Knitting in the News and on the Internet

It’s been a while since I shared any knitting news, and quite a bit has piled up, so let’s get to it.

Over the holidays you might have missed BuzzFeed’s take on 22 things that happen when you get into knitting. it’s actually a pretty accurate summary of how it goes, from the difficulty of getting started to wanting to knit all the things for everyone all the time to realizing yarn isn’t cheap to becoming a crafty zealot.

In other fun knitting-related roundups, Bored Panda collected a bunch of fun winter scarves, knit, crocheted and sewn. You’ll want to check these out for their sheer creativity, there are foxes, cockatoos, a knit USB cable scarf and the most amazing Hobbit-inspired scarf you’ve ever seen (shown above, you can also check it out on Ravelry).

The Toast has a list (it’s probably just as well they don’t all show pictures) of things you can actually find knitting patterns for that includes such silly things as broccoli, a sweater for a rat (which doesn’t seem silly if you’re the rat, I suppose), an alien autopsy and a couple of projects dealing with parts of the male anatomy. And Mashable has a photographic collection of 15 great achievements in knitting, ranging from spectacular yarn bombs to an anatomically correct knit skeleton with organs and a knit periodic table (some of these, of course, are actually crochet).

A company in the Netherlands knit a giant cozy for an Eames chair. Just because it was there. And a writer from Maine shares the story of how knitting brought her back from anxiety and depression.

Bulky knits are still going to be hot (see what I did there?) next fall and winter, according to the fashion shows in Italy, so keep out that big yarn and needles! And don’t miss the display from Spinrite at the Craft and Hobby Association: a knit celebration of Narnia called Yarnia. Too cool.

If you ever see knitting in the news and what to share, submit a link!

[Photo via Bored Panda.]

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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