giveaway: interweave knits magazines

I found one more thing of interest at the textile sale: a bag of Interweave Knits magazines for only 25 cents each. They are various issues from 2001-2003. Some had a few patterns that had been cut out, but for a quarter each, I figured they’d be great just for inspiration.
Well, I found quite a [...]

how to: turtleneck sweater turns cardigan in
5 easy steps

So many knitters are scared of the s-word.* It’s really not that terrible. In fact, I’ve been cutting into sweaters for years to make pillows, scarves and tote bags. You just need to get over the fear that all of the stitches will immediately unravel. Take it from someone who unravels sweaters a lot. It’s [...]

thrifty find: green sweater

Finally! The thrifty find I missed last week. This isn’t actually my find. I guess when you regularly blog about recycling, reusing and refashioning, you get a reputation. A few weeks ago, my friend Kelly texted me this:

Kelly: Knit emergency: think you could repair this? Hanger damage on an Eileen Fisher sweater.
Me: I think so. [...]

how to: crochet or knit single row stripes

I first heard about this at knitting retreat. It’s a really simple idea and I can’t believe it has never occurred to me on my own. I love skinny stripes, but breaking yarn at each row leaves too many ends to weave. I always figured that I’d have to do two rows of each [...]

my creative space

My creative space today is a progress report on last week’s space.

The sleeve repair went smoothly, mostly because it was stockinette and straight forward kitchener stitch. I didn’t have yarn close enough in color so I “borrowed yarn” from the sweater’s seams. It wasn’t an exact match, but better than what I had on hand. [...]

sewing for socks

I recently refashioned a messenger bag for my friend Carrie. She asked if she could pay me in sock yarn. I laughed and told her I had too much sock yarn, but she was welcome to knit a pair for me out of my stash. I was surprised when she said yes. Of course, she’s [...]

thrifty thursday

Last weekend I hit a few church sales that turned out to be a total bust. I decided to stop by Goodwill on the way home just to window shop. (Hey, I was in the neighborhood!) It was half price clothing day and I found this great sweater for only $2.
I have been thinking of [...]

my creative space

Is it any surprise that knitting is in my creative space today? I finally cast on the sock that was on my to-do list. When I took it to knitting group tonight, I think everyone was shocked that I didn’t bring a crochet project. I was shocked that most of them had brought crochet projects.
While [...]

retreat recap: contemplative knitting

Our Sunday class at retreat wasn’t really a class, but more of an exercise. Anne led us in a morning of meditation and contemplative knitting. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work for me. I’ve never been good at meditation. Things are always popping into my head — what’s for dinner, need to [...]

retreat recap: fair isle

I usually don’t write about retreat experiences because my mind goes to such a peaceful and relaxing place that a small blog post doesn’t ever seem to do it justice. But there were a few things this weekend that I need to share. First up: the fair isle class.

Thank goodness this was the [...]

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