• The Ultimate Fiber Gift for 2017!

    Do you have a knitter or crocheter on your shopping list this year? Want a gift that's sure to knock their hand-knit socks off? Here it is! (and yes, this absolutely might be a hint for anyone who's shopping for me this year...subtle, right?) 

  • Wraps per inch method for determining yarn weight

    Tutorial – Wraps Per Inch (WPI)

    I’ve been working on a project using a package of “mill ends” that I picked up over a year ago. For those of you who aren’t familiar, mill end skeins are like remnants. There’s no weight, fiber content, or even brand listed on the package. I’m writing up the pattern for you, but there’s one problem –  I need to tell you in the pattern what weight yarn to use…and I have no idea what weight this yarn actually is! No worries though, there’s a way to find out. First, I take my handy little ruler, and start wrapping the yarn around it carefully, starting at the 1 inch mark and going until I…

  • A sample stash page on Ravelry

    Stashing on Ravelry

    Today, I am sorting through and organizing all the new yarn I got on my trip to the Knit and Crochet show. There’s a lot of it, and like many of you, I already had a lot at home! Without some way to manage it, I would never remember what I have. Luckily, once again, it’s Ravelry to the rescue. I use the “stash” feature to keep track of it all, and I’ve found that really helpful. As soon as yarn enters my home (ok, within a couple of weeks, at least), I enter it into my stash. That way, I always know exactly how much I have of each yarn, including dye…

  • a hank of yarn

    Hanks, balls, and skeins – oh my!

    Yarn comes in many formats, with different names. Sometimes it’s wound by a machine, sometimes it’s wound by hand, and sometimes it’s just twisted together. There are cakes, skeins, hanks, balls, cones, and even spools – do you know the difference? Here are some examples:

  • Goodie box

    A package from Red Heart!

    Look at the free goodies the postman brought me the other day, from the lovely people at Red Heart! There’s a skein of Boutique Twilight in the “Romantic” colorway, and a coordinating skein of Boutique Infinity in the “Enchanted” colorway. Hmm…an enchanted romance indeed! They’re both generous skeins in gorgeous shades of purple, and both with a subtle sparkle. They’re surprisingly soft and silky to work with too. I can’t wait to make something with them. I have a couple ideas in mind but we’ll have to see how they turn out! Also in the box was a Susan Bates digital row counter (also in purple, of course). It wraps around…

  • How I hold my yarn (2)

    So how do you hold it?

    I mean your yarn, of course. Specifically, how do you tension your yarn when crocheting? I’ve always done it the way my mom first taught me. I mostly control the tension between my pinky and ring finger, while my index finger positions the yarn. This leaves my thumb and middle finger free to grip the project: I know everyone does it differently, and I was curious, so I asked some other crochet designers to show me how they do it. As expected, the results were quite varied! Lorene of Cre8tion Crochet and MandaLynn of MandaLynn’s Crochet Treasures both hold it the same way I do: Kati of KatiD Creations does something similar as well,…

  • Oh no! A mistake!

    How to fix knitting mistakes without frogging

    My mom taught me this, and I’ve been using it A LOT on my current sock project. (Thanks Mom!) I’m sure many of you already know how to do this, but in case you don’t, here it is. Oh no, look, a mistake! And it’s SO many rows down! Don’t worry….the crochet hook will save us. (It won’t bite, and you won’t go to knitting hell for using it…I promise!) First, continue working the next row up to the stitch above the mistake. If you prefer, you can just transfer the stitches to another needle instead of working them. When you get to the right stitch, take it off the…