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Celebrity knitter run-down: Uma Thurman, Amanda Seyfried and Christina Hendricks.

I’m faintly squeamish and found the images fascinating. As you can see in the video, although clearly knitted replicas, the images created are oddly lifelike and just on the edge of being gory.

This headline made me smile: Cucinelli Becomes Billionaire Knitting $1,920 Cardigans. Yes, I’m sure we could all get rich if we sold our handknits for that amount of money…

A Knitzvah? ‘Mitzvah’ is Yiddish for good deed… and therefore a knitzvah would be a good deed committed with yarn. A community group in New Jersey has launched a program to make scarves, hats and blankets for local hospitals.

A cute little piece on the Oxford University Student online magazine about the resurgence of knitting. I adore the photo chosen, and am amused by the slightly dubious but not entirely incorrect analogy:

“knitting is analogous to soft drugs – you try a little and enjoy it, you want to try a little more – and you soon find yourself addicted to all kinds of hardcore craft. Knitting is a gateway drug.”

Thanks Erika B.! A little birthday wish for us in our 10th anniversary year!

Love this story: ninety year olds and nine year olds come together for knitting classes… It’s a win all around: children learn new skills, the elderly get to participate in their larger community and see their skills valued, and teachers embrace the real-life stories and history lessons the elders share.

Don’t pretend you wouldn’t say the same sort of thing… well, ok, I probably would… A real-estate shopper in NY falls in love with an apartment because it matches the blanket project she’s working on.

We love seeing mentions of knitting in the mainstream press, and we look forward to the days when we don’t see muggles making such basic mistakes at this… it’s a quilt, guys! Not knitting! (Although it is a lovely quilt… )

When I ordered my HansenCrafts miniSpinner I ordered the Quill attachment. Not to do point of contact spinning, though someday I might, but to use as an electric bobbin winder. Kevin Hansen said lots of Hansen spinners use it that way. Well, if everyone is doing it……

It works great, easy to attach. It slotted right into the orifice.

I slid on my bobbin, slid on the rubber o-ring that comes with it to hold my bobbin in place, attached my yarn from my kate on the floor and off I went!

I used Schacht cardboard bobbins, which were a little loose on the quill. I made the fit snug by stuffing a little fiber into the bobbin before inserting it on the quill.

I had a nearly full (10 oz) Hansen bobbin that I wanted to divide evenly. I set my trusty baking/fiber scale to the weight of an empty cardboard bobbin. Periodically while winding I would stop, slide off my bobbin and check the weight. It took no time to wind off my full bobbin on to storage bobbins, a little more than an episode of Elementary.

I don’t think it replaces an electric bobbin winder if you already have one. I didn’t and I am so happy I got this attachment!

My next stop in the Hansen journey is how in the heck do I organize the inside of the Züca bag? Who has tips for me?

Registration for workshops at Rhinebeck is officially open! Our own Jillian is teaching six classes. Go and spin with her!

The Textile Museum of Canada announces it annual “More than Just a Yardage Sale” event, running Friday May 24 & Saturday May 25 outside its Toronto location. It’s a fundraiser for the museum, selling all sorts of textile and crafty delights – fabric, yarn, patterns, books and notions. They take donations from all over Ontario, and there are goodies for every crafter. In addition to supplies, there are also WIPs and partially finished projects – always fun to root through. I’ve bought various abandoned projects over the years – sometimes so I could finish it, sometimes to salvage the tools (my embroidery hoop cost 50 cents, and came with an incomplete cross stitch project of an antique car!), sometimes for the materials. And there are often really great books to be found.

It’s a guilt-free way of enhancing your stash – or if you need to reduce your stash a little, consider making a donation.

If you’re in the Toronto area, it’s definitely worth a visit.

If you’re in the UK, a piece from the BBC on a school knitting club’s trip to learn more about Victorian Lace knitting, and visit to a wool broker. (Video link doesn’t work outside of the UK, sadly.)

Toronto’s Downtown Knit Collective doesn’t just host the Frolic, they also run a program to make and donate hats and scarves to people affected by cancer.

They set up a tent and the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and knit throughout the overnight event – and throughout the year.

Inspired by the experiences of friends and members with cancer, the group published a book of cap and hat patterns, “Annabelle’s Caps”, named after DKC past president Annabelle Dawson, who lost her life to brain cancer. Funds raised go to cancer charities, and the hats, scarves and shawls are donated to sick family members and friends, to organizations who support cancer patients during treatment, and to strangers undergoing treatment who need a “hug.”

Can you Make A Living From Your Hobby? A piece on the BBC about crafters who have been able to establish businesses based on their craft.

