Knitting

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Midwestern Knitters, Check Out Annie’s Craft Festival

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annies craft festivalA brand-new, one-of-a-kind craft festival is being presented later this month in the Annie’s Craft Festival, taking place in Fort Wayne, Ind., October 30 through November 1.

The weekend will include classes taught by industry greats such as Lily Chin (I took a class from her at TNNA this year and it was awesome!) and Edie Eckman, as well as an evening with New York Times bestselling author and creator of Hallmark’s Cedar Cove series, Debbie Macomber; a playful Crafts & Cocktails Halloween Party; free make-and-takes; a measuring station and a “stitch doctor” among other attractions.

The festival is hosted by Annie’s, one of the largest and most diverse sources of craft designs, instruction and supplies in American and producer of the TV show “Knit and Crochet Now!” It will include knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing, beading, card-making and paper crafts to cross-stitch, floral crafts, painting and more.

There will be giveaways, free classes, a product runway with prizes and all sorts of other fun stuff.

“There is no other show like this, serving enthusiasts across the breadth of the crafting world,” Annie’s executive VP Michele Fortune says. “We couldn’t be more thrilled about the quality and variety of teaching talent, marketplace offerings and social activities being offered at this festival.”  

The festival will be held at the Grand Wayne Convention Center located in downtown Fort Wayne. The Hilton Fort Wayne, which is connected to the Grand Wayne Convention Center, is offering festival attendees a discounted room rate of $124 a night. A limited number of VIP packages are also available.

I’d love to know if any of you attend and what you think of it!

[Photo via Annie’s.]

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Pencil Knitting Patterns

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.