Knitting in the News: Tech, Art and Business

It’s been a while since I’ve done a roundup of knitting news, so there’s a good amount today.

If you think about it, a knitting machine may just be the original 3-D printer. And a business in London called Unmade is connecting current technologies with old-school knitting machines to allow customers to create (or print, if you will) one-of-a kind garments. This story also talks about Wool and the Gang, a British company that sells both ready-to-wear knits and knitting kits, which recently did a round of fundraising to bring production to the United States.

Of course we know knitting is artistic, and at times it is actually art, too. Learn more about how large-scale fiber artist Jacqui Fink got started knitting giant blankets out of unspun merino roving (her Instagram account is amazing, too), and though you may have seen it before, go ahead and look again at Carol Milne’s gorgeous knit glass sculptures. Awesome.

You’ll also want to check out the delicious looking knit food by British artist Jessica Dance (via the Jealous Curator). Or just knit yourself a boyfriend. (Another olide but a goodie that popped back up recently.)

British wool prices are incredibly low, but some are working hard to promote finer British wools (many are only good for carpets) by producing British rare-breed knitting yarn.

Apparently knitting and other handcrafts are big in Indonesian cities right now.

And finally, don’t miss the story of Blind Girl Knitting, aka Sarah Wilkinson, a 21-year-old from Illinois who has a genetic disorder that causes tumors to develop throughout her body, including her eyes, which has caused almost total vision loss. She’s learned how to do things without being able to see and now runs and handcraft business. She and her business partner hope their business sends the message that vision-impaired people can do anything (other than drive a car).

Next Pattern:

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

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