I think I will, thank you!
knitting
Knit a Brick!
I was very upset with the Supreme Court ruling regarding Hobby Lobby’s appeal for exemption from covering birth control as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. One, corporations are not people (I don’t care what the SCOTUS claim). Two, it blurs the line between church and state.
Besides a few online petitions that I signed, I didn’t see any other calls to action until today. Then, in the Ravelry pattern feed, there was this….
I wish I could actually go to the Supreme Court for this event. In my stead, I am going to send a brick or two!
If you knit or crochet, you can make a block. For those interested who can’t knit or crochet, the Secular Coalition for America will make a brick for you with a small donation.
Craftsy: Foundations in Double Knitting with Lucy Neatby
Earlier this year, I was knitting many washcloths for a charity, and as I looked for patterns, I came across the Inflammable Hotpad which looked fun to make. A problem: I’ve never used the double knitting technique before. This technique allows you to knit the front and back of a piece at the same time. If you use one color yarn, you’ll end up with a tube. Using two colors opens up a range of patterns where motifs pop due to contrasting colors.
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| Cell Phone Cozy Pattern by Lucy Neatby |
Since I wasn’t confident trying a project with the free instructions and videos I found online, I signed up with Craftsy to take Foundations of Double Knitting with Lucy Neatby. She provided clear instructions and helpful explanations, and after watching a few lessons, I knit one of the patterns that came with the course: the cell phone cozy. Having had such great preparation, I found completing this project was fun and easy. I still need to finish some of the lessons, though, and I haven’t worked on the other projects because they just aren’t to my taste.
When I purchased my Craftsy course, the site was running a sale, so I also enrolled in Adventures in Double Knitting. I am excited about this since Alasdair Post-Quinn seems to use many innovative techniques with interesting designs. I love cowls created with the double knitting technique, but I am hesitant to tackle double knitting in the round.
Craftsy classes don’t expire, so in several months, if I need a refresher, I can return to the courses to review a technique. The classes I’ve previewed have had excellent production values with valuable material presented in an organized and intuitive sequence. Many of the topics are not usually covered by classes offered at local knitting stores, and they are ideal for people who are visual learners.
If you are a knitter or crocheter on Ravelry, you can join the Craftsy group to share projects and reviews of classes.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links” which means if you clickthrough and purchase the item, I’ll receive an affiliate commission. Rest assured, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers, and I purchased classes on Craftsy before becoming an affiliate. Any commissions go towards running the blog. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Ravellenic Games: Part II
I knit two cat beds for the Tompkins County SPCA. The sides are floppy, but the beds themselves are cushy, so I hope some of the cats will enjoy them. For this, I received three medals – one in Free Dance (an open event), one in Charity Curling, and one in Stash Skeleton (for using yarn that has been in my stash for awhile).
Porcupine Topper
I like to knit baby hats because they are cute, fast, and fun. Luckily, I know people who are going to be having babies soon. I’ll give other finished objects to charity. My most recent project is the Porcupine Hat designed by Woolly Wormhead. I used Jeannee DK by Plymouth Yarn, a cotton/acrylic mix. The yarn is very soft but I found it to be very splitty as well. Probably not the best choice for a project with these little worms which required repeated cable cast on and bind off.
...aka darzy... 