Do you ever have small projects that turn into much-bigger-than-they-should-be projects? I love knitting these charity blocks because they’re a nice short break between (or in the middle of) big projects. But this one took longer than usual, and it’s mostly because I wasn’t paying attention. The first time I tried it, I got a […]
Charity Block #5: Gryffindor Scarf Stripes
Can you believe that the 20th anniversary of the release of the Harry Potter books was just a few weeks ago? I feel old. I remember waiting in the checkout line at a bookstore with my grandma (yes, an actual in-person bookstore; they still existed then), and seeing a display of the first two books. […]
Himalaya Baby Blanket
Do you ever have an idea months or years in advance for a gift you might make for someone given a certain eventuality? Maybe the perfect wedding gift for a friend/relative who’s not even engaged yet, or a Christmas gift that will be perfect for someone, someday? I have a few gift plans like that, […]
Increasing: How to Make One (m1 and m1r)
I wasn’t a fan of the make one (m1) increase when I first tried it. I’ve always used k1fb, and it has worked well for almost every project. But m1 has the advantage of blending in a little better to the stitches around it, and sometimes you need that. After using m1 and its reverse, […]
Mini Baby Lovey
Munchkin is a terrible sleeper. Actually, that’s not quite fair. He was a terrible sleeper. He has gotten immeasurably better over the past year. For the first six months, he wouldn’t nap unless I was holding him in our Ergobaby carrier. I would walk in a quiet room for half an hour until he […]
Increasing: How to Knit One in Front and Back (k1fb)
Knit one in front and back (k1fb) is a common increase stitch, and it’s really easy once you get the hang of it. You start by knitting the stitch as you normally would (through the front loop, or the part of the stitch that is in front of the needle), but you do NOT slide […]
Charity Block #4: Sherbet Seersucker
I tried a new stitch pattern for this next WUA! charity block, and I absolutely love it. It’s called the seersucker stitch. I found the pattern here– knitpurlstitches.com has loads of different stitch patterns you can do with just (you guessed it) the knit and purl stitches. I’ve written the pattern out a little differently […]
Charity Blocks #2&3: Slytherin & Hufflepuff Stripes
Have you ever been sorted into your Hogwarts house? Just this week I took the official test at J.K. Rowling’s site Pottermore and was sorted into Ravenclaw. (It requires you to set up a user account to access the sorting hat, but I’m enough of a Potterhead that it didn’t bother me – though […]
Charity Block #1: Wide Cable
There comes a time in a knitter’s life when they run out of people to knit for. That time varies from knitter to knitter, depending on how many hats and scarves and sweaters any one person needs and on how receptive their friends and family members are to those gifts. That is the perfect […]
Easy Cable Hat Pattern
*This post may contain affiliate links.* Have you ever been intimidated by cables? I have. Don’t get me wrong, I totally love them. I love how they look. I love knitting them. But when it came to knitting them into a hat, the thought of figuring out the decreases was just too much, so I […]
