Knitting News

Book will have you reaching for your needles | The Charlotte Observer

Book will have you reaching for your needles
The Charlotte Observer/McClatchy Tribune - November 10 2006

Lots of knitting books cross my desk, and my knitting pal and I ooh and aah over the beautiful patterns.

But "Speed Knitting," by Kris Percival (Chronicle Books, $19.95) is one of the first in a while that inspired me to pick up some needles and actually knit something.

For the most part, the patterns are knit with thick yarn on big needles, which helps account for the "speed" in the title. Indeed, the scoopneck sweater vest I made took about 10 days at a pretty relaxed pace. [more]

Knitting: New uses for soda tabs, Reynolds Wrap and caution tape | Santa Cruz Sentinel

Tina Baine, Do It Yourself: Knitting: New uses for soda tabs, Reynolds Wrap and caution tape
Santa Cruz Sentinel - November 9 2006

If you browse in the crafts section of your local library or bookstore, you'll discover that the majority of craft books are written about quilting and knitting. There are others there scrapbooking is definitely taking up some space on the shelves these days, but it appears that the vast majority of crafty people are creating practical items to keep their families warm, just as their great-great-grandmothers did more than a century ago.

Of course many authors are trying to come up with a new slant on knitting or quilting, so that their book will stand out above the others. Debbie Stoller's book, "Stitch 'n Bitch," published in 2003, created something of a phenomenon because it drew in non-knitters with its colloquial writing style "gather 'round, chillins, I'm gonna teach you to knit", kitchy artwork and hip fashion-sense. "Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook" sold so well it now has a sequel, "Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker."

There are other books and Web sites, for that matter that approach these traditional arts in a fresh new way, by using modern or non-traditional materials, such as plastic, wire or fabric. [more]

Luxist on the Town: Suss Designs | Luxist

Luxist on the Town: Suss Designs
Luxist - November 8 2006

With the Santa Ana winds kicking up record temps here in Los Angeles, it wasn't the ideal night to visit a store full of wool but last night's event at Suss Designs was worth the visit. Suss Cousins was celebrating the launch of her latest book, Home Knits, a lavishly photographed book full of knitting projects you can make to decorate your home. I don't knit but if I were going to start, I'd want to start here. After the jump, a brief tour of the store and some of Suss Cousins's fabulous knit creations. [more]

Time to start looking for gift projects as holidays approach | Anchorage Daily News

Time to start looking for gift projects as holidays approach
Anchorage Daily News - October 31 2006

The holidays are just about here. The needles and crochet hooks are starting to fly along with the snow. There are too many projects and too many things on my to-do list. How about yours?

Every year as I begin to make the shopping list for family and friends, I notice that more and more of my friends are, in fact, knitters or crocheters themselves. I am always looking for that perfect something for an inexpensive gift. This year I finally have ideas for these fellow stitchers.

[...]Patterns for ornaments and more Christmas stockings are gathered in "Holiday Knits," 25 great gifts from stockings to sweaters by Sara Lucas and Allison Isaacs (Chronicle Books, $19.95). This book has been out for a couple of years but is still one I would suggest for your collection. The cute ornaments include felted ones for those of you addicted to felting. There are also stockings, mittens, hats, scarves, throws, pillows and even a rug. There should be something for every budget, time frame or person on your holiday gift-giving list.

Last holiday season I saw something about a special type of gift for the person who has everything, and I can't get it out of my mind. This unique way to "give" is also a way to support a charity called the Heifer Project. [more]

New eBook Shows How To Create Beautiful Items From Any Knitting Pattern | PR Web

New eBook Shows How To Create Beautiful Items From Any Knitting Pattern [press release]
PR Web - November 1 2006

Easy-knit (www.easy-knit.com) is happy to announce the launch of a new eBook, Knit-easy, authored by Anna Stewart. This informative eBook covers everything from basic techniques to how to resize or modify your own knitting pattern.

Anna Stewart, CEO and author, states: "There was a time when learning how to knit was taught in schools as a craft activity or you could go to the local wool store that often ran classes, or you could learn from parents or grandparents. Unfortunately, during the 70's and 80's this craft took a downturn in popularity, resulting in many of the local wool stores closing their doors. Today finding classes or finding someone to teach you how to knit is almost impossible."

