The Weekly Rec – Three Designers That Give it All Away

Happy Thursday! I’ve had a great week watching my blog blow up with visitors thanks to Lionbrand and their FaceBook post on my little yarn-cake-cozy pattern. It was my 22nd pattern. Does that sound like a lot? It’s not! Let me introduce you to three talented designers that between them have published 631 patterns (as of this writing) to raverly. And they are all free.

Today I’m recommending MMario, Tamara Kelly, and Frankie Brown. Ravelry just wouldn’t be the same without them.

More Jargon For Handspinners

Measuring your spinning inch by inch

When handspinners start quantifying the yarn that they have made, there can be a lot of math. Depending on the precision of the measuring equipment and the spinner’s personality there can even be … algebra. I happen to like algebra but I won’t inflict it on you. I would never hurt you like that.

You can use a simple ruler to get some information about how your yarn is spun.  And there won’t be any math. I promise.

Five Awesome And Free Teapot Cozy Patterns

I have a naked teapot. I meant to get around to making her a sweater this winter but it didn’t happen. She is still naked.

As I was knitting up the yarn-cake cozies (that pattern went over BIG! My thanks to whomever shared it on Facebook) the teapot was nagging at me. She needs a cozy too.

Carry Your Cakes – a free knit pattern

I love cake cozies and I LOVE mosaic color work. So when lighting hit and I felt the urgent need to make a two-color mosaic cake cozie I did not even try to resist. Now I have two matching cozies made from leftover yarn from the stash.

Two might not be enough for me. We’ll have to see.

Sunday Stitch – Provisional Cast Ons!

Provisional cast ons! They are great for when you know that you’ll be pulling out that cast on out later.

Bad Cats Never Take the Morning Off

This morning I woke up at 5:30. I don’t usually get up quite that early but there was thunder and lightning and I opened my eyes and sneezed (stupid allergies). Blam. I’m awake and its a whole hour ahead of when my alarm usually goes off. You think that would get me out of the regular morning feline persecution. Nope. Bad cats never take the morning off.

The Weekly Rec – Make Handknits for Crocheters

Happen to know someone who crochets but doesn’t knit? Let me tell you what I’ve learned: that person is the perfect target for your next give-away knitting. Perfect. 

I really enjoy making a handknit something-something and giving to a person who only crochets. The only-crocheter understands the value of what you are giving them.

This Is A Work In Progress

Did you know that you can post pictures in the comments on this blog? I didn’t, not until quite recently. Of course the list of things I don’t know about blogging is miles long. I’m pretty much making this up as I go.

But I keep plugging away. Every now and then I learn something. When I learned that my readers could post their own pictures, I had an idea.

Handspinning is not Hard… Except the Vocabulary

If you’re getting into handspinning, or if you want to talk about handspinning with anyone, you will quickly fall into the dreaded mire of spinning vocabulary. Spinners have a lot of vocabulary. To make the experience extra painful, they fight over it. Not fist fights. No one gets a black eye over these arguments (I hope). But if you hang out in a spinning related forum on ravelry long enough you are bound to come across a fierce debate over whether not a bag of fiber is sliver or top, combed or carded (and then slit into long lengths to look like combed). These spinners care deeply if their yarn is from a semi-worsted prep and spun semi-woolen or if its a semi-woolen prep and spun semi-worsted and what it should be properly called.

I, on the other hand, read these debates while throwing french fries at my screen and yelling “Oh just go freaking spin something!”

Ripplet!- A free knit pattern

Back 17 years a few months ago, I started spinning up a bag of fiber called Karaoke Rainbow. Its was mighty colorful stuff and its was colorful in the way that made your eyes hurt a little. But that’s okay. If you have the right pattern even color-riot-yarn can be fetching.