Last week, we brought you a tutorial showing how to block a square or rectangular hap, or everyday shawl, using a blocking frame. Today, we bring you part two of this tutorial, using a frame to block a triangular hap or shawl.
Read moreWe love you, Hunter Hammersen!
Have you knitted this month’s Confident Knitting pattern, Hunter Hammersen’s Evolve Cowl, yet? I cast off and blocked mine last week. Finishing it was bittersweet: while I am thrilled to have a new beautiful cowl to thrown on on a brisk day, I’m missing having it on the needles. The pattern was engaging without being hard, meditative without being mindless. Which I think is actually a good characterisation of much of Hunter’s portfolio and perhaps part of her enormous popularity! They’re always fun, often surprising and very achievable!
Read moreHow to Block Using a Hap Stretcher, Part 1: Square or Rectangular Hap (Photo Tutorial)
We’re all about the blocking at the moment — Excellent Blocking is this month’s featured Confident Knitting technique. This month’s pair of video tutorials creatively use household objects (with the option to use flexible blocking wires) to achieve some really stellar blocking results. Today though, we thought it’d be fun to share a blocking tutorial of a different type from our archives: how to block a square hap!
Read moreReport from the Field (Guide)
Friends, it all started innocently enough, with a scarf cast on. I had a few balls of Lopi and the newest MDK Field Guide, and the Destination Scarf was going to do double duty as a tutorial sample and a bit of relaxing telly knitting.
Read moreGetting Going with Magic Loop (Two Video Tutorials!)
Chances are, if you’ve read this blog before, you’ve heard of magic loop knitting. It’s a nifty way of using a long-ish circular needle to knit a small-ish circumference item. Now before we go any further, I’m going to level with you. I used to hate the magic loop. Many years ago, I was a knitter who found The Way I liked doing things and stuck with it, and The Way I Liked To Knit Small Circumferences was with two circular needles. I’d given magic loop a cursory try, but it felt awkward and ungainly, with kinks of cable everywhere. So I happily stuck with my totally serviceable but rather expensive habit of knitting small circumferences on two circular needles until one day, I was commuting to work on the bus, and the bamboo tip of one of my circular needles broke. I was faced with two choices: sit the rest of the bus ride without knitting or face my magic loop demons. I’m sure you can guess which one I chose.
Read moreCheerful Rainbows
Circle and Square Hat by Martina Behm. Image © Jesse Wild.
In between working on my Transom Cardigan, I have been working on a couple of fun, really colourful projects. First up was my Circle and Square Hat. I’ve already sung the praises of this clever, clever design by Martina Behm, and thought I would just pop in to show you how it turned out.
Read moreRefreshing with the Transom Cardigan
I can’t stop working on my Transom Cardigan. Image © Jesse Wild
I have been reunited with my Transom Cardigan WIP* (designed by Carol Feller for Field Guide No. 14 Refresh) and it is fabulous! I started eyeing up this cardi as soon as the collection was released last year. Every time I packed an order of Nua I would look at the range and daydream about what colour mine would be. It wasn’t until November, when we ran the Bringing Joy KAL that I actually got as far as casting on.
Read moreLet's block, excellently! Two video tutorials to boost your lace blocking confidence
Blocking can be a really magical, transformative process, but its’s something that (and you can correct me if I’m wrong) knitters rarely get excited about. It’s consigned, along with swatching, to the list of things one should do when knitting something, much like eating your vegetables or drinking more water.
Read moreEvolve Cowl + Excellent Blocking
No fooling, it’s Confident Knitting pattern release day! I’m so pleased to introduce you to April’s pattern, the Evolve Cowl, designed by the incomparable Hunter Hammersen! Hunter’s showstopper of a cowl provides us with the perfect chance to practise this month’s featured technique, excellent blocking!
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