Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Another scrap-busting project I finished earlier in the summer is the "Keep It Simple Spiral" from Betsy Beads by Betsy Hershberg. If you have a scrap stash and a bead stash, Betsy's book is an excellent addition to your knitting library. Most of the projects are quick, fun, and gift-able. For me, this was a true scrap-bust, as the yarn was a sample of South West Trading Company Amaizing from February 2009 . The beads were already in stash, too. I did need to purchase a magnetic clasp at Michael's. This project begins with stringing beads; but with the proper tool, it should take less than half an hour and possibly less than fifteen minutes. Because the whole project is i-cord and the yarn was a little slick, I increased the coefficient of friction by using my wooden Blue Sky Alpacas double-pointed needles. Mine project is choker length because that's how much yarn I had. But pattern could easily be a longer necklace or a shorter bracelet. It is ea...

Last weekend North Georgia Knitting Guild was delighted to bring podcaster extraordinaire and practical knitter Brenda Dayne to the Atlanta area for two days of workshops. I gleefully signed up for the works -- “Creative Glove Design,” “Beginning Bead Knitting with Mrs. Beeton,” and “No Math Sherman Toes and Heels.” For the glove class, Brenda had a thorough and informative slide presentation and a handout with places to record our own hand measurements. I knit one pair of gloves many years ago -- and keep wondering every winter why those two skeins of plum-colored qiviut in my stash haven't knit themselves up into gloves yet. I also have a skein of pimento-colored cashmere that might make for nice gloves. Brenda is clearly someone who has knit gloves more than once, and she was able to provide several bits of information I had not yet encountered on the topic. Very helpful! The sock class was an all-day affair in which we knit baby socks to learn the technique. I had encounte...