Chickens in sweaters. Students at a school in Kent, UK, are knitting sweaters for ex-battery hens who have lost their feathers. It’s the photos and the quotes from the students that make this story for me…. “when I tell people I am knitting a jumper for a chicken they think I am either lying or completely bonkers.”

In conjunction with Wool Week Australia, Vogue Australia interviews yarnbomber Magda Sayeg in a piece about yarnbombing.

The Bissell Bombers, a group of University of Toronto graduates, are profiled in one of Toronto’s arts weeklies, The Grid.

Ed: If it seems like there’s a lot of yarny things going on in Toronto – well, it’s true, there are. There are lots of yarny types in the Toronto area, and we’re lucky enough to be supported by many wonderful business and organizations. Southern Ontario is a haven for knitters… Considering a vacation? Come and see us! We’re very nice!

In Toronto we’ve lucky enough to have not only a huge knitting community, but also a large and very active guild, the Downtown Knit Collective. The DKC is “dedicated to advancing the art of knitting through the sharing of ideas and techniques, education and community involvement”.

They have many projects focused outside the knitting community – drives and donations to good causes.

But our favorite activity is focused at the knitting community – their annual Knitter’s Frolic. Held every spring, it’s a weekend-long festival all things yarny. There are two days of classes, with top tier instructors. Last year’s keynote instructor was our own Franklin Habit, and this year, it was the fantastic Ann Budd.

And there are local teachers, there, too – myself included.

But the best part by far? Saturday is a retail fair. The group takes over a lovely building in an otherwise uninteresting part of Toronto, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center, and stuffs it full of yarny goodness.

So many fabulous yarns…

and fibers…

And it’s not just yarn…

So many friends to see…

So many great FOs on display…

It does get a little crazy at times, but we love it!

This event is a major highlight of the knitter’s calendar in this part of Canada, and we’re grateful every spring to the DKC for putting it on.

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. A major highlight of the east coast fiber lover’s calendar, the festival includes animal displays and competitions, and a multitude of fibery vendors, displays and demonstrations. Held at the Howard Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland, it’s always worth a visit, but this year even more so.

It’s Australian Wool Week! A listing of events and activities can be found on the Campaign for Wool website here.

Love this knitting robot created by Andy Noyes of the UK, exhibited at the recent Maker Faire UK in Newcastle… AGNES knits a scarf on a loom. Soothing to watch!

Wooly protest: The Revolutionary Knitting Circle group of Calgary is making a blanket at the Calgary Central library to protest the province’s government’s decision to reduce services for people with developmental disabilities.

my feet were honored in this way
by these heavenly socks.

Designer Kate Davies reminds us of Pablo Neruda’s lovely poem, “Ode to my Socks“.

Thinking about your summer vacation? A trip to Iceland might just be the ticket! Two big knitterly events are planned. The Textile Museum of Iceland is hosting a major exhibition of Icelandic handknits, June 1 to August 31st. And Hélène Magnússon, the Icelandic Knitter, is planning a knitting tour of Iceland July 31st to August 6th, to coincide with the exhibition. The tour is focuses on 19th century Icelandic Knitting traditions, a subject covered in depth in Hélène’s latest book, Icelandic Handknits: 25 Heirloom Techniques and Projects. 

Lynne Barr has an exceptional knitting mind. She stretches the boundaries of knitted fabric and encourages knitters to think about knitting with new eyes.

The wonderful folks at Melanie Falick Books have donated at set of Lynne Barr’s books for a giveaway.

I think spring is the perfect time to try something new and a little different, don’t you?

One reader will win all three book. Prize  value, $82.85

You know how it works: leave a comment on this post between now and midnight eastern time, Thursday, May 2. One comment will be chosen at random to answer a skill testing question. If the commenter answers correctly they will win the prize. If you have already won a prize from us in the past year, please do give other knitters a chance.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our Templeton Square contest! In our Spring & Summer issue, in his Stitches in Time column, Franklin Habit unearthed and updated a lovely counterpane square pattern, original published in Weldon’s Practical Knitter series.

He proposed a contest: what could our knitters do with such a square?

We had 51 entries, and the range of work was wonderful and surprising and gratifying.You can peek at all of the entries over here.

We’re thrilled to announce the winners:

Best in Show: Wrap by Asimina Saranti

Asimini wins an original Franklin Habit illustration and 10 skeins of Cascade Sierra yarn.

Most Creative: Fairy by Amanda Heyen

Amanda wins a set of Addi Turbo Lace Clicks and 10 skeins of Cascade Sierra yarn.

Most Ambitious: Tire Cozy by Karen Vradelis

Karen wins 10 skeins of Cascade Sierra yarn.

A big thank you to our judges: Ysolda Teague, Fiona Ellis and Shannon Dunbabin.

