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.
