It’s that time of year again, when crafters have a few scant weeks until the holidays. Fueled by coffee, Netflix and bitter, bitter tears we knit and crochet into the night, desperate to finish last minute gifts. We bind off on the 23rd of December. Fuck weaving in ends. People can weave in their own goddamn ends. Not like I’m speaking from experience. Determined to still get a project or two complete before the holidays … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Knitting: OMG It’s Almost December→
Wonder Woman has been my favorite film so far this year, and it’s clearly resonated with a lot of romance readers (and women in general). For this edition of Stuff You Should Be Stitching, I’m focusing on Wonder Woman-themed awesomeness. Now, you might have noticed that this column title changed from Stuff You Should Be Knitting. That’s because I’m going to try and focus more on cross stitch, needlepoint, sewing, and crochet as well. I’ll … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Stitching: Wonder Woman→
Spring is officially here and it’s time for another edition of Stuff You Should Be Knitting where we link to some awesome free patterns on the interwebs. For me, spring is an excuse to bust out all the colored yarns and work on some bright, happy projects. If you like to knit with color, then Stephen West is the designer for you. His projects are a little on the wild side and totally addictive to … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Knitting: Color→
It’s time for the winter edition of Stuff You Should be Knitting. Here in Wisconsin it’s miserably cold (like -25 with the wind chill), so I’m all about warm, bulky projects. The best part? All these patterns are free! Let’s start off with the Pussy Hat–a pattern that’s gone viral among the knitting community. The Pussy Hat is a pink, cat-eared hat that many women participating in the Women’s March on Washington DC will be … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Knitting→
In addition to his duties as chief cat wrangler and household chef, Mr Elyse works a day job as a barista. With winter imminent he asked me if I would make him a cowl or scarf to keep him warm when he worked the drive through window. As this presented an opportunity to buy new yarn, I of course said yes. (Side note: yes, this means my husband makes one badass caramel latte, ladies and gentlemen. … Continue reading Knitting Pattern: The Barista Cowl→
Fall is upon us, as is evident by the Pumpkin Spice Latte emerging from hibernation. It’s actually getting chilly here and leaves are starting to turn, which means it’s the perfect time to start on fall knitting. In this quarterly column I’ll be bringing you links to some of the coolest FREE knitting and crochet patterns I’ve found online that tie in with the season. For me, fall is all about scarves, cowls, arm-warmers, and … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Knitting→
Awhile back I reviewed the Fiberista Club Box and I was thrilled by the beautiful yellow/orange yarn I received. It was bright and cheerful, and I wanted to use it to make something whimsical. By “whimsical” I mean something so bright that when I get lost in a blizzard, people will find me. I used two different types of brightly-colored variegated yarn to create a hat that, to me, almost had a tie-dye look to it. … Continue reading Crochet Pattern: Tie-Dye Hat→
Hey you sexy hookers! Last month, the Bitchery all gathered at the RT Book Lover’s Convention in Dallas. Mayhem ensued. As did stitchery. This is a crochet pattern, and since my native language is knitting, I’m a little bit less certain about the translation. These wristlets are quick, fucking adorable and perfect for when you had too much tequila and need to hang out in the hotel room watching The Blacklist and nursing a 7-Up. Not that … Continue reading Crochet Pattern: RT Wristlets→
Yarn is coming. It’s time for another knitting pattern inspired by the badass women of Game of Thrones. This time it’s Ygritte, the Wildling Jon Snow meets beyond the wall. After all the violence and awful that’s been on Game of Thrones of late, we definitely need something fuzzy and soothing, right? Oh, yes, all the fuzzy and soothing, for everyone. Of course, Ygritte wouldn’t actually have time to knit herself because she’s busy doing stuff … Continue reading Knitting Pattern: Ygritte Cowl/Necklace→
I’ve been binge-watching Game of Thrones with my husband, and of course when you binge-watch you get a lot of knitting done. I’ve been making cowls inspired by the badass women of Westeros and the awesome colorways of Malabrigo. This is the Yara Cowl, inspired by Yara Greyjoy (Asha Greyjoy in the books). Yara hails from the Iron Islands where salt, iron and bad-assery are the name of the game. Of course, Yara wouldn’t actually … Continue reading Knitting Pattern: The Yara Cowl→
I don’t know about you, but it’s cold here–like the kind of cold that makes you question your sanity. “I could go to the store for groceries or I could lie here and slowly die of hunger because starvation is less painful than the windchill.” Also the thermostat in my office has two settings: Oh, Hey That’s What Menopause Feels Like or Everyone Can See My Nipples. To fend off the cold, I decided to … Continue reading Knitting Patterns: Colorblock Scarf→
