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.

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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]

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