can we still be friends?

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by.

Sadly I don't seem to be keeping up with this neglected little knitting blog anymore, but I'm so glad you're here, knitter friend, and you're very welcome to poke around in the archives.

Free Knitting Patterns

Free Pattern FAQ (help page)

I'm afraid I can be a bit slow to respond to comments and questions, but I do get them and I do try to reply within a not-shameful period of time.

Also let's be knitting friends on Ravelry!

Happy knitting!

cute cuter cutest!

Imagine my delight when a little stack of these adorable new books of knit toys showed up at my house the other day from KnitPicks! But the real thrill was inside...

It's my sloth! I am so excited that my pattern for a trio of knitted & felted sloths was included in this ridiculously sweet collection of knit toys. If you've been a reader of this blog for a while (a long while), you may remember when I first got excited about the two-toed sloths and decided to knit a life-sized one. Sloth was born about six years ago (around the same time as the Little Pea), and has now made the big time as a knitting pattern - with two cute little friends.   

Sloth immediately became a beloved friend in our family. I hope he'll be one for lots of other knitters now, too! The pattern is available as part of the Cute Cuter Cutest book, as a stand-alone pattern to download, or as part of a kit made with KnitPicks Wool of the Andes worsted.  

quick peek

I have a new pattern coming out tomorrow via Knit Picks.

Can you guess what it is?

stepping out... into teaching! (gulp)

Gentleman's Shooting Stockings, ca 2006

Socktober might be almost over, but I'm not ready to move on just yet. I'd stepped away from sock-knitting for a while (get it? stepped..? nevermind) and it feels soooo good to be back.

Sock yarn! Oh man, sock yarn. For $25 you can buy yourself the goods for a spectacular, satisfying knitting project with amazing color, luxurious fibers and a guaranteed appreciative recipient (especially if you're the lucky recipient). Not to mention the portability, the relative speed, the fun of the Magic Loop....  okay, I know, I don't need to preach the Joy of Socks to y'all.

But I am going to be preaching the Joy of Socks to an unwitting group of new sock knitters in November, because I'll be teaching a sock-knitting class!!! Eep!

That's right, I'm going to be teaching my first knitting class. We're going to be knitting The Perfect Sock by Jo Torr, which is a perfect introduction to toe-up sock knitting. It's super duper exciting, and also completely terrifying. What if the students don't like me? What if I don't like them (though that seems unlikely)? What if they figure out that I ACTUALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING??? What if they hate sock knitting and spent their hard-earned money and time on a class that would have been better spent on cleaning the bathroom?!? I have all these fears and many more.

But also, I have the excitement! And also the Joy of Socks, which I really look forward to sharing. And I have the trust of Great Yarns to use wisely and not squander, so I better live up to it.

So here's what I want to know from you: Have you ever taken a knitting class? What class did you take? What did you love about it? What did the teacher do that made it a wonderful experience (or if it wasn't that, what would have made it wonderful)? What do you wish that the instructor had done differently?

Please share your wisdom... I'll be needing it!

new free pattern!

Hi everyone!

Photo by KnitPicks.com

It's been much too long, but I am excited to share that I have a new free pattern out this week! Instead of being featured on my blog, this one is over at KnitPicks. I am really excited to have this little girls' jumper featured among their new collection of free patterns.

I've made three of these for adorable toddlers in my life, and can attest that it's a quick, fun knit in the round, with just enough sweet details to be interesting. The pattern calls for Comfy Worsted - a tough-wearing easy-care yarn that comes in a huge color range. But there's plenty in your stash already that might work, too!

This was a fun project, and I'm excited about working with KnitPicks on some more projects to come. Let me know if you try this free pattern & how you like it!