Knitting

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Giveaway: Summer Knitting Book and Yarn

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knitting in the sunI know it’s hard for a lot of people to want to knit when it’s hot outside. I have air conditioning and it’s still a struggle just knowing that it’s 100 degrees outside (though we finally got rain yesterday and it’s supposed to be cooler — 80s and 90s — for the next few days!).

Blogger Lime Riot is the same way, and she’s trying to motivate herself to do more summer knitting by hosting a summer knitting giveaway.

All you have to do is comment on her blog about how you’re incorporating crafting into your summer. Up for grabs are a copy of Kristi Porter’s Knitting in the Sun (that link is to my review on About) and two balls of Jo Sharp Soho Summer, a lovely, light cotton yarn. The contest is open through Saturday, June 21.

I’d love to hear how (or if) you’re crafting in the heat, too. Spill it!

[Photo by Wiley.]

Comments

  1. I sit in the shade on a little patio off my bedroom & knit – mostly hats. Seems all I want to do lately is knit. I resent having to do any housework because it takes me away from my knitting.

  2. I sit on my porch and knit, yes its hot our but when one has a 6 month kitten..Right now I working on a baby blanket, baby due soon!

  4. So far I have sat on my front porch and crocheted a wrap and slippers while watching the smoke of a 1200 arce fire which started 1/2 a mile away. It was a way to use nervous energy and keep an eye on the ball.

  5. I sit on the couch in front of a box fan (no AC) and knit/crochet scarves, socks, hats, and whatever doesn’t cover my lap.

  7. I knit dish cloths by the dozen, work on smaller christmas presents (fingerless gloves, scarves), and gather the materials for cozy winter knitting.

  8. I knit regardless of the weather, but I am grateful for my AC. I’m mostly making smaller projects like pillows and afghan squares.

  9. I am in a knitting club once a week and a guild once a month and in-between I knit love new patterns and the opportunity to win yhis lovely book louise

Have you read?

Easy Knit Baskets to Use All Your Stash

For the past few years I’ve taken part in a Christmas in July blog hop that encourages people to get a jump on their making for holiday gifts. 

I love to use yarn I already have for these projects in the hope that people will consider what they already have that they can use to make projects for themselves or to give as gifts. 

This year it was a couple of knit baskets made using partial balls of yarn left in my stash from other projects. 

They use the same basic pattern but the first one is made with two colors of bulky yarn, and the second used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, which made the gauge about the same, but I cast on fewer stitches to make a smaller version. 

The bottom of the basket is square, though you can make them rectangular if you’d rather. Then I just knit up the sides in rounds until I was about to run out of yarn. This gave both baskets rather short sides — maybe more like a tray than a basket — but you can keep knitting as long as you like to make the sides of your basket as tall as you want. 

They’re worked in seed stitch, which keeps the edges from curling and adds a nice texture to the baskets.

Of course this also allows you to use even more odd balls from your stash. I’d love to make a big one someday combining lots of different yarn. I mean, I’d probably use it to store more yarn, but that’s a fine thing to do. 

As it is, these little trays are great for sitting on your desk or bedside table to hold little things that always seem to appear there. I like to use one to hold the supplies for whatever project I’m working on, things like little scissors, my tape measure, a crochet hook, etc.

And they would make good gifts on their own or as a container to hold some other goodies if you like. 

You can find the free pattern for these stash busting baskets over at Our Daily Craft.