Monday June 30, 2008 Crochet TV
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...
Friday June 27, 2008 Best of the Breasts
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!
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!
Wednesday June 25, 2008 Crochet designs from nature
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.
Disabled? Enabled!
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?
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?
Hat Attack hat, issue 43
If you're thinking about knitting Quinn's gorgeous Hat Attack hat pattern from page 97 of issue 43, then please note that there's a mistake in the first "note". We printed:
Note: The main body of this hat is knit in a P2, K2, P1, K2, P1 rib pattern.
That final P1 should not be there! It should actually read:
Note: The main body of this hat is knit in a P2, K2, P1, K2 rib pattern.
The hat uses an unusual rib pattern, and it's important to get it right from the cast on otherwise it's rather frustrating!
To find out more about Hat Attack 2, the second round of this excellent online knitting contest which launches in September, visit the Hat Attack website or check out their group on Ravelry.
Note: The main body of this hat is knit in a P2, K2, P1, K2, P1 rib pattern.
That final P1 should not be there! It should actually read:
Note: The main body of this hat is knit in a P2, K2, P1, K2 rib pattern.
The hat uses an unusual rib pattern, and it's important to get it right from the cast on otherwise it's rather frustrating!
To find out more about Hat Attack 2, the second round of this excellent online knitting contest which launches in September, visit the Hat Attack website or check out their group on Ravelry.
Tuesday June 24, 2008 Ridicule is nothing to be scared of
Adam Ant sang that and, well, he ought to have known. That said, I don't quite believe him, so I won't be putting my name forward to be one of the thousands of people occupying the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of Anthony Gormley's installation. Nonetheless, the thought of the plinth being occupied by a succession of knitters is quite appealing.
If you've missed all the hoo-hah, basically artist Anthony Gormley has been chosen to exhibit on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square, which nowadays is one of the country's most important modern art showcases. Gormley's idea is to have members of the public up there for one hour each, as a snapshot of modern Britain. It's a great idea, and I hope it gets all sorts of people up there: old, young, fat, thin, disabled, all colours, all faiths – in short, a bit of every group. Even the ones I'm not especially fond of (certain political parties...), because, agree with them or not, they too are part of our society.
It'd be fantastic to see a knitter or two on the plinth, especially if that knitter was making something really beautiful that would make the people who looked at him or her think again about knitting, or take a new look at our fantastic regional wools. If you volunteer for the plinth and take your knitting with you, we'd love to hear about your experiences!
If you've missed all the hoo-hah, basically artist Anthony Gormley has been chosen to exhibit on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square, which nowadays is one of the country's most important modern art showcases. Gormley's idea is to have members of the public up there for one hour each, as a snapshot of modern Britain. It's a great idea, and I hope it gets all sorts of people up there: old, young, fat, thin, disabled, all colours, all faiths – in short, a bit of every group. Even the ones I'm not especially fond of (certain political parties...), because, agree with them or not, they too are part of our society.
It'd be fantastic to see a knitter or two on the plinth, especially if that knitter was making something really beautiful that would make the people who looked at him or her think again about knitting, or take a new look at our fantastic regional wools. If you volunteer for the plinth and take your knitting with you, we'd love to hear about your experiences!
Thursday June 19, 2008 Simply Knitting issue 43 on sale today!
The July issue of Simply
Knitting hits the shops today, just in time for the good weather we're sure is heading our way! It's full of fun projects to start knitting today, and don't forget – even if you can't take your needles on the plane, you can always take your favourite magazine.
Click for a larger image.
This issue is packed with luxurious summer knits, from our pretty Fair Isle top by Louisa Harding to luxurious but practical silk socks. We've also got a gorgeous textured tank top by Ruth Maddock,
Summer is a great time for small, light projects. We've got a cool summer curtain for you to crochet, and a DS Lite case to protect your favourite games while you're out and about. You can also cast on with Debbie Tomkies and learn to knit lace – it's delicate, lightweight and absolutely stunning!
We haven't forgotten the little ones this summer either, so we've got a pretty flowery cardigan for little girls and Alan Dart's gorgeous tooth fairy to will bring a smile to any child's face – loose tooth or no!
