Eco-friendly knitting

If you're looking for tips on saving money and the environment when you knit, check out my new article at Suite101.

Me time

Knitting for others is a joy.  Yet every now and then I get the urge to make something for myself.  I used Caron's new eco-yarn that replaced Simply Soft.  It really is wonderful and is supposedly made in part from recycled plastic bottles. 

Tips for buying yarn on e-bay

A "real knitter" never has enough yarn.  A real knitter also knows how expensive our knitting addiction can be. E-bay is a great place to find some wonderful yarn bargains.  Yet it's not hard to be seduced by apparently great prices and end up getting burned.  Trust me, I know.  But there's help. KnittingforCharity.org offers some great tips on buying yarn on e-bay. 

Lion Brand offers free patterns

Great news! Lion Brand is now offering all of their online patterns for FREE. They have some great patterns, for both charity knitting and other things as well, and free is always great. Be sure to check out their pattern finder at LionBrand.com. Enjoy!

Dealing with stains on your knitting

If you've been knitting for a while, I'm sure you know how frustrating it is to find a spot on something you've made. In that first split second, you're reminded of all of those hours you spent knitting/crocheting that sweater. According to a tip on LionBrand.com, a small mixture of mild soap or shampoo and water dabbed on the spot should remove it. This supposedly will work on all fibers, but I obviously can't guarantee that, but it may be worth a try.

Design on a dime

I'm furiously working to finish a dozen prayer shawls that I'm donating to a network of sexual and domestic violence shelters at the end of the month (more on this later), but in between shawls, I'm working on a belated Christmas presents for my Mom and Dad. Mom wanted a brown afghan (not very exciting, I know). I'd just finished knitting a big black one and I was hoping for something a little more interesting, but when you have parents that have everything... well, you know how that goes.

So, I knew that Mom wouldn't want me spending a lot of money on this, so I went to Wal-Mart and walked around the yarn aisles for a while trying to come up with a plan. Of course, they didn't have enough of any one color in stock to make an afghan, and since it was already the week before Christmas, I decided that it was time to get creative. So, I bought what I hope is sufficient yarn of 3 shades and textures (but all with no dye lots, just in case) and decided to mix things up a bit.

Here's the result: