Netflix Socks and Knitting in the Loo

A couple of knitting related stories have crossed my screen in the past few days that I wanted to share.

You can now combine your love of Netflix and your love of knitting with some cool technology that will automatically pause your show when you fall asleep.

The company has released plans (that’s a PDF) for a device, using conductive thread, an accelerometer and other goodies, that you can put in a sock (handmade, of course!) and that can monitor your movement and pause your Netflix playback when you haven’t moved for a certain period of time, indicating you might be asleep.

Netflix has a variety of show-themed knitting patterns you can use (make mine House of Cards), or you can add the conductive thread to your favorite sock pattern. Sounds like the perfect project to work on while you watch your favorite show, though I need a sensor to pause the show when my hands stop moving, not my feet!

The second bit of knitting news I have to share isn’t nearly as much fun, but it is proof that knitting can get you through just about anything. A woman in England was locked in a bathroom for four days and survived by eating mints and kept herself entertained by knitting her granddaughter a scarf.

Gladys Phillips made a pit stop in a bathroom that wasn’t yet open to the public, and she doesn’t have a phone so no one knew she was missing. She kept warm by using the hand dryer, slept on her overcoat and said she was lucky she’d just stopped by the yarn shop and picked up some pink yarn, which will now be a Christmas gift. How’s that for making the best of a bad situation?

Looking for more knitted socks designs and patterns to keep you warm this winter? Check out these knitted sock patterns Etsy. And these Knitting Pattern books on Amazon.

Looking to buy your Yarn online? Check out these online yarn specials.

One of my favorite things to make on a circular knitting machine is scarves, because they’re a great way to use leftover yarn and certainly faster than knitting by hand.

But if you pay attention to the colors you’re using and how you are using them, you can make fun knitting machine scarves that look like something different when you roll them up.

One of the first versions of this I saw was the sushi scarf, are there are a lot of variations on this one. For example this one from Flower and Anchor that uses five colors of yarn, or this one from Three Threads NE that uses four. These generally are made to look like California rolls, but you could change up the colors to make them different things if you like. Just make sure the outside of the “roll” is black or green to indicate the nori. I found another version on Pinterest if you’re looking for a free pattern, but there’s no image of it rolled up.

Another popular variation is making a scarf that rolls up to look like a mug with coffee, tea or another fun beverage inside. This collection of three mug scarf circular knitting machine patterns from Idaho Cottage Creation includes green tea, a pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream and a candy cane colored confection (which honestly reminds me of the Grinch since it has a green mug!). Again you can change the colors of the mug part and the drink part. The little handle looks like it’s crocheted on these, and it doubles as a loop you can thread the scarf end through when you wear it.

Again there’s a version of the green tea scarf on Pinterest with crocheted elements. I also found a latte done with a striped yarn and a red mug that’s pretty cute and gives you an idea what a different beverage would look like.

I also love this pumpkin pie scarf designed by Jodi Favish Saunier. It has a bit of crocheted edging to give it a fancy crust but you can omit that if you don’t crochet. These are all on Facebook but she also has a watermelon and lemonade pattern that are super cute.

Have you read?