Check Out the Interweave Hurt Book Sale

I don’t usually promote sales on the site because there are so many and they are over so quickly it’s not usually worth it, but one sale I always check out each year is the Interweave Hurt Book Sale. It used to be that this sale was strictly items that had been damaged in the warehouse (things with bent covers, stuff like that), but it’s expanded over the years to offer “hurt” prices on other books, magazines and DVDs.

That link above is to the knitting section of the sale, but of course they offer publications in a range of crafts including crochet, quilting, jewelry making and mixed media as well.

I’m seeing lots of great books that retail for $24.95 going for $6.24, which is a great deal.

When I was looking around there were things in the sale section without sale prices on them, and it seemed to change me from sale prices to not sale prices depending on where I was looking, but your patience is likely to be rewarded with some great deals. And the sale is consistently updated over the course of a few weeks, so keep checking back for more goodies.

Did you score a great deal? I’d love to hear about it!

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?