And thanks also to those who donated the prizes: Franklin Habit, Addi/Skacel and Cascade Yarns.

The work of Dutch designer Noortje de Keijzer, “My Knitted Boyfriend” is “a cushion with a story”.

The designer has written a book about how My Knitted Boyfriend came to be. The illustrations are whimsical and fascinating, making us think about the comfort a partner brings. “This way you will never feel alone ever again. With this man you can be sure, he will never leave you.”

I love the detail that the designer’s mother and grandmother knitted the sample… I can just imagine the conversation… “you want me to knit what?”

A primary school in Kent, UK, has added knitting back to their formal curriculum, after seeing the benefits of a lunchtime knitting club. Students are improving their mathematics skills, and teachers are seeing positive changes in behaviour, also: students are more likely to sit for longer, and knitting has increased social interaction between students. Rather than indulging in solitary pastimes like playing with a phone, children are sitting and talking to each other. (Note: Daily Mail link.)

Excellent yarnbomb of the 26′ tall Marilyn Monroe statue currently in display in Palm Springs, California. Ann Leiboh enlisted 40 friends and knitters from Knitting Guild of the Desert to make giant legwarmers for the statue…  The project took 8 months overall, and the installation was done in secret over a Friday night, April 12th.  20 knitters helped with the installation, and there were so many pieces contributed that they not only had legwarmers, but they were also able to yarnbomb the signage about the statue, and put scarves on the nearby Sonny Bono and Lucille Ball statues.

Unfortunately, the legwarmers were removed shortly after installation, but the other items remained in place for a few days.

More info and pictures on the Facebook post.

The day it opened I joined Clara Parkes Great White Bale adventure.

I’ve been following along reading every single blog post as the bale makes it’s journey.

Just last week my package came:

I love the logo – that sheep is so cute and looks like a merino. But my spinning fingers wanted to get a hold of this:

Commercially scoured merino, with just a little VM and just enough lanolin left in.

I got out my trusty handcards and made three quick rolags. I will admit I rushed in my excitement and created a few neps. And yes, for you eagle-eyed knitters, that is a Knowknits knitting pouch, they work great for holding handcards.

Then I spun it, woolen, of course:

Yummy, fluffy and springy. I wish I could get some more.

Are you following Clara on her Great White Bale adventure?

The winner of the Amy Herzog ‘Fit to Flatter‘ giveaway is Jennifer from Van Nuys, CA. Thanks to Melanie Falick Books for the book, and Berocco for the yarn.

The wonderful people at Jimmy Beans Wool have come up with a terrific idea for Mother’s Day – a bouquet of yarn! The bouquets include limited-edition hand-dyed yarns, accompanied by patterns, needles and beads. There are two different size bouquets, and there are a limited number available.

I plan to drop big hints to the dog – I’ll let you know if he delivers…

A brilliant, brilliant piece of work from Knitty Designer Bristol Ivy – the Stockinette Market. She has done a detailed analysis of the patterns that appear on Hot Right Now in Ravelry, with a view to understanding and tracking the trends in popular knitting patterns and projects. Every day – twice a day where possible – she looks at the 48 patterns that appear in the Hot Right Now list. She produces these amazing detailec charts showing various types of information about the patterns – garment type (e.g. hat, cardigan, shawl), the fabric type (lace, cable, stockinette), the yarn type (e.g. solid, tweed, self-striping), the color, and how the pattern is shown in the photos – on a model or not.

Read the introductory post here, and then visit the blog to see her regular updates.

A fabulous insight for designers into what knitters are excited about. A fun way for knitters to see what their friends are up to. And overall, an amazing way to quantify what we’re all doing. Even if you don’t spend time with the graphs, it’s worth reading Bristol’s analysis of the data she’s seeing – tracking project popularity to promotions and industry activity.

The movie studio FOX kicked up a fuss last week by trying to claim ownership of the copyright of the “Jayne” hat, worn by the character Jayne Cobb in the short-lived, much-beloved and long-ago-cancelled TV show Firefly. The distinctive hat is often worn by fans of the show to show their love, and there have been various patterns, both knit and crochet, available for it almost since the hat first appeared on screen. FOX contacted Etsy sellers who were making and selling the hats. The story continues, and it will be interesting to see where this goes…

The third annual Garden State Yarn Crawl takes place this weekend, around the yarny spots of New Jersey. There will be discounts, promotions, contests – and of course, yarn!

This just makes me happy: the Aiken, South Carolina newspaper proudly announces that a local knitter, Mary Anne Todd, has received her “Master Knitter” certification from the Knitting Guild of America.

News of a spy who knitted himself a ladder to escape from prison (Daily Mail link).