit Tattoo
This senior self-proclaimed knitwit has chosen to show her love for yarn and needles on her skin.
I'm unable to credit this fantastic photo properly because it's been shared via Facebook without a credit or link, but if anyone knows the origin, please let me know.
Olympic yarnbomb
Making a big splash in the news is this olympic-standard yarnbomb by a mystery knitter.
The guerrilla knitter (or knitters), known as the Saltburn Yarnbomber, has been leaving woolly creations over the Teesside town. This latest work is the most spectacular, a huge Olympics-themed scarf plus athletes of all kinds fastened to the railings of the pier.
The link below is for a lovely gallery of photographs from the Telegraph. The story appears on many websites.
Blogpick: Crocheted lampshades
This image shows a crochet lampshade in progress. It's being made by Solveig, a Norwegian blogger who found the idea on a French blog.
The idea is shown well enough in the pictures, she's not sure how to decrease the pattern, but I'm sure she'll figure it out.
(The post starts in Norwegian but scroll down for Solveig's English translation.)
With thanks to Knit and Crochet Now! for sharing.
