Knitting

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This Week in Knitting News: Poppies, A Knitting Statue and Stephen West

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gansey girl statueWith Veteran’s Day/Remembrance Day happening this week, poppies are popping up everywhere. Check out my roundup of poppy knitting patterns if you’d like to make some of your own, and don’t miss this story about a British woman who knit 1,000 poppies for the Royal British Legion to sell during its Poppy Appeal, which raises money to support servicemen and women, veterans and their families. In case you’re wondering, it took her nine months and 30 balls of yarn, and each poppy took about 30 minutes to knit. Amazing.

Looking for more knitting patterns for Poppies? Check these out on Etsy.

Knitting is a big part of the heritage of fishing communities in Britain and elsewhere (even though that story about every family having its own gansey pattern is a myth), and the town of Bridlington is celebrating that connection with a new stature. Gansey Girl, designed by Steve Carvill was unveiled recently. She’s sitting and knitting a gansey (though it’s difficult to see if she’s actually holding knitting needles). The statue also carries the names of some local fishing families.

On a lighter note, Stephen West recently started a mystery shawl knitalong, and to promote it he’s released a super fun video that will make you pretty happy to be a knitter. And may just make you want to knit a shawl. (If you can’t see it here, check it out on YouTube. You’ll be glad you did.)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwmfP0PNOLg]

[Photo via the Bridlington Free Press.]

Comments

  1. Hilarious. And yes it does make me want to knit. I’m a new knitter; I started with Stephen West’s Penguono and then made another, and another. I’m knitting a ‘normal’ jumper now but it isn’t nearly as much fun.

Have you read?

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.