If you're nodding along already, were you lucky enough to be in Whitstable over the last week or so? Was it as much fun as it looked? Let us know in the comments!



Knitstable. It's like Whitstable, only better: it's Whitstable plus knitting.

And it's not just any knitting – it's unexpected knitting, Incogknito Graffiti knitting.

Like ordinary graffiti but with better karma, knitted graffiti brightens up a town. At its best – and we know good graffiti when we see it, down here in Banksy land – graffiti is art which has broken out of the galleries. It makes you laugh or cry or decide to over throw a corrupt government. Or maybe it just makes a gloomy commute a little more exciting.

The Incogknito Graffiti website is a virtual tour of the knitted graffiti created for the Whistable bienniale by these mysterious and suitably disguised guerilla knitters:



It's fun, it's frivolous, it's bright, it's cheerful, it's probably not council approved – what more could you want? We've mentioned knitted graffiti before, because it is a fun and easy-to-remove way to brighten up all sorts of objects, from trees to bollards, and the Incogknito Graffiti team have done very good work with this installation. We'd love to see it taken further, and to see little bits of knitting popping up in all sorts of odd places.

Ripe for the knitting – three places which could use a little fibre

Offices: Apart from ours, of course, which is already rather full. Do you spend your days in front of a computer, working on spread sheets and daydreaming about knitting? Well, why not knit a cubicle cosy – or at least a mug hug – so you've got a little bit of fibrey goodness to keep you going through dull meetings. Knitted graffiti in the workplace, whether you're dressing yourself or your office furniture, is also a great way to signal other knitters. There are more knitters than golfers, apparently, so you're sure to find one or two!

Libraries: Libraries – or perhaps librarians – generally seem to have a pretty good sense of humour, and if you tag let them know what you're up to, you may transcend from pseudo-vandal to installation artist. Failing that, it's a great way to find out if anyone ever visits the far reaches of the place. Why not knit a jacket for your favourite book and see how long it lasts?

Schools: Kids like knitting, and they really like leaving a mark. Plus, even the smallest garter stitch piece is enough to wrap around something.

The Incognito Graffiti team are a great inspiration. We don't know if their work is still there – we hope it is – so do let us know if you spot any lamp post cosies or bike rack warmers on your travels.  

Whatever you do for fun, it's important to keep learning new ways to do it and to improve your skills. Trying new techniques is very important for knitters. Taking the first step can be hard, though. I don't think I'd ever have picked up a set of DPNs if we hadn't had the sock knitalong in Simply Knitting; I really didn't believe I could knit in the round. Kirstie decided we were all going to make the Feet First sock (free pattern here) and so I had to learn. It's always handy if you're a member of a knitting group or have friends who are experienced knitters who can help you, so when you're trying out something new you have people to turn to if you need help.

I've just finished my second pair of Feet First socks, and am about to start a pair of socks more complicated than anything I've tried before: Viking Socks by Lykke Og Lokker. The thing that's making me nervous is the chart; I've got very little experience with charts and while I know how they work, part of my brain is telling me that I can't do it. Charts can seem scary, and we do get calls from people who either don't know how to use them or don't like using them, but they are useful. They tell you what to knit in far less space than full instructions would take. I'm determined to conquer my fear of this chart. I could write it all out, row by row, but I'm not going to. The beauty of knitting is that if everything does go horribly wrong, you can always roll your yarn back into a ball and begin again. If I mess up following the chart, I can start again. Once I've got it right, I will have gained experience in following charts!

So, are there any knitting skills that you're nervous of learning or are you a fearless knitter? Does the Magic Loop look too complex? (I'm sticking with my trusty DPNs for now!) What about fair isle or lace knitting? Or have you learned a new knitting skill recently?

Everyone needs a break now and then, so we thought we'd finish off our Fridays by telling you about one of the blogs we've been reading while we sip our cups of tea. If you've got any suggestions, tell us what it is and why you like it, and it might be our next hit! Don't forget to put "Blog Review" as the subject, so we can find it easily.

For our first week, we've chosen one of the sweetest blogs on the web. Little Cotton Rabbits is written by Julie, about "knitting and living with an autistic son". While we're always interested in hearing what her kids are up to, and the creative ways she finds to make life for her family easier and more enjoyable, as knitters what we're really after, when we click through, is a peak at her latest knit!

As well as little cotton rabbits, Julie has created a range of adorable toys which she sells through her blog. Each one is hand made and unique, and if you pop back regularly, you can see her latest idea take shape. It's a fascinating glimpse into a very creative mind, and a blog that's as fun to read as it is lovely to look at.

It can be hard to explain how taking a trip in an airplane is linked to polar bears having less ice to hunt on, but this animation does it in a fun, clear way – using knitting, of course. The short video shows the world unraveling due to pollution, and it's a great way to explain what's going on to kids.

We have to admit, that although we did feel slightly queasy at the idea of the whole world unraveling – all that knitting coming undone! – the idea that the world was created by knitting does make a sort of sense. How many hours of work would it take to knit a planet, do you suppose? Would you get second continent syndrome? Is the duck-billed platypus the result of a misread pattern, or a determination to use up all the bits left over from making the other animals?

Knitters and math go together like cats and wool – whether it's a whole lot of fun or a bad thing which happened to a nice yarn depends entirely on your point of view.

However, when someone comes up with a math-based design as striking and inspiring as the one shown here, then it's time to ditch the math-hating and sign up for advanced geometry.

This afghan, from Woolly Thoughts is called Revolution, and is just one of the stunning designs produced by Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer. The maths behind the patterns they design is sometimes hidden, sometimes obvious. Either way, these clever knits are gorgeous to look at and fun to knit.

If you're a knitter with plenty of va-va-voom and you like to look very feminine, White Lies Designs is great. Designer Joan McGowan-Michael describes herself as 'deliciously ample', and she certainly knows how to design knits for larger ladies as well as smaller ones, with some patterns on her site starting at 30 or 32-inch busts and many going up to 58-inch busts or more. I love the Madeline Wrap and Heirloom Lace Jacket, although I'm not sure I'm a skilled enough knitter yet to manage either!

Everybody's figure is slightly different, even among people who share a dress size, with some having more volume around the waist, others on the bust and hips. Many commercial patterns are a bit, well, boxy, which is great for athletic builds but not so hot for hourglasses or people with their weight at the top or bottom. On her blog, Joan put a link to this nifty little tool at Interweave Press' website which will help you nip in the waist or alter the hip or bust size on a pattern. You'll need a tape measure in order to check your own measurements, and note that you will not get an amended pattern, you'll have to work the increases and decreases into the commercial pattern yourself. (I'd probably write out the pattern row-by-row to be sure that I got the increases and decreases in the right rows, although more experienced knitters may well find it easy to keep track of all the changes in their heads.)

No, it's not a new channel (although we wish it was!). Crochet TV is a masterpiece by Swedish craft blogger, Inger C. Apparently she's also created a life-size ATM machine, but it didn't hold up as well! We're still very impressed...

Charity knitting group Loving Hands has had great success in knitting breasts to help with breastfeeding demonstrations for young mothers and to raise money for breast cancer charities. Inspired by one group member's 'Betty Boob', a knitted breast with a face on, the charity is launching a 'Pimp My Boob' competition. All you have to do is knit a breast and decorate it. Baby products manufacturer Tommee Tippee has donated a prize, which will go to the maker of the best-decorated knitted breast, and after the competition, the breasts will be auctioned off to make money for breast cancer charities.

Betty Boob was the inspiration, and one Loving Hands member is making 'Boob Marley'. What next, we wonder? George Breast? DD Ramone? The mind boggles, but we'd love to hear what you made if you enter!

Margaret Oomen, blogger at Resurrection Fern, is taking summer crafting to a new level: out into the garden and beyond and mixing fibre and nature to make rock babies and acorn necklaces. Do try this at home – the results are stunning.

We get a fair few phonecalls in the Simply Knitting office, and many of our readers tell us that they're disabled. I've been pondering knitting and disability a lot lately, partly because a friend from university with acquired brain injuries has recently learned to knit, and another friend has had a baby born with oxygen starvation.

If you're a regular Simply Knitting reader, you'll know all about Stitchlinks, which supports knitters and other stitchers who are isolated by circumstance and illness. Betsan, who founded Stitchlinks, is now doing research into the therapeutic benefits of knitting and looking at how it helps people with long-term health problems and disabilities. Because it uses both hands and is repetitive, there's the possibility that it actually helps forge connections within the brain, which would help people who'd had strokes or some other brain-damaging illness. Of course, the research is in its infancy and we'll have to wait for the results to come out to know for sure if knitting has any definite physical effect, but the thought that something as simple as two sticks and some string could make a concrete difference to serious health problems is a thrilling one.

The benefits of knitting are more than purely physical, though. There's the pleasure of making something beautiful and of being able to spend time on something enjoyable. If you join a knitting group or an online group like Stitchlinks or even Ravelry there's a social aspect to knitting as it encourages people to socialise and enjoy their hobby together, which can help people with conditions like depression as well as those whose lack of mobility can leave them feeling lonely and unable to get out and see people as much as they'd like. Many disabled knitters are incredibly generous people: having knitted for their families and friends, they also knit for various charities, helping everyone from premature babies to the elderly as well as benefitting themselves from a fulfilling hobby.

Some disabled knitters have to overcome great obstacles to enjoy their hobby, whether it's using something to hold their needles if they have arthritis, say, or, as in the case of my friend, using an abacus to keep track of rows because conventional row counters are too small and fiddly. One reader who phoned us explained that since her stroke she's concentrated on making very small items as they're not too heavy. I find myself wondering how blind knitters choose yarns, not the textures but the colours, and how easy it is to get braille patterns. If you're a disabled knitter, what do you find helpful? And is there a gadget or item that you wish existed, or was more common, to help you with your hobby?