Knitting News

Off the hook | Star Tribune

Off the hook
Star Tribune - April 26 2006

Elizabeth McElligott, an eighth-grader at Northview Junior High in Brooklyn Park, just finished an ambitious crochet project -- a pink, yellow and orange afghan that matches the color scheme of her bedroom.
"It's really cool that you can pick out the colors that you want," said the 13-year-old. Elizabeth and her sister Allyson, 17, started crocheting about six years ago when mom Nancy was teaching Allyson for a Girl Scout project.
"Crocheting is something cool to do with yarn," said Allyson, a junior at Osseo High School. "A couple of weeks ago, I made a little round bag in an afternoon. I was just messing around with the yarn and created my own pattern."
The 200-year-old craft isn't just for grandmas making baby booties and doilies anymore. People in their 20s, teens and even 'tweens are hooking up with the craft through multigenerational classes and clubs, as well as the through explosion of hip new pattern books such as "Cool Crochet," SweaterBabe.com's "Fabulous and Flirty Crochet" and "Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker."
You only have to look as far as your nearest department store or glossy monthly to understand why: Feminine crocheted fashions are all the rage -- dusters, shrugs, hats and bags -- often carrying hefty price tags. Design houses Prada, Chanel and Marc Jacobs have featured crocheted pieces in their collections. Doing it yourself is an economical way to achieve the latest look. [more]

Johnson knits hats for kids' sake | Arkcity.net

Johnson knits hats for kids' sake
Arkcity.net

In 1984, long-time Arkansas City resident Ethel McNamee Johnson and her husband, Orval, moved to their hometown area of Girard, to retire.
But Johnson, who turned 90 earlier this month, now finds herself as busy as ever. The only difference between now and when she operated a beauty shop in Ark City, is that she no longer works for money, she works for charity.
She spends many hours knitting. A few years ago, she called the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program, or SEK-CAP, to offer some of her work.
"She gave us a phone call and asked if there was anything she could do for little kids," said Linda Broyles, director of Head Start for SEK-CAP.
The first year, she made 15 hats for kids. This past year, she produced many more. [more]

The stepchild of the fiber world gets some cred from the cool kids | Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The stepchild of the fiber world gets some cred from the cool kids
Seattle Post-Intelligencer - April 28 2006

One misty evening in spring, Jennifer Hill flipped the "closed" sign on her yarn shop and led her staff of veteran knitters to nearby Targy's Tavern, which she fondly calls "the last bastion of crappiness on Queen Anne."
For the next four hours, as the Bud Lite flowed and Lynyrd Skynyrd rocked the jukebox, the 20-odd staffers of Hilltop Yarn & Needlepoint sank into beer-stained, backroom sofas and proceeded to embrace the dark side.
They learned to crochet.
Given the knit-crochet cultural divide, it was a little like PC loyalists taking a Mac-appreciation class. But the Hilltop crew learned what longtime "hookers" have known all along: that crochet is fun, fast and filled with creative potential.
"If I can learn to do it in a dark bar after work," Hill said, "anyone can do it."
For the first time in decades, crochet is on a fashion roll. You see it on runways and retail racks and, increasingly, in sophisticated patterns that needle crafters can stitch themselves. It's worth noting that Martha Stewart's famous prison poncho, made by a fellow inmate, was the product of a crochet hook. [more]

Innovation knits images on fabric | stuff

OK, this isn't hand knitting, but it is really cool!

Innovation knits images on fabric
stuff - April 26 2006

Good old Kiwi ingenuity has struck again - this time in Te Poi, just out of Matamata, where Macbeth Knitwear has fiddled about with computers and machinery and come up with a way to knit images into fabric.
"It's No. 8 wire stuff. I had to go through six different processes to get the computers to talk to each other," Kathy Newey said.
Mrs Newey and her husband Denis run the knitwear factory shop and say while they do not think their process is unique, it is unusual – possibly the only one in New Zealand to offer this.
Basically the process, which they have dubbed photoknit, takes digital images and knits them into merino wool blankets – ranging from cot size to single-bed size – using greyscale colours. [more]

Crocheter draws crowd at bookstore | Lincoln Journal Star

Crocheter draws crowd at bookstore
Lincoln Journal Star - April 26 2006

Most Tuesday nights, Neal Brickner knits on the third floor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Student Union.
He knits with the Uppity Knitters Unite, which was founded in October 2004. Every Tuesday at 7 p.m., they meet in the Women’s Center.
This particular Tuesday, though, Brickner, 24, brought his knitting needles and his project (leg warmers) to Lee Booksellers.
There, he and the other Uppity Knitters listened to Debbie Stoller sing the praises of crochet.
They petted the soft alpaca sweater Stoller passed around.
They examined the crocheted scarves and bags, and teeny tiny bikini Stoller brought along, all of which are patterns featured in her latest book “Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Happy Hooker,” which she was there promoting.
[more]

Mathiak: I can knit and think at same time | The Capital Times

Mathiak: I can knit and think at same time [via Knitter's Review Forum]
The Capital Times - April 28 2006

WTDY/AM 1670 radio personalities Tim Morrissey and John "Sly" Sylvester got their knickers in knots this week over knitting.
Morrissey reported that he was "stunned" when he tuned in Monday night's Madison School Board meeting on television and saw brand new board member Lucy Mathiak knitting.
Morrissey said in a telephone interview that he considers it rude, and mentioned it on air Tuesday. Sly then continued to needle Mathiak about her knitting habit for several hours, and it has been a running thread on the station's programs this week.
Calls to a listeners' poll at the station are running 3-1 against knitting at meetings, according to the station's Web site. [more]

Finally, a bright idea for knitting in low light | The Detroit News

Finally, a bright idea for knitting in low light
The Detroit News - April 27 2006

Often times, I think how could I have lived without such modern conveniences as Ziploc bags or coffee sleeves or Velcro fasteners on coats.
And let's not forget MapQuest, cell phones, Google as a reference library, keyless locks, ATM machines, and my personal favorite, epidurals in the delivery room.
Now comes an invention that will knock your stockinette-stitched socks off! It is a dream come true for knitters world wide!
How often have you foregone going to the theater to watch a newly released film on the big screen because, if only you could see in the dark, you could be finishing that adorable baby sweater, God willing, in my case, before the baby grows out of it?
Or, as Maureen McDonough, part owner of the Knitting Room, a 22-year-old establishment in downtown Birmingham moans: "The things I go through in the car on a road trip with my husband! I'm pleading: 'Could I just turn on the light for a minute to finish this row and not drop a stitch?' " [more]

OAPs get out their knitting needles to help needy families | Chester Evening Leader

OAPs get out their knitting needles to help needy families
Chester Evening Leader

Residents at a Chester nursing home have put months of work into handcrafted bedding for needy families.
The elderly residents of Wealstone Lane Residential Home, Upton, have kitted and quilted blankets for several charities in the area.
The pensioners, led by activities co-ordinator Ruth Hughes, have made 14 blankets. [more]

Q&A - Katherine Mok - Chief stitcher and bitcher | Metropolis

Q&A - Katherine Mok - Chief stitcher and bitcher [via]
Metropolis - April 28 2006

Since she started Stitch ‘n’ Bitch in Tokyo two years ago, Australian Katherine Mok, 31, has turned the knitting social into a local phenomenon.
What’s it all about?
Stitch ‘n’ Bitch is a group of knitters/crocheters/crafters who get together to share ideas, chat, eat and drink. The concept was started in New York City by Debbie Stoller, the editor of Bust magazine. Now there are Stitch ‘n’ Bitch groups all over the world.
What do you bitch about?
We started off as a group of three foreigners (Australian, American and Thai) so we would chat about our experiences (good and bad) in Japan. We bring patterns and books to share with each other and talk about projects, colors, yarn types and so on.
[...]Tell us about your blog (www.pinkurocks.com).
I discovered blogging about two and a half years ago as a cool way to document our time in Japan. It has connected me with people around the world; I sometimes meet up with other bloggers when they come to Japan.
[more]

Tips for easing knitter's aches, pains | Anchorage Daily News

Tips for easing knitter's aches, pains
Anchorage Daily News - April 25 2006

Is knitting damaging your health? If you are a knitting addict like I am, you probably have a few aches and pains associated with your addiction.
I have been knitting for more than 46 years now, and I'm afraid all my bad habits have come home to roost. My neck gets stiff, my wrist hurts from carpal tunnel, and my back and shoulders ache. I have eyestrain too. Oh, yeah, I also have something called trigger finger. It's a repetitive-motion injury of the tendon. In my case, the ring finger of my left hand has a pea-sized lump that really hurts at times. So what's an avid knitter to do?
Of course, I won't quit knitting, so I figured I had better learn how to correct some of my bad habits. I talked with Dr. Greg Egeland at the Ireland Chiropractic Clinic. He had good advice for all knitters, and I am sure you'll thank him too. [more]