Other great things to look out for include:
Click for a larger image.
This issue is packed with luxurious summer knits, from our pretty Fair Isle top by Louisa Harding to luxurious but practical silk socks. We've also got a gorgeous textured tank top by Ruth Maddock,
Summer is a great time for small, light projects. We've got a cool summer curtain for you to crochet, and a DS Lite case to protect your favourite games while you're out and about. You can also cast on with Debbie Tomkies and learn to knit lace – it's delicate, lightweight and absolutely stunning!
We haven't forgotten the little ones this summer either, so we've got a pretty flowery cardigan for little girls and Alan Dart's gorgeous tooth fairy to will bring a smile to any child's face – loose tooth or no!
Other great things to look out for include:
- We're going behind the scenes at Lantern Moon.
- Find out about Hat Attack – an international knitting tournament!
- Free handy 4mm bamboo needles!
The knitting disease
Looking for a knit that's so cute it could kill? Try this pattern for knitted bacteria from loxosceles.org
They'll make a fun gift for any friends working in medicine, studying the sciences or with a macabre sense of humour. (I admit to the latter.) Note that the pattern is written for US needles and yarn, so you'll need to translate them to their British equivalents.
We've seen a few medical knits around, but the most impressive has to be a complete knitted digestive system, pancreas, appendix and all. It'd make an entertaining novelty scarf for Halloween, that's for sure!
They'll make a fun gift for any friends working in medicine, studying the sciences or with a macabre sense of humour. (I admit to the latter.) Note that the pattern is written for US needles and yarn, so you'll need to translate them to their British equivalents.
We've seen a few medical knits around, but the most impressive has to be a complete knitted digestive system, pancreas, appendix and all. It'd make an entertaining novelty scarf for Halloween, that's for sure!
Wednesday June 18, 2008 Knit with noodles
Run out of yarn? Call for a Chinese takeaway...
Tuesday June 17, 2008 Easy styling with Polyvore
It's gorgeous, but will I wear it?
It's a question I ask myself all the time when I'm shopping for clothes, but not so often when I'm deciding what to knit next. I'm drawn to patterns because I want to knit them, and rarely think about what will happen afterwards.That's been fine while I've been knitting small things, like socks (can't go wrong with socks) but I'm looking around for my next big project, and am finding a bit of a gap between what I want to knit and what I want to wear.
Saved by the Polyvore
Polyvore is a fun new site which lets you pick and mix items from online stores to create your own collages. So for example, I've taken this central image of Capri by Sarah Hatton from Rowan Magazine 42 as my inspiration. It's a cute cardigan – and one I'd definitely wear – but I'm not a big fan of the gingham skirt they've teamed it with. A rockier t-shirt and a pair of jeans, like this outfit on the left, would look great with it, and is right up my street. I'd love to finish it off with a Majolica Vase bag from the Noni spring 2006 collection, and perhaps some cute earrings... (in case I ever get up the nerve to get my ears pierced) or perhaps a red sundress and heels... It's at this point that I started daydreaming, which is so easy to do with all the clothes in all the online shops in the world to choose from. And if something isn't available in Polyvore's database, just click your way through to the shops you love and add things straight from their site.
A girl can dream, can't she?
Shh! Don't tell our editor, but Polyvore is also really good fun for creating a dream wardrobe. As you might have guessed, I've got a bit of a thing for Noni bags. I haven't decided which one to knit yet though, and being able to create complimentary outfits with clothes I don't own (yet!) isn't making it any easier to choose. This pretty purple one is Nine to Nine from the spring 2006 evening collection, and should you take a fancy to any of the other items – this purple brolly, for example – you can just click through and Polyvore will link you straight back to the original shop which sells it.
Polyvore is packed with gorgeous clothes, but you have to look a bit harder for pretty yarns. As you can use images from shops all over the web, it's a great way to play around with palettes of colours, buttons, clasps and so on.
I rather like this Bergere de France top, but not in that shade. Navy, perhaps – or lime green, for a hotter piece... A quick look got me two images of the yarn in the colours I like, and then I spent a few minutes exploring the colours.
It's really rather addictive, and as you can have a go without even logging in (we love that!) why not show us your creations?
