Fiber Fests, Knitting Nest and Spinning Wheels

Well, I survived the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival. It was exhilarating. It was exhausting. It was really really hard on my checkbook.

And I signed up to go to another one. Am I crazy?

Don’t answer that!

I did manage to score quite a bit of knitting time as well as spinning time. What handy little tool did I choose to hold my knitting, yarn and accessories while I was knitting? The Knitter’s Nest by Circular Solutions. Very heavy duty canvas, with 4 divided pockets. Also trimmed in a very cool purple! And… this is the grabber… it has a handle! People! Seriously! A Handle! I could pick it up and deposit it into my festival tote with no problems. I could pick it up and take it out of my festival tote with no problems. Very very portable, but.. if it’s not quite portable enough for you…..

Ta..dah…..Circular Solution’s Port A Pocket. Same durable canvas, same ultra cool purple trim, and this one has a velcro attached strap to hang from a belt, belt loop or wrist, it’s also big enough for a ball of yarn and has pockets on the outside for your ‘ccessories.

Too cool!

Now I know people knit while riding, walking, and waiting, but I wanna hear from someone who knits while they are on the treadmill, because that one, well, that one didn’t really end all that well!

On the WIP front, Sunrise Circle is done, well the knitting is done anyway, just have to block it, and sew it together. My current project is Jane Thornley’s Feather and Fan KAL in the Mossy Roving’s variety. I love it!

Gotta go knit…..

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?