Knitting in the Faroe Islands, and on Outlander

I found a couple of fun articles related to knitting this week that I thought you’d enjoy.

First up, a Guardian reporter traveled to the Faroe Islands (a collection of 18 islands about halfway between Norway and Iceland) to learn about their sweater knitting traditions. Their super warm sweaters made with native wool use simple repeating patterns and a straight, unshaped body. While knitting has ebbed in popularity even there through the years, many still knit traditional sweaters that can be found throughout the world and were made even more famous by the Danish crime drama The Killing.

They also have some pretty excellent knitting clubs there, the reporter found, which must be a good way to pass the time on those super cold, dark winter nights.

Speaking of knitwear on television, BuzzFeed strikes again with some fun knitting content, this time about all the great knits found in the Outlander series. I haven’t watched it so I can’t say — as the clickbaity headline does — that the knitwear is the best part of the show, but it does look like there are some great pieces, and some of the designs I’ve seen that were inspired by the show really are amazing.

So if you are looking for knitting patterns from the Outlander series then this is a great start to finding the Highland patterns.

{Photo by Bardur Eklund via the Guardian.}

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.

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