Well I have heard it all now.....I have just read an article on the BBC website about a couple who knitted jumpers from their dead dogs hair!!! When their Swedish Lapphund and white Samoyed dogs died they decided to knit jumpers from their hair, apparently they make very warm and almost waterproof jumpers!
Has anyone ever had experience with knitting with dog hair? I don't think I would like to try it. But if I had a dog I would definitely knit cute little jumpers for it. There is a great project in a book called Two Balls or Less by Jenny Hill for a pooch pullover if you wanted such a project.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today it's official...MyCraftivity.com is
up and ready for business. If you've already been checking in for the
last month or so, we've enjoyed having you as part of our community. If
you're brand new today, welcome! Keep checking back as new features are
added. We'll be giving away free patterns, and we encourage you to join
our knitalongs (check out the messageboard for the free pattern our
group here at F+W is working on currently). My shrug is coming along
nicely...I got most of my first sleeve knitted up last night while
guiltily watching some of that stupid TBS special on the funniest
commercials.
In addition to it being St. Patrick's Day and the
official launch day of MyCraftivity.com, I have something else to be
excited about today. I am writing this blog from an offsite location as
we begin shooting for Glam Knits, the sequel to Stefanie Japel's first book, Fitted Knits.
This
book is filled with all sorts of glam things to wear and to carry as
accessories. There are dresses, skirts, tops, wraps, shrugs, bags...and
tons more. All of it is so pretty...and so luscious. These pieces are
all knit with luxe yarns like silk, cashmere, alpaca...yum. I am
lusting after this one particularly soft and feminine gray cashmere
cardigan with sparkly, sparkly rhinestone buttons. It might be a little
cruel of me to mention the book at this stage since it won't be coming
out until November...but I thought maybe you'd appreciate a sneak peek
into the process of making a book. We pour at least one year (and often
longer) into each book we make.
Here are some images from the shoot--we're shooting at Alias, a studio in downtown Cincinnati
The first shot is the photographers and the art director hard at
work. Next we have the model and the stylist fixing her up! Stay tuned
for more sneak peeks...
Happy St. Patrick's Day! And Happy MyCraftivity launch day. Hope to
see you around. We'd love to see your knitalong project in progress!
Here it is, the very first MyCraftivity knitalong project!! We thought this fun and springy Two Tone Ribbed Shrug by F+W author Stefanie Japel (which
can also be found in her book Fitted Knits), was a perfect pick for the groups first project...even if you're a beginner!
Want to join the group and get in on the fun? Head over to our messageboard where we’ve posted the pattern for free for a short period of time. And once you get started, make sure to check
back regularly for tips and feedback from your fellow knitters. We’ll be sure
to share pictures of our projects along the way, and we encourage you to do the same.
I recently became interested in knitting for charity and thought about
knitting/crocheting blankets and outfits to give to the special care baby unit
at my local hospital. After doing some research on the internet I came across
quite a few charities that accept hand-made items to help others. Here is what
I found:
Feed The Children UK concentrates aid on children suffering the effects of
poverty, especially those who have been orphaned or abandoned. They support
homeless and abandoned children, children affected by HIV/Aids, education and
vocational training for older children and emergency help in disaster
situations.
They accept blankets and jumpers and their website includes a free jumper
pattern that you can download.
This charity supports the elderly living in residential homes or alone. They
donate blankets, lap quilts and cushions to the elderly across the UK and
US.
The website includes links to free patterns and wool conversion charts for US
v UK
Cuddles supports families dealing with the loss of a baby through miscarriage
or stillbirth and supply gowns, blankets and wraps to maternity units across the
UK. Visit their website for free blanket, wraps and baby gown patterns.
This leading National charity provides vital help and support to children who
face great danger, discrimination or disadvantage in their daily lives.
Last year they broke the world record for the biggest Christmas Stocking and
asked people to send in their knited squares to make up the stocking. So keep an
eye out on the site to see what other knitting events they are planning.
Now all I need to decide is which charity to support first!!
Hello all you knitting and crochet fans.This is my first blog on this fab new site.
You will see new blogs from me every week sharing ideas, telling you about the
projects I am working on and more.
I have been knitting for about 3 years now and have recently
tried crochet which I find a bit more difficult so any tips you can give me
would be great.I really enjoy knitting
bags and scarves and finished this bag last month, which is from a Rowan pattern.It was really easy to knit but lining it was
a bit more tricky (especially as I didn’t have a sewing machine at the
time).A lot of my friends have asked
if I can make them one and have even have nice comments from people in the
street.
If you are a beginner I can recommend The Knitter’s Bibleand The Crochet Bible.They
both feature the basic instructions you need to get started and a brilliant
stitch library, which is useful for any project. My copy of The Knitter’s Bible is a permanent item in my
knitting bag!
It would be great to know what you are knitting or
crocheting at the moment so get blogging!
