We might not have been able to pack the van and head to Builth Wells for Wonderwool, but we’re super delighted to be taking part in #virtualwonderwool this weekend. While nothing can quite replace the fun and excitement of a knitting show, it’s really lovely that so many UK festivals have come up with creative ways to carry on in the circumstances. And the silver lining is that, whether you were planning to come to Wonderwool in person or not, you can peruse vendor offerings over on Wonderwool’s Facebook group or Instagram by following the hashtag #virtualwonderwool … and the special festival deals that we would have been offering are now available to you from the comfort of your favourite knitting chair! So step right up to our virtual AC Knitwear stand and have a peek!
Read moreWe are happily knitting along on our lace projects
It seems like every time I log in to my Ravelry account there are loads more posts in the Lace KAL thread! It's a chatty place with no end of inspiring lace projects, hints and tips. If you don't fancy wading through all of the chatter, then I highly recommend clicking the button at the top of the thread so that you can browse through just the photos in the thread, which gives you a more manageable 145 posts (rather than the 1200ish in the whole thread!).
Read moreSomething New to Learn About Lace KAL Progress
We're nearly at the end of the second week of the lace knitalong and already there is plenty to admire. The brief for the KAL is simple: knit a lace project, post photos on the Ravelry forum and tag your project with SN2LAL.
Read moreWill yours be a summer of lace?
On Sunday our Something New to Learn About Lace Knitalong kicks off! Unlike other topical kick offs, this isn't about winning or losing, and there certainly won't be any penalties... just lots of knitters working on lace projects and sharing their progress, hints and tips. Now is the perfect time to wind your yarn, maybe knit a swatch or two, and find a project with some lace!
Read moreVideo: Fixing Mistakes by Tinking
Learning to fix a mistake in your knitting is really empowering. I remember in my early knitting days I would traipse down the hill to the local yarn shop whenever something went amiss in my knitting. The owner, Tina, was really patient with me, and picked up dropped stitches, helped me to rip back, and eventually, once my confidence had grown, she showed me how to fix my own mistakes. It really marks a change in your relationship with your knitting when you are able to get a project back on track on your own.
Video: Blocking Using Pin Combs (Knit Blockers)
Have you come across pin combs before? I had seen them mentioned a while ago, but it wasn't until we started work on Something New to Learn About Lace that I got around to ordering a set. I have the KnitPro Knit Blockers that we now stock in the shop, and I absolutely love them! I have had a set of blocking wires for nearly ten years, and they get used a LOT. I find my wires so useful that it had never really occurred to me that I would want to use anything else for blocking lace. For peaked or scalloped edges, I think that wires are still the best way to go, but depending on the size of your project, pin combs are a brilliant way to pin out straight edges. They are certainly faster and easier than wires over short distances.
Read moreVideo: Blocking Lace Using Wires
Blocking lace is completely magical. You cast off, and have a piece of fabric that to be honest, could look like a tangled hair net, and transform it into a thing of beauty. The image above shows how different the unblocked mini-Aphaca scarf looks from the finished, blocked blanket. Blocking can be carried out with a minimum of equipment (just a clean, dry space, towel and some pins), but some extra bits and bobs can make the job far easier and faster. And faster blocking leaves more time for knitting, right?!
Read moreVideo: Picking up Missed Yarn Overs
We have had a busy few days, and all of the print copies of Something New to Learn About Lace have now been shipped, so hopefully parcels will start landing on doormats very shortly. I am looking forward to casting on for a Nissolia shawl very shortly. In the meantime, here is the next in our video tutorial series...
Read moreVideo: Using Lifelines in your Lace Knitting
Do you know that horrible feeling you get when you look down at your knitting and realise that you've made a big mistake, and it's too far back to just unknit a row or two? I certainly do! Many people think that as you get more experienced at knitting, you stop making mistakes, but that's absolutely not the case! I think it was the Yarn Harlot who said that experienced knitters just make bigger mistakes more quickly, and she's ABSOLUTELY right!
Read moreVideo: Garter Tab Cast-On Method
The garter tab cast-on method is a really clever way to start a triangular shawl. It allows you to set up your knitting in three perpendicular directions, without an obvious start or finish. The video below shows you exactly how to work the cast on, starting with a provisional crochet cast on, working through the garter tab and then picking up the stitches around the edges of the tab. This is the cast-on method I've used in my Bithynica shawl, shown above.
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