KnitBits: Trudeau’s Socks, New Twist Collective and Tons More

Did you hear about the 92-year-old woman who knit Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau a pair of socks? Well, he sent a hand written note back thanking her. Lillie Stewart has been knitting socks for 60-some years, and keeps her MP’s feet warm, which is how her socks got to the PM. The note said he looks forward to wearing the socks with pride. Aww…

A cliche of a lady has been winning hearts through her appearance on “Jeopardy!” Margaret Miles is a librarian who racked up more than $40,000 in winnings on the show, and when asked by Alex Trebek what she likes to do in her spare time, she said, I kid you not, “knit and pet cats.” She went on to say she is “hopelessly stereotypical.” Sounds like our kind of lady.

The new spring/summer issue of Twist Collective is out. It’s the magazine’s 25th issue, and they’re celebrating by offering remixes of a dozen patterns in different yarn than they were originally knit in. There are plenty of new projects, too, plus articles on tatting, swatching, shaping in cables and more.

Speaking of swatches, knitting pros talk all the time about the need to check your gauge before embarking on a project that needs to fit. You might not think it’s that important, or that one knitter’s stitches can’t be that different from another. If you’re in the “I never swatch” camp, you need to read this article from YarnSub. The author had 12 knitters knit up swatches with the same number of rows and stitches, and the variations are stunning. The tightest gauge was 20 percent smaller than suggested (which would make a garment three dress sizes smaller than intended) and just one knitter hit gauge exactly.

It’s good to have goals in life and in knitting, but I don’t think I’d ever try to knit a million stitches in a month. Julie Bruce did it, with a full 18 minutes to spare, with the aim of knitting blankets for hospitals and raising money for a local hospice.

If you need more evidence that knitting makes you happy, this survey of more than 3,500 knitters found stitching has important “psychological and social benefits.” And this post talks about how knitting can help you sleep better, so maybe turn off the iPad and knit a few rows before lights out tonight.

Finally, the knitter at roving crafters thinks we need to tell people knitting is hard. She explores all the skills, from concentration to determination, that we exhibit as knitters and says we should sell it as being hard so people will appreciate it more. What do you think?

[Photo via CTV.]

Looking for more knitted socks designs and patterns to keep you warm this winter? Check out these knitted sock patterns Etsy. And these Knitting Pattern books on Amazon.

Looking to buy your Yarn online? Check out these online yarn specials.

Next Pattern:

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps

Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap

A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

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