Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

A French Girl Giveaway….

by

frenchWell, not technically a French Girl, but Kristeen Griffin-Grimes uber cool, French Girl Knits book!

Need some criteria here….. ok, how about this….. your favorite needles!

Mine? Well, thanks for asking. I almost always knit with circulars. Why? Because my old arthritic hands and wrists from years and years of farming feel better when the weight of the knitting rests on my lap and not supported by my hands and wrists at the end of a large needle. So, unless I’m doing something that requires double points (yes, I’ve tried the Magic Loop and 2 Circular needle methods, prefer the double points) I’m all about the circular needles! I have the Denise set that I love, but also some bamboo circs which are awesome.

Yours? What are your favorite needles and why? A copy of this book depends on it!

Oh, and you can get a copy of this book, if you don’t win it here, published by Interweave Press, here: http://www.knitpicks.com/French+Girl+Knits_BD31105.html

Next Pattern:

Comments

  1. I knit almost exclusively with dpn’s and circs. Like both of those WAY better than single points.

Have you read?

Practice Colorwork on a Cute Knit Bunny

Sometimes I feel like knitters get intimidated to try new things because they think they need to start with a big project. Your first time working in the round doesn’t need to be a sock, and your first colorwork doesn’t need to be a sweater, for example. You can find little projects that use the skills you want to learn to build your confidence before you move on to something that requires more time commitment.

This adorable knit bunny, for example.

The colorwork bunny from Knit Picks was designed by Amy Munson and is a kind of bowling pin shaped bunny complete with a knit hat, contrasting inner ears and a little stranded colorwork on its body. Note that the ears are attached the the hat not the bunny, but you could stitch them to the bunny if you’d rather.

It’s worked from the bottom up and also has a tiny pompom tail you can’t see in the picture but it’s a really cute touch. There are a variety of little fair isle patterns to choose from to make the best bunny for you.

The bunny comes out about 8 inches tall (or just over 20 cm) and use several colors to complete the colorwork, depending on the design you choose.

You can purchase the pattern by itself from Knit Picks, or make a kit that includes sport weight yarn in all the colors you need for your creation. There are gray and brown options for the main body of the bunny, but of course if you’re using your own yarn you can make it whatever color you like.

Once you’ve tried colorwork (maybe also working in the round and shaping if those are skills you haven’t used before) in a little project like this you’ll be ready to take on something bigger in no time.

Check out the pattern on Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks]