November 11 – Remembrance Day
It’s poppy time!
Why not knit or crochet a hand made poppy or two to remember this day and those who fought so that we can be safe. Please remember, if you sell any of these handmade poppies, please donate the funds to your local Legion. This is their main source of funding.
Category Archives: Knitting
Patterns and projects for the handknitter.
Prym sock loom heel
In an earlier article I described how to knit in the round on a Prym sock loom. I find the instructions that come with the knitting loom a bit difficult to understand, so I have adapted the method slightly. I hope that you will find this a bit easier to follow. Please let me know if anything is not clear or you need additional help.
Prym sock loom
I purchased a Prym sock loom today. I have read mixed reviews of them but thought I would give it a try. This knitting loom is similar to the round knitting looms but it is oval in shape. It has a rubberized base and the metal pegs look like bent paper clips. With the unique paper clip shape to the pegs, there is plenty of space to pick up or hook the stitch as you are knitting the loops. There are no rough edges and I find that it is quite easy to hold in your hand, and compact and portable to toss into my purse or knitting bag to take with me. The Prym knitting loom comes with a pickup stick that looks similar to a knitting needle. I use this for picking up the stitches but have also found it handy to also have a small crochet hook for picking up different weights of yarn.
Knitting – Why Knit? : why-knit
Why should you take up knitting?
Many people associate crafts like knitting and crocheting with old ladies, however this is a stereotype which could not be more wrong. An increasing number of young people are now getting into this creative past time and are knitting scarves, gloves and even toys. Plus in this economic climate, learning a skill like knitting is a great way to save money by making home made gifts.
Felting Project – Waterlily: waterlily
A great way to use up some of your handspun stash is to knit flowers and felt them.
Here is an example of a waterlily that I knitted.
The pattern came from a book I purchased from Amazon – Knitted Flowers, 20 to make.
The pattern calls for double knitting weight yarn. I substituted this for my woolen hand spun in variegated colours.
How to Make a Russian Join: russian-join
What is a Russian join? A Russian join is a very effective way to join 2 yarn ends without using a knot. It works well on any type of plied yarn, especially when the yarn doesn’t felt, such as for cotton, linen or superwash wool yarns. It can be used for knitting and crochet. I also like to use this method for nalbinding.
Knitted Edging Patterns: Knit Edge1
A free knitting pattern for a lace knitted edging.
This sample was knit using 3 ply hemp in bleached white.
This edging is worked crosswise.
Cast on 9 sts.
Row 1
Knit 9 sts.
Row 2
Sl1, K2, (K2 tog, yo)twice, K1, yo, K1
Row 3
Knit across (10 sts)
Row 4
Sl1, K1, (K2 tog, yo) twice, K3, yo, K1
Row 5
Knit across (11 sts)
Row 6
Simple scarf
This is a super simple scarf pattern – designed for the beginner knitter – or those more experienced who like to knit scarves with bulky yarns. I have designed this knitting pattern to work with my hand spun yarns – but it will work fine with any chunky weight yarn.
This scarf knitting pattern uses about 100 grams of yarn.