KNITgineering

Pulling loops through loops, with sticks

[knitgineering]

New on my Etsy Store! https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/275119496/earthy-marble-13-x-145-drawstring-bag

[knitgineering]

An Exciting Morning!

My branded stickers and business cards arrived this morning! © knitgineering 2016   It’s so exciting to see my new venture taking shape.

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[knitgineering]

On the needles: A bit of knitting while I wait for my laptop to finish backing up to a harddrive. Laptop time is not normal time. "1 minute remaining" seems to last at least 10...

[knitgineering]

Isn’t it great when the Work In Progresses convert so easily into Finished Objects?

A couple of days ago I made a little turquoise earphone gadget bag, and then this slid off my needles and announced itself complete:

© knitgineering 2016

© knitgineering 2016

It’s a medium-sized gadget bag, that I made with a Kindle Paperwhite in mind.  It’s now listed on my Etsy shop.  The combination of white and grey makes me think of graphite pencil smudged on white paper.

I am on a mission to clear out my stash.  Much of it has been sat in bags, dormant for a few years, while I have dutifully taken it with me every time I move house.  No more.  Time for a spring clean… to make room for new yarns, obviously!

My ongoing WIP is this:

© knitgineering 2016

This is the beginnings of a large triangular scarf/shawl/wrap.  The yarn is DMC Woolly Natural Knitting Merino wool 053.  I love the colour, and it is very very soft.  I wish I could take credit for the yarn choice, but in fact it was a surprise gift, given with the instructions that I should use it to make a scarf for myself. What a lovely idea!

I decided to keep the pattern simple, just stockinette stitch with yarn overs detailing the centre and edges, to let the yarn show itself off.  It knits beautifully, and gives a pleasing definition to the stitches, whilst still feeling and looking soft.  I think I’ve found my new favourite yarn!

It’s now much larger than in the photo, and too big to lay flat without half the stitches popping off the needles.  I think it’s about two-thirds of the size I would like it to be.  I can’t wait to finish, and start wearing it.

Blog post: "Casting off: A Smudge" Isn't it great when the Work In Progresses convert so easily into Finished Objects? A couple of days ago I made…

[knitgineering]

On the needles: a little preview of what's coming next on my Etsy store...

[knitgineering]

For a while my partner has been encouraging me to start selling my knitted creations online, and finally I found the courage to do it.

As of last night, I now have an Etsy store!

My first item listed is this cute little gadget bag:

© knitgineering 2016

© knitgineering 2016

© knitgineering 2016

It is 3″ x 4″, and I designed it to keep earphones in.  Mine always find their way to the bottom of my bag, where they inevitably get ruined, so I thought a little gadget bag like this would be a neat way of protecting them.

The next gadget bag is on my needles, and should be ready to list by the end of the day.

I am both excited and nervous to be at the start of a new venture.  I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

    Blog post: A New Venture! For a while my partner has been encouraging me to start selling my knitted creations online, and finally I found the courage to do it.

[knitgineering]

Initial progress on my new triangular shawl. Made with Woolly Natural Knitting merino wool in 053. The yarn is so gorgeous, design simplicity seems the best way to show it off.

[knitgineering]

While I Knit - Talking History: The Italian Unification

While I Knit – Talking History: The Italian Unification

Do you listen to podcasts? I have never made a habit of them.  They have always been a brief means of exploring topics and information I wouldn’t normally come across in my day to day life. I am discovering that a well written and researched podcast series can offer all the major points of interest of a topic, without the need for sourcing and reading 10 respected books on a subject. My partner…

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[crochetmelovely]

[Video Tutorial] This Brilliant Baby Sweater Will Make Your Day - Knit And Crochet Daily

Free crochet pattern! :)

http://www.dailycrochet.com/free-pattern-this-brilliant-baby-sweater-will-make-your-day/

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Addi Click Interchangeable needle set review

(read more)

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I received a set of these for Christmas.  They are my favourite needles already.  On the bigger tips the yarn does slip over the joins easily, but my current project (4-ply yarn on 3.5mm needles) does catch.  It’s annoying, but countered by how effortlessly knitting happens at the tips.

It is possible to knit perfectly well with a less expensive needle choice, but there is definitely a reward for spending a bit more on needles such as these, if you can.  Like the joy of writing on good paper with a beautiful pen, the work flows effortlessly and the action of making becomes a pleasure in its own right.

[stitcherywitchery]

Fire & Ice Fingerless Mitts – a free knitting pattern inspired by the Robert Frost poem.  By Roz Harmon.

[knitgineering]

#knittingpatterns

[podkins]

Malt

by tincanknits – this pattern is available as a free Ravelry download.

Learn to knit with Alexa and Emily! The Malt Blanket is the first project in The Simple Collection - a learn to knit series with 8 excellent free patterns and clear tutorials.

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I love the sea-shore tones, and the texture-contrast between the border and the body of the blanket.  It looks like the kind of pattern to sit down to knit in front of a box-set.

[knitgineering]

While I Knit - Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

While I Knit – Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

I love listening to audiobooks.  They go everywhere with me: while I knit, down the gym, in the car, on the train to work… For the last month I have been listening to Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, read by Gordon Griffin. via Audible.co.uk It was given to me by a friend who knows and loves my fascination with brilliant concepts, and the people whose minds are brilliant enough to think…

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[knitgineering]

A present for a Bump

A present for a Bump

When you go through a folder of photographs, do you find ones that you forgot you took? That is the case with this one: It is the Latte Baby Coat by Lisa Chemery.  I was hooked into buying the pattern by this picture: © Lisa Chemery – Photo from http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/latte-baby-coat Yup, ridiculously cute.  Could you blame me? It was July last year, and a friend of mine had…

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[knitgineering]

See It, Want It, Puzzle It

Slippers from http://tinashandicraft.blogspot.gr/ When these appeared on my Facebook news feed, I became obsessed about trying to figure out how I could make a pair for myself.  I love the shape of them – they look almost like pixie slippers! There is a photo tutorial on Tina’s Handicraft Blog, but I find this tricky – I’m used to a higher level of detail and instruction. I will be spending the…

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[knitgineering]

New Year, New Project

New Year, New Project

I always find that I need more than one project on the go.  Something big, and a mixture of smaller projects. With Christmas gift projects completed, I find all my needles empty, and I am itching (twitching?) to get my teeth (hands?) into something new. In the last few months of 2015 I taught myself to crochet, so it is only natural that I’ve chosen a crochet project to launch my New Year.…

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[knitgineering]

Ellie the Elephant

Allow me to introduce Ellie.

I finished making her yesterday after two days of knitting and not much else. It took more than these two days to make her, these last one were a cram-knit in order to make sure she was ready for Christmas. Not just any Christmas, but for a little girl’s first Christmas. As an estimate I would say this project took around 40 hours, spread over around six weeks.

I…

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