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KnitBits: Baa-ble Hats, Knitting Bits and Franklin Schools Journalists

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KnitBits: Baa-ble hats, stash knitting and Franklin's tips for writing about knitting.I see stuff about knitting online all the time. I’m always saving links in Facebook, holding onto emails with patterns and Google alerts with knitting news stories.

And these things tend to pile up. So I’m going to try once a week this year to collect some of those favorite links and news items that I haven’t gotten to yet all in one place. And there’s some really good stuff this week.

A Facebook group I’m in has been obsessed with the Baa-ble hat by Donna Smith lately. It’s easy to see why, because it’s adorable, and I really want to knit one soon. But there have been a lot of complaints that the hat comes out big. Susan B. Anderson has some great modification tips for this hat on her website, which she learned from Martha Healy. This is great stuff to keep in mind if you’re planning to knit this sweet sheepy hat.

If using up bits of your stash is on your agenda this year, check out the Knit by Bit posts on the LoveKnitting blog. Each of these is a small pattern that will use up some of your odd balls, whether a skein of bulky for a big cowl or a little bit of a lot of colors on a striped hat. And make sure you check out my posts on using your yarn stash for more inspiration.

Finally, I shared this one on my Facebook page the other day but it’s just too good not to mention again. Franklin Habit has some great advice for journalists (or interns, perhaps) who get “stuck” writing the knitting story. He hits all the important points: knitting and crochet are not the same, grandmas should not be mentioned and yes, guys do it and yes, that’s not a big deal. My only addition would be to please not mention yoga in your story, either!

Have you seen any great knitting-related content online lately? I’d love to hear about it!

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Comments

  1. I love that Baa-ble hat, but I don’t really wear hats that much. Keeping this pattern in mind to modify for another project. It’s so cute!

Have you read?

Knit a Glasses Holder for Your Bedside Table

knit glasses holder

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]