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Yarn Shop Launches Kickstarter for KnitTV

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Ram Wools KnitTV KickstarterThe Ram Wools Yarn Cooperative in Winnipeg has launched a Kickstarter to raise funding for what it calls KnitTV, which would be an open-source, free collection of knitting and crochet tutorials made with the learner in mind.

The yarn shop owners have talked to their customers about what they like and don’t like about videos that are out there now and plan to make their videos different in that they won’t have introductory materials before diving into the tutorial, they will include tight shots of only hands with lots of repetition and they’ll go slow for ease in learning. They also plan to include written materials on the site so you can print out instructions to take with you.

The company is seeking $4,633 (a strangely specific amount) to help pay for setting up a studio and purchase equipment, as well as for the labor needed to set up and maintain the website. The hope is that it will be able to launch in January.

The Kickstarter runs through Aug. 18, and rewards include hand lotion, tote bags, yarn and other goodies. Check it out if this sounds interesting to you!

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Comments

  1. Kickstarter is converting Canadian dollars to US dollars. RamWools goal is $6000 CAD.

  2. No offense, but why cant they just do it from YouTube like everyone else? I mean, Jenny Doan used her own store and supplies until she had made enough from that to get a studio. And the website is free. Just my thoughts.

  4. Thanks for the mention on your site. We really appreciate it! Kim, our videos will be on YouTube, too. That’s the most popular spot. We also want to have printable materials on the site and other goodies.

Have you read?

Knit a Pet Bed on a Knitting Machine

I feel like I haven’t shared many knitting machine patterns lately, probably because I haven’t been using my knitting machines much lately. (I finally made space for them to live on the bookshelf in my office, and now that they have a “place” it’s almost like I forgot they existed for a while.)

But I did recently make a little cat bed, that surely would work for a small dog, too. 

This one uses two different sizes of knitting machine: a larger one (it could be any in the 40-48 needle range) and a 22 pin. 

The larger machine is used in flat panel mode to make the bottom pillow like part of the bed, while the smaller machine makes a long tube that is used around the edges as the sort of walls of the cat bed. 

For stuffing I used a bit of leftover quilt batting for the pillow, and some cut up old T-shirts for the tube. 

You can use any worsted weight yarn you like (I used two colors of Big Twist Pound+, which comes in huge skeins that weigh more than a pound). Acrylic or cotton yarn is nice for washablity, but you’ll be cranking for a while so make sure you use a yarn your machine likes so it’s not too much of a struggle. 

You can grab the pattern for this cat bed over at Our Daily Craft. I’m sorry to report the pictured is as close as a cat has gotten to it so far, but maybe your cats like to be cozy more than mine do?

If you’re looking for more options for cute handmade places for your cats and little dogs to rest, check out this roundup of knit pet beds. I still want to knit one by hand but the machine version was definitely a faster option (especially good since my cats are ungrateful).