Stewart's eBook makes the impossible possible by sharing all the techniques she has learned over the last 40 years in simple to understand language and with numerous illustrations to show readers and students exactly what they should be doing. [more]

Spin to Knit Author Kicks Off Dueling Cross-Country Book Tours in October | Book Catcher

Spin to Knit Author Kicks Off Dueling Cross-Country Book Tours in October
Book Catcher - October 29 2006

Expanding on the recent knitting and crochet comeback, spinning yarn has become the hot new trend in urban fiber circles. These new spinners are not Renaissance-faire types living on sheep farms. They are young, creative professionals who see spinning as a way to have more control over their design process, to meditate in what has become a busy world, and to create fun new yarns unique to their individual style.

There is only one hip, updated book on the subject: Spin to Knit (Interweave Press) by Shannon Okey, author of the bestselling Knitgrrl series. Spin to Knit takes knitters to the next level -- creating their own yarn -- with step-by-step photos and attractive patterns anyone can spin and knit. Okey spoke with spinners across the US and Canada to discover what inspires them about the craft: their inspiring in-depth profiles appear in Spin to Knit.

Okey is simultaneously hitting the road in two directions to support Spin to Knit. While signing in person during an 11-stop east coast tour October 1-15, she'll also be touring the virtual world during an 11-stop blog tour. [more]

"No Sheep For You" | Treehugger

"No Sheep For You"
Treehugger - October 26 2006

I can’t draw you a diagram of how it happened, but knitting has become a choice medium for stylish, radical, TreeHuggers. The DIY movement is alive and well and it’s got needles. Knitting has lent itself to displays of guerrilla art, symbolic activism, and graffiti. A new book, “No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo, and Other Delights” is right in this vein, it would seem. It is the work of Amy R. Singer, a magnate of hip knitting and editor of Knitty. [more]

Amy R. Singer Knits Her Dream | Venus

Amy R. Singer Knits Her Dream [via knittyBlog]
Venus

“My favorite time of year is right now,” declares Amy R. Singer, editor and publisher of Knitty, “it’s sweater weather. It’s perfect!” Now in its autumn, this has been a great year for Amy. Knitty, a knitting magazine that is available online, is celebrating its fourth year and continues to grow, “I am getting a lot of translation requests: ‘how do I translate this to German? Swedish? Norwegian?’ It’s crazy” but Amy feels, “it’s great crazy”

And, as of July 1st, she officially made the quarterly magazine her full-time gig. When Amy first began Knitty, “It was a fun project and it was a great time and we loved it,” by the magazine’s second issue, it dawned on her that Knitty could be her dream job and now it is official. [more]

Book Review: Spin to Knit by Shannon Okey | M&C Books

Book Review: Spin to Knit by Shannon Okey
M&C Books - October 15 2006

The creative knitter dreams of making a truly distinctive garment created from just the right yarn and that’s where this book comes in as it provides all the basic information and inspiration needed to begin spinning your own beautiful fibers. By showing how easy it is to make and use a drop spindle from found materials, Okey dispels the myth that spinning requires an expensive wheel or infinite patience. Everything from cleaning and carding raw fleece to an unusual dye technique utilizing the dishwasher is covered in enough detail to guide yet not overwhelm the new spinner. The close-up photography is especially nice as it enables knitters to see what the stitches actually look like in a knit swatch. [more]

Cafes, celebs recast knitting for younger crowd | Reuters

Cafes, celebs recast knitting for younger crowd
Reuters - October 5 2006

Move over granny. Knitting's image in the United States as a pastime for the blue-rinse set is being recast, as it gains cachet with a younger crowd drawn by celebrity knitters and the emergence of "knit cafes."

With knitted hats, ponchos and bags appearing on catwalks, fashionistas have started to create their own scarves and accessories, armed with needles and balls of wool.

British comedienne Tracey Ullman is one of the new pack of celebrity knitters -- boasting of her skill at a recent event in New York where she was launching a modern-day knitting guide she co-authored called "Knit 2 Together."

Ullman said she learned to knit as a child growing up in England, taught by her mother, but it was not until years later that she became an avid knitter as a way to wind down -- but became frustrated by the lack of trendy patterns.

"I wanted to knit skirts, trousers, dreadlocks, sweat pants....and I couldn't find any patterns," Ullman said. "I wanted knitting to be sexy." [more]