8
LISTEN TO A KNITTING
PODCASTERBring knitting chat
and laughter straight
i nto you r h om e by
tuning in to a knitting
podcasts. There are
so many friendly,
entertaining podcasts
which you can listen
to for free, and they’re a great way to
find out what other knitters around
the world are getting up to. One of
our favourites is the East London Knit
podcast by Renée Callahan (pictured
above). Always smiling, Renée loves
to share her yarn discoveries, design
projects, and general knitting chat
(www.eastlondonknit.com). Fr u ity
Knitting provides excellent, in-depth
interviews with the world’s leading
designers (www.fruityknitting.com),
and Woolwork explores British wool and
sheep breeds (www.knitbritish.net).
Four friends join together for fun
knitting chat on the Knitters League
(https://bit.ly/knittersleague), wh i le
sisters Jodi and Tracie always make us
laugh! (https://bit.ly/grogirls).
5
SORT YOUR STASH
- AND KNIT IT UP!
Let’s be honest: most
of u s h ave e n ou g h
yarn stashed away
to ke e p u s b u s y for
a while. There’s no
time like the present
to h ave a s or t- out -
you might even find
something you’d completely forgotten
about! Why not use this opportunity
to use up that skein of hand-dyed sock
ya r n you pi c ke d up at Yarndale in 2016,
or that special laceweight which
you’ve never found a pattern for? It’s
e a s y to f i n d on e-ske i n proj e c t s on
Ravelry, or to use the search function
to find patterns using the same amount
of yarn that you actually have. Judith
Durant’s One-Skein Wonders books
a re a l s o a go o d s ou rc e of i d e a s. For
small amounts of left-over yarn,
take a look at Rachel Coopey’s multi-
coloured sock designs, Kate Davies’
Fair Isle hats, or try steeking with
Mary Henderson’s mug cosy pattern
from Issue 116 (pictured above).4
STAY CO N N EC TED
WITH FRIENDSLoneliness and
boredom are serious
threats to our
well-being. If you’re
missing your regular
knitting group -
or l i ke t h e i d e a of
chatting with other
knitters online - why not join in with
one of the virtual knit nights that are
popping up everywhere? Leading
the way is UK Hand Knitting, which
has begun running virtual knitting
groups twice a week to help people
stay in touch and craft together -
you can find the details on the UKHK
Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/
ukhandknitting. Lots of yarn stores are
also hosting virtual knit nights using
video conferencing such as Zoom,
and these include Baa Ram Ewe, Tribe
Yarns, Knit With Attitude, Baa Wool,
and many more. Ravelry, too, is a great
place to enjoy some knitting chat -
there are hundreds of groups to join,
with all kinds of interests.10
LOOK AFTER
YOURSELFIf you’re spending
more time sat on the
sofa and knitting,
it’s important to pay
attention to your
hands, wrists and
posture - not only
to avoid stiffness
and discomfort, but also to prevent
longer-term issues such as repetitive
strain injury in the muscles and
tendons of the wrists. Try to carry out
a few simple stretching exercises every
day, to improve flexibility and prevent
inflammation. We provided step-by-
step instructions for eight key hand
and wrist exercises in Issue 136,
and you can email us at theknitter@
immediate.co.uk if you would like us
to s e n d you a c opy of t h i s ma s te rc l a s s.
There are also good resources online- search ‘hand exercises for knitters’ -
including video guides on YouTube
from the teams at LoveCrafts and
Laughing Hens, and tips on neck and
shoulder exercises from The Loopy
Ewe (https://bit.ly/loopyewe).
9
KNIT SOMETHING
FOR CHARITYA nice way to use up
odds and ends in
you r ya r n b a ske t i s
to make something
for charity. An
excellent resource
is the UK Hand
Knitting website
(www.ukhandknitting.com/knitting-
for-charity), which lists charities
looking for knitted donations, and has
patterns for you to use. Knit For Peace
welcomes donations of knitted items
which can be distributed to good
causes in the UK and around the world;
it also has a range of free patterns
(www.knitforpeace.org.uk). The
charity Bliss has patterns for clothing
and blankets to make for premature
babies, and you can check with your
local neonatal unit to see what items
they currently require. For quick
stashbuster makes, The Big Knit run
by Age UK is ideal - why not knit up
a few mini-hats in advance of this
autumn’s campaign? Find details at
https://bit.ly/ageukthebigknit.3
LEARN A NEW
TECHNIQUEThere’s no time like
the present to brush
up on your knitting
knowledge or
master a new
technique. We’ve
been bringing you
masterclasses on a
wealth of knitting techniques since
our first issue, and you can find a full
l i s t on p a ge 78 - s o i f t h e re’s a n a r t i c l e
you never got round to reading, why
not dig it out? Much of our masterclass
content is also available to read online,
at http://www.gathered.how/theknitter.
We’d a l s o h i g h ly re c omm e n d t h e
Arnall-Culliford Knitwear website for
tutorials and videos on a whole host of
techniques (www.acknitwear.co.uk).
Carol Feller’s website offers free email
courses on subjects including cables,
short-rows and finishing skills
(www.carolfeller.com/email-courses),
while Anniken Allis is our go-to expert
for lace knitting and beading
techniques (www.yarnaddict.co.uk).
The Knitter Issue 150
Knitting inspiration