Sheep in Sheep's Clothing

Yesterday's KPTOD was a knit sheep. Well today's KPTOD is even stranger. When I say a sheep in sheep's clothing, I mean a sheep wearing a knit sweater! (That's right. No Joke. You have to see it to believe it!)

Photo Credit Neil Mackinder via Creative Commons License.

Knitting Sheep

I get tickled by images of knit sheep. Why, might you ask? Well it's because making sheep out of their clothing would be like creating a human out of human hair. It's just fun!

Photo Credit David Masters via Creative Commons License.

Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti

I've been reading articles about knitting bombing when I came across the book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti. Now all of this amazing knit out gets the recognition it deserves, in print! You can learn more about this knitted art, and have a really fun coffee table book to share with your friends.

Street Sign Cozy

Photo credit: Dave Toll via a Creative Commons License.

The urban knitting article showed some knit street signs (street names, you almost couldn't tell they had been covered), and I came across this picture. There is no reason to make a cozy for a street sign pole, except for the fact that it is cool. (And now you can lean against it in the winter without getting too cold! Leave it to me to find a practical reason for knit graffiti)

Urban Knitting, the world's most inoffensive graffiti

The author of the following article has ""scoured all yarn covered corners of the intertubes to find some of the best examples of knit/crochet graffiti (legal or otherwise)."" I thought that the bus cover and phone booth cozy that I've discussed previously were amazing. Can you imagine a crochet TREE COZY that covers the branches? (Apparently this one stayed up for three years)

I will be featuring some other of the projects that I've found on this page, but the tree is easy to share because it's located at the top of the article!
Yes, this yarn bombing is graffiti, but as long as the knitters clean up their work, then there is really no harm done. Much easier to clean up than paint or scratches!


Thank you, Keith, for sharing this article with me!

Urban Graffiti Knitters

Can you imagine being questioned by the police for knitting? Can you imagine the classic red London phone booth covered in a knit cozy? I'm not sure I can do this justice by describing it, but I have just learned about the movement of Yarn Bombing, or decorating public items for knitting. They may have called it a craft project, but I call it art!

I highly recommend that you read the entire article, it's delightful.

Thank you, Caroline, for sharing this amazing knitting project with me! Now that I've had more of a taste of this art, I am off to search for more. You will be hearing more about yarn bombing in the next few weeks!

Music Knitting

While doing research for my Knitting with Music lens on Squidoo, I discovered numerous songs about knitting (or at least songs that had knitting in the title).

Some of these Knitting Songs may not be the most focused on knitting, but they certainly set a mood for you while you're knitting. I just love the idea of smooth jazz knitting songs! I am also a fan of any band who would name themselves after knitting (even without listening to their music.) Therefore, today's KPOTD goes out to everyone who incorporates knitting into other parts of their lives.

AllFreeKnitting

When I went to write what I love about AllFreeKnitting.com, I found that they summed it up very well themselves:

"Variety makes things exciting and AllFreeKnitting has the right thing for your next knitting adventure."

At AllFreeKnitting.com, you will find free knitting patterns that have ratings based on difficulty in addition to an image of the product. In addition to patterns, you will find free help in the form of written, and video tutorials. I recently began working with AllFreeKnitting to create some video tutorials, and I highly recommend that you take the time to check them out!

Wavy Dropped Stitches

I am dedicating today to wavy dropped stitches. Kate at One More Thing has created one of the most creative uses of dropped stitches I've ever seen. My varying the number of YO's you make between stitches, you are able to create waves in the fabric. I would love to make the entire scarf. Well done, Kate!

I knit this square as part of the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon

Knit Green

I have reviewed the book Knit Green: 20 Projects and Ideas for Sustainability on two previous occasions, but it has still earned its spot as KPOTD. The book discusses issues such as using local products for your knitting, using more organic yarns whose production has less impact on the environment, and provides fun knitting patterns. I am particularly excited by the thought of using old sheets to knit baskets. I learned a lot when I read this book, and I highly recommend that you stop by your local library to check it out today!

