Knitting

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Knitting Podcaster KnitPurlGirl Has Died

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knitpurlgirlKarrie Steinmetz, better known to the fiber arts community by her online handle and podcast name KnitPurlGirl, died unexpectedly on Monday, according to reports around the Internet and on the Friends of KnitPurlGirl group on Ravelry.

Karrie had been blogging about knitting since 2008, and most recently posted an encouraging and helpful post about the act of podcasting about knitting.

I didn’t know Karrie personally but from what I’ve read about her online those words encouraging and helpful seem pretty darn apt. She seems to have been one of those people who was always cheerful and supportive of her fellow knitters and who was always willing to help, educate and share.

She was active in the knitting community on her own blog, on Ravelry, Twitter, Plurk, Google+ and Facebook, and leaves behind many knitting friends who knew her in person as well as those whom she connected with online who also felt the warmth of her friendship.

The cause of death was unknown, but a post on her Ravelry group said her husband was expected to post on her Facebook page in the next couple of days.

My warm wooly thoughts go to all her knew her. What a loss to the knitting community.

Comments

  1. I’m so sorry to hear about her death. I am a member of her Ravelry group and listens to her podcasts. It will be a loss to the knitting community.

  2. I AM SO SHOCKED TO HEAR THIS SAD NEWS!I MYSELF DID NOT KNOW KARRIE PERSONALLY EITHER,BUT WAS QUITE FOND OF READING AND ENJOYED HER MANY POSTS AND BLOGS!MAY HER FAMILY AND CLOSE FRIENDS BE COMFORTED AT THIS EXTREMELY TRYING TIME AND MY HEART AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THEM IN HOPES THAT IT WILL HELP IN SOME SMALL WAY~GOD BLESS THEM ALL!

  4. Such a loss to her family and the knitting/crocheting/podcasting community. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and those who loved her.

Have you read?

Knit Little Fish to Use Your Yarn Scraps

I rarely understand why something becomes a trend in crafting. Gnomes and geese are both cute I guess, but I never thought we’d be making them for all seasons. (See, for example, this collection of gnome knitting patterns, or these knit geese.)

Another one I don’t totally understand is sardines or little fish more generally. Sure, they’re cute, and the shape is fun, but I had no idea when I was sharing this pattern for a fish-shaped pouch last year that it would become a hugely popular pattern that people are still searching for on the site. It is pretty cute, though, so if you weren’t around then or don’t remember you should got check it out. 

Recently another fishy knitting pattern crossed my monitor: the little knit fish from Classical Songbird Designs. 

Just as the name suggests, these fish are little, about 4.5 inches or 11 cm from end to end. They look like little sardines and take about 12 yards of sock yarn to make. 

You can even make a two-tone fish and use just 6 yards of each color. 

This sounds to me like just about the perfect use for the yarn that’s left over after knitting a pair of socks, or a mini skein or several that have been sitting around unused in your stash. 

The fish are knit flat in one piece, which makes it easy to stitch on the eyes with more yarn or embroidery floss before stuffing, and you can stitch up the sides while you stuff (though it’s not a very big piece so you could probably stitch and then stuff, finishing with the end of the tail). 

Because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one wondering, I measured an Altoids box and as the pattern is written the fish are a little too big to fit in it (the box is about 4 inches/10 cm long). But you could make the fish a little smaller if you want to make a box of them. Or just make a fishy bag to put them in!

You can grab the free pattern for the little knit fish at Classical Songbird Designs. 

[Photo: Classical Songbird Designs.]