To read my other reviews of this book, visit Knit Green on Squidoo and Knit Green for Earth Day on ChemKnits.

Wire Cuff

When I saw the Wire and Pearl Cuff pattern, I thought it was stunning, but wondered if I would be able to recreate it as well.

Joy at DoublePoint recreated this cuff with black pearls. It is nice to read an account of a knitting project that you are interested in completing yourself! Well done, Joy!

Thrummed Mittens

Seeing the mittens posted on the Swaying Lights blog made my jaw drop. The colorway with black and a blue-yellow gradient is very similar to some norwegian mittens I knit years ago. But more than the colors, what really got my attention was when the mittens were turned inside-out.

Reading this made me remember that I had heard of thrummed projects before (incorporating unspun roving into the knit project. In mittens this will make them completely warm) but hat completely forgotten about it. I love knitting mittens, and these look so warm and cozy that I may just have to purchase a kit.

Dip Dyeing Yarn

This is the one of the many dyeing yarn tutorials I've created with AllFreeKnitting.com. I love dyeing yarn so much, so it's been a pleasure to create these tutorials to assist others.

Double Knitting Tutorial

How to Knit, November 24, 1941
Photographic Print
Mili, Gjon
Buy at AllPosters.com

Heidi from South Africa wrote an amazing double knitting tutorial. She wrote at the beginning of her post, "it has taken two days for the pics to upload, so I apologise for the delay in posting." She shouldn't have needed to apologize, from the quality of her images it was worth the wait!

If you have ever been curious about double knitting, you should absolutely check out her post!

Brad's Ref Knee Pad Covers

Today's KPOTD is something I found on Ravelry's FO (finished object) list. Unfortunately, if you don't have a Ravelry account I'm not sure if you can see this project.

SarahJ2001 created knit kneepad covers. These covers have black and white stripes, and look like they belong to a referee. Now Sarah has no description of the project, so I cannot tell if the kneepad came off and hten the knit object went around it to reattach to the rest of the gear... But Sarah, well done! Your picture sure caught my eye!

Dyeing Yarn with KoolAid

I wanted to followup yesterday's KPOTD with the tutorials I have written that were inspired from peasoup.

I wrote a dyeing yarn with kool-aid tutorial that summarizes what I learned from multiple yarn dyeing experiments. There are many different methods for hand dyeing yarn, but the tutorial focuses on hand-painting yarn with a combination of Kool-Aid and food coloring to create a rainbow yarn colorway.

Many people have asked me where to find different Kool-Aid packets. If you cannot find Kool-Aid, you can substitute any sugarless drink mix or just use food coloring and vinegar.

How to dye yarn with food colouring (and small children)

In the early spring of 2009, I decided to try dyeing yarn for the first time. One of the best dyeing yarn at home tutorials I found came from a blog called Pea Soup. I hope that you enjoy this delightful description of a first attempt with dyeing yarn at home with her children.

A picture from my first dyeing project inspired by the author of Pea Soup.

Knitting Pattern Central

Knitting Pattern Central is my go to knitting directory when I am looking for free knitting patterns. It has the simplest format of any knitting pattern directory you can find, you will find links to free patterns arranged alphabetically. The upside is that you have access to a lot of patterns immediately, the downside is that there are no descriptions of these patterns.

I love checking out the new patterns, which is updated a few times a week. This is a great way to check out the newest patterns out there. (Yes, I submit my patterns, so you will find some ChemKnits designs in this directory!)

Sweaters for Bald Chickens

Some animals raised for food are treated badly, and the lucky ones get rescued. The Somerset Knitting Club created dozens of knit sweaters for rescued hens. "They will soon fatten up and regain their feathers with the right care, but while they are waiting for their feathers to grown back they can benefit from our knitted jumpers."

If you want to create your own sweaters for bald chickens, now you can!

Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter

Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter is a magical book that will tempt any fan of the Harry Potter series. There are also many free Harry Potter knitting patterns available online that this is not a book I would purchase myself, but it would make a great novelty knitting book for a Harry Potter fan.

Largest Knit Tea Cozy

Rachel Barson holds the world record for the largest knit tea cozy. "The largest tea cosy was knitted by members of the public, Bupa care homes residents across the UK and resident care homes in Spain and New Zealand at Ashley Park nursing home in Guilford, UK, on 9 April 2009." - Guinness World Records Online

The previous attempt from 2008 was also quite large. See a picture of the largest knit tea cozy.

I sure hope that you're thirsty!

_______________________
The blogger outage temporarily removed this post. Don't worry, there has still be a KPOTD every day since the launch! Sorry for the inconvenience.

Dropped Stitches

I love knitting with intentional dropped stitches. Not only does the project go faster, but the final product has a modern, yet lacy feel to it. I created the video to help explain to my readers how to make this fun stitch.

NHM #7

Today's KPOTD is based off of one of my favorite knitting projects of all time, the NHM #7 mittens from SELBUVOTTER: Biography of a Knitting Tradition. I love this project for two reasons: 1) I love stranded colorwork and 2) I dyed the blue/green colorway with this project in mind. I cannot wait to cast on another pair of folk mittens!

Knitting for Mother's Day

I am of the opinion that it is possible to knit gifts for every holiday imaginable, and knitting for Mother's Day is no exception. The following article links to free knitting patterns that have mother themes (they contain the word Mom or represent Mother Nature) and patterns that were designed with Mother's Day in mind. The article contains at the end ideas for other types of knitting projects that would be appropriate to create for you mother for any occasion, but particularly for Mother's Day.

Mom, I love you! Happy Mother's Day!

Star Wars Knitting Patterns

I mentioned Craftyville in a previous KPOTD and her Star Wars oragami article. well now I've discovered her article on Star Wars Knitting Patterns!

Do you have a star wars fan in your life? Knit him/her something for this holiday season that is based on their favorite movies!

Knitting while running a marathon?!?

Susie Hewer holds the world record for the longest scarf knit while running a marathon at 1m 62 cm (5'2"). I don't think I could knit and walk at the same time! Check out a picture of Susie and her scarf in her blogger profile.

Susie has run over 20 marathons, and also holds the world record for the longest crochet chain knit while running a marathon (77.4m). What an accomplishment, Susie! Hopefully getting awarded "Knitting Project of the Day" will also rank somewhere in your heart....

Take some time and check out her knitting blog, Extreme Knitting Redhead.

Colors of KnitPicks Palette Yarn

KnitPick's Palette Yarn has been one of my favorite yarns to knit with for a long time. The fingering weight wool is great for stranded colorwork projects and for creating tiny little toys. Within the last year they have come out with a total of 100 colors of Palette yarn, and they have arranged these colors into an arrangment which is useful for selecting colors for your colowork projects:

Astounding Knits!: 101 Spectacular Knitted Creations and Daring Feats

I have featured many knit world records here on KPOTD. Do you want to learn about other knitting world records? I know I would like to see a hand knit Ferrari! Now you can read about knitting world records, in addition to other incredible knit art (a knit ferrari!)

Craftyville

Craftyville is a major contributor on the website Squidoo. Craftyville assembles information on all sorts of craft projects, from origami (star wars origami anyone?)

I need to feature Craftyville because it was through her links to ChemKnits from some of her posts made me discover Squidoo where I am now having a lot of success. So thank you, Craftyville!

Dangers

All I have to say: Do you know anyone who has died in a knitting accident?

This comic is shared via a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License with permission from XKCD.

10 Favorite Handknits made in 2009

I love seeing knitting pictures. jjphotoftw wrote this post of her 10 favorite knitting projects from 2009. It is a fun and simple post, with 10 photos of the 10 knitting projects and links to the patterns used to create them. What a fun way to get some